If your drivetrain's been too chatty these days, it might be time to replace your universal joint. Also known as the U-joint, this little four-pronged piece of metal allows your drive shaft to move up and down with the suspension and still spin smoothly ... or not so smoothly if it's worn out. Replacing a universal joint might seem like an enormous job, especially when you consider the price tag of having a repair shop do it, but it's not a tough job to do yourself. Save the cash and get busy! We'll make it easy.

Gunk is the enemy of your engine both inside and out. Your air filter catches lots of dust and larger particles that could potentially harm your engine, and you replace your air filter when it's dirty. But is that enough? The roads are unleashing an unending barrage of sticky stuff. Some of that is being sucked into your air filter housing, or air box. As this gunk builds up, it can adversely affect your car's performance. If you've never cleaned your air box, now's the time!

If your car or truck has been running rough, there's a good chance it's due to a dirty EGR valve. Carbon builds up inside your EGR valve causing it to function poorly or not at all. Throw this kind of craziness into your car's computers and you're left with a rough running engine. The good news is that you can clean your EGR valve and return your car to its proper state of operation. It's another good idea when it comes to do-it-yourself maintenance.

You'd have to be living under a rock to have missed the greening of America these days. Or at least the greening of American marketing. I've seen lots of repair shops claiming to have gone green, but what does "going green" really mean in the realm of auto repair? It's a tough description to draw, for sure. I don't think I could come up with a set of guidelines for green repair shops if I had to. Luckily, I don't have to. A well respected automotive writer (his 4th or 5th career in a string of successes) has done it for me. Brian Canning of Motor Age has put together a great looking short list. Here are a couple:

Ensure we are recycling scrap metal, batteries, tires and either recycling or properly disposing of chemical wastes.
Become a waste oil drop-off point and register to become a state certified emissions inspector.

Check out his interesting article about Green Repair Shops here.