When it happens it kind of makes a sound like you would hear from worn down brake pads. Its not loud I have to pretty much turn the radio off to hear it and it seems like it only does it when turning right fast and hard. I described it to my girlfriend's dad (mechanic) and he seems to think its a U joint, whatever the hell that is I dont know much about suspension. I usually let him do the complicated stuff to my car that I dont know how to do. So far he's done my motor and trans mounts, headers and replaced my alternator all for free but I do try to help and learn a few things along the way. Anyway any ideas on what this sound is and how to zero in on what part or parts I need to order? Oh yea and my car has no suspension mods at all and getting close to 78k miles

 

forgot to mention he did my ud pulley as well, I'm not an idiot with tools I'm just scared to work on my car by myself cause I usually manage to **** up somehow lol

 

I've got the same problem in my '97Z. When I turn hard it's like a grinding, metallic sound. I'm thinking it's axle bearings. I never thought about the u-joints but I guess it's a possibility.

FYI, the universal joint is what connects the transmission the the rear axle. It is a lubricated section so if a seal goes bad there can be issues too.

Don't be afraid to learn how to wrench on your own car. Nothing feels better than doing your own work. The first step is to grab a haynes or chilton manual and learn how to do little things, like spark plugs, air filters, fluid changes, etc. Don't worry about breaking things either. You're lucky enough to have a professional mechanic to back you up in case you break something.

 

well I've got the real little stuff down like changing fluids, filters, spark plugs and wires, brake pads, swapping the lid and throttle body. What should I do to narrow down the problem, to make sure I dont buy a part I dont need? I would like to do all my own work cause I feel really bad/awkward asking my girl's dad to work on my car. I always offer to pay him but he's just like "naw, you're good"

 

In this case the problem is proper diagnosis. "I" think our problem is axle bearings, but I'm hardly a 'pro at this so I could be wrong. Since it's beyond our abilities to confidently diagnose the next best thing is to take a mechanic for a ride and duplicate the noise. Mine screams like a banshee, but yours I guess will be harder to hear.

Pulling the axles or the driveshaft would be new to me, too. I'd probably end up farming that out to a shop...

 

is it coming from the front or the back? does your girlfriend's dad know you have a rear wheel drive car, or are you telling him that you drive a Hundai or something like that? (I'd never let a daughter go out with people like us.)

 

Definitely from the rear for both of us...

 

I think from the back, I'm gonna see if I can get the sound on video. Yea he knows all about my car, he probably doesn't even consider it fast or dangerous lol. He has some little 86 GMC truck with a carbed 393ci, makes my ta look like a sunfire lol

 

its pretty tough to hear but if you turn it up and listen closely you sort of can http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoEkex5WC8I its loudest at 55 seconds in

 

headphones help, I wish my car could've been quieter but thats as quiet as it gets, cutout closed

 

Check your outer tie rods. It was hard to hear your squeak but I was having the same problem and it sounded like worn down brake pads like you described. Grab a hold of it and if you can twist it then it needs to be replaced. I did my passenger side yesterday and replaced it with a moog (which was spot on perfect) and I couldn't move that thing if I tried.

 

I guess I didn't read everything, if the sound is from the rear then nevermind.

 

Well I can't really tell where its coming from. Here's something I forgot to mention, the faster im going the faster the "sss sss sss sss" sound. The mechanic at work said it could just be my brake pads but they don't really squeak when I'm stepping on the brakes. The sound is getting worse kind of making me nervous

 

I know for sure that my rotors need to be replaced they are warped bad if start braking kind of hard going anymore than like 40 the car shakes pretty bad. Is there anyway my squeak could be brake related? I plan on getting new pads and rotors very soon

 

Maybe if your calipers are bad they aren't releasing enough and the pads still rub. There is a caliper rebuild guide on install university if that happens to be the case.

 

I've had my noise since '99. Before I started working on the car myself, I had the brakes done all around but the noise was still there. I still say axle bearing. What did your father-in-law say?

 

Ok I still haven't done anything yet about this problem and still dont know what it is but here's a much better video! You can hear the sound decent between 10-14 seconds in and hear it really good at 45-48 seconds. Is this what your 97 Z sounds like myk?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k04nf4zM_nQ

 

Anyone? C'mon the video captures it perfectly