It does sound like the center carrier bearing on your driveshaft. I just replaced mine and it would occasionally bang really loud when going slow(my guess was the bearing locking up and being popped loose). When going at highway speeds it was less noticable but no matter what speed or even when stopping the shifter always vibrated like crazy when the car was moving.

If it is the drive shaft you need to get a 1 piece and replace it ASAP. If you let it go too long it can do some major damage to the rear end and transmission. It caused both to leak when driving and never left a puddle in driveway but trans fluid was always magically disapearing. Now my rear end pinion seal is shot and needs replaced but luckily transmission no longer leaks. Made my exhaust vibrate like crazy too so it made me think thats all it was until i started hearing the banging sound.


Check to see if the front side of differential is covered in crud, if so the seal most likely needs replaced and your low on fluid.

 

Welp, looks like today wasn't in the cards for me. I woke up early, got dressed, and took a look outside. What did I see? Snow. A lot of damn snow. I'm tired of wasting my time with this, so I'm taking it into the only shop around here open on weekends, Pepboys, and getting it checks out. I'll make a list from all your suggestions in this thread and give it to them at least as a lead, and take it from there. Depending on what they say, or the cost, I'll go ahead and get this taken care of, or do it on my own

 

Update: Went to the shop I originally took it to, this time with a detailed printed list of EXACTLY what was wrong, when I hear the noise, where it was coming from, and a list of possible causes. They called me up yesterday and said the tailshaft bearing in the transmission needed to be replaced, and the caps/crowns on the U-Joint were bad. All in all, a $250 repair bill. Not bad, but we'll see how it sounds tomorrow after I pick it up

 

Update #2: Welp, looks like they didn't fix it after all. But they noticed a few things and did some repairs at my request. Here's what was on the bill:

"Repair hold down on caps for rear universal joint
Joint was moving in yolk [sic]
R+R driveshaft, Replace tailshaft bushing in transmission"

I got so frustrated I left work early (With permission, of course. You don't just walk out of Microsoft and go AWOL) and headed down there. One of the mechanics took a drive with me and we went over a couple things. Our deduction? My rear brake rotors. They are drilled & slotted, so the metal may be expanding after driving for 20-30 minutes at a time, as well as applying brake pressure, and hitting the brake pads. This kind of makes sense, considering the sound was only heard at low speeds (>5 mph) anyway. So I ordered a set of plain rear rotors and I'll see if it comes up after the new brakes and rotors go in

 

Got the new rotors and brakes on, and still no dice. What's worse, there's a new noise coming from the rear. Definitely related to the rotors and/or brakes. Did a little (Search Engine of your choice here)-fu and found that the rotors may need to be turned, or may not be perfectly smooth. There's just something I don't understand about that: If they're BRAND-NEW, why would they need to be turned? Shouldn't they be perfectly smooth right from the manufacturer?

 

Yes they should, the runout you are talking about is a manufacture defect. The rotors should be returned for replacement. In many cases the labor to turn a rotor is higher then they cost. Many rotors are not allowed to be be turned as they are near the thickness min when new.

 

Gorn, I love ya, but I was afraid you'd say that. I honestly don't have the time to take it to a shop for turning or get them sent for replacement. I took off enough time from work because of this, and there's no way I'm getting a rental AGAIN. All this is just piling up...

 

The only thing you could do at home is remove the rotors and make sure there is not dirt or rust behind them. Sometimes mechanic get in a rush and forget that the hubs needs to be clean. I have a special attachment to a air grinder that cleans the face of the hub even around the lugs. Wheels should be torque to spec using the star pattern. Over tightening of the lugs can put a warp into the rotor.

 

Good to know! I did the rotors and brakes myself, and I'm pretty meticulous about everything being clean. While the grinding sound hasn't come back (Maybe it was just the rotors breaking into the pads? Or the other way around?), that annoying clunking/banking sound is still there. Through some more Google-fu, I think I've narrowed it down to the wheel bearings or the rear differential. Those are pretty much the only two areas that haven't been repaired or has new parts installed, haha

 

So, took it in the other day and they figured out what was causing the load squealing and banging sounds. The oil. Can you believe it? The damn differential lube was wrong. They changed it out for oil with posi additive, and it has yet to squeal, groan, bang, clank, or clunk. I'd love to know how they missed it the first three times I brought it in, though...

Another note: Now that that issue is resolved, I'm onto another problem. There seems to be a shifting/clanking sound from the rear, but only if there's any movement in the rear end (i.e.: uneven road, speed bump, driveway, etc). Considering it's only when there's movement in the rear, I'm going to see what I can find with the suspension and any other moving parts. There's also a loud groaning sound when I use the brakes, but the mechanic explained that's normal with new rotors and brakes, and will eventually go away. Regardless, I'm going to check my front brakes (It's been a while on those) and the rear brake system just to be on the safe side