A loose heat shield can sound like a tin can full of rocks, very annoying. If this is your symptom, we might have the solution. Wait until your car is nice and cool, at least an hour since it was last driven, muffler repair on a hot muffler is no fun. Raise the car and safely secure it on jackstands. Now you can shimmy underneath to see what's going on.

A warped brake disc can make even short car trips very irritating. Every time you apply the brakes you think you're going to lose a filling. Thankfully, it's easy to replace your brake discs, and not at all expensive. Combine this repair with brake pad replacement and you've had a very productive car repair day!

A wheel stud that is damaged or stripped can be dangerous and should be replaced as soon as possible. As long as you have a reasonable level of auto repair ability it should be no problem. This tutorial covers vehicles with disc brakes. If your car has drum brakes in the rear you can't use this method.

If you've been hearing an extra clunk underneath the car, or if it looks like a sparkler at night thanks to a dangling muffler, you might have a broken exhaust hanger. Most exhaust hangers (aka muffler straps) are just thick rubber loops, kind of like really strong rubber bands. Like anything rubber, exhaust hangers eventually wear out, and that's when your muffler starts to suffer.

The tire plug method or repairing tires is a mysterious thing. The first time you see one installed brings feelings of amazement and doubt. You're amazed that it held air but doubt it will last more than a day or two. The fact is that a proper tire repair will last forever. Why should you have to replace one of your tires with perfectly good tread just because a nail danced its way into your life?

There's nothing more frustrating than an intermittent problem with something we use as often as our power windows and locks. Sometimes they work fine, other times they don't. And then sometimes they just stop altogether. It's no fun being the guy at the toll booth who's inventing a new yoga move to pass the collector 50 cents through an open door. It could be a bad switch, motor or solenoid that's on its last legs causing your problems. But it could also be electronic leprechauns haunting your electrical system.

If you're new to About.com's Auto Repair Guide Site, let me say welcome. If you've made it this far you are obviously the type of person who likes to be in control of their life. Whether you do your own repairs and maintenance and want to brush up, or you've never even peeked under your hood, this site intends to leave you empowered.

If you're driving at night and all of a sudden find yourself navigating by moonlight, the last thing you want is to be stranded in the dark. Luckily you're in the Automotive Empowerment Zone and you know how to fix things when they go awry. So your headlights are out. Chances are it's not a bulb since you just replaced your headlight bulb last week. Besides, what are the chances of both bulbs going at the same time? It's time to check the fusebox to see if anything blew.

If you forget to periodically check your headlights, there's a fleet of black-and-white cruisers who will gladly do it for you. Unfortunately they charge quite a bit, and that's if you don't have to show up in court with a picture of your car with both lights on to prove that you fixed it. So go ahead and take a peak at the front of your car. If you're lazy you can wait until you're behind a big trailer and check them from your driver's seat.

Make sure you've got everything ready to go before you start this project. Most important, be sure safety is at the front of your mind. You'll be taking the wheel off so be sure you have your car jacked up and resting securely on jackstands. Go ahead and break the lugs before you jack it up. It's much easier and safer with the wheel on the ground.