Hey everyone! My Camaro, my dream car, is scaring me. It's a '98 v6 manual and it's making a couple strange sounds.

The first, which worries me least, is a slight rattle that I can only really hear at idle in certain environments (like the garage) - it doesn't sound too threatening.

What scares me more is a loud humming/buzzing sound that rises and falls with the RPMs and is most prominent at around 1700-2200 RPMs, and about 35-45 mph. It used to be that I could only hear it in those ranges, but now I can hear it on the freeway as well, and whenever I accelerate.

The sound goes away completely when there is no gas (when I shift or am idling, for instance), but comes back whenever the engine is on. It seem sto be most prominent when the engine is braking, but that might be my mistake.

The sound is definitely coming from the front end of the car.

Any ideas?

HUMMER - LOL. You say only under load and not while shifting but does it do it when the engine is running and the car is stopped? If doing it when car is stopped possibilities are: the Catalytic or something vibrating in the Intake. If only when the car is moving: Wheel Bearing, Universal Joint or hanger bearing if you have one.

My Mother's car developed a HUM and I had to tear apart the dash to get at the ventilation system to remove a small plastic Goo Goo Doll that had fallen through the dash defog grate and got stuck in a vent gate.

My 97 Z71 is doing the vibrating hmmm/buzz/rattle thing like that and it is one of my catalytic converters in my case.

is a slight rattle that I can only really hear at idle in certain environments (like the garage) - it doesn't sound too threatening.Put the car up on jack stands and let the car idle and listen while looking underneath. It could be a loose/broken exhaust pipe hangar.

What scares me more is a loud humming/buzzing sound that rises and falls with the RPMs and is most prominent at around 1700-2200 RPMs, and about 35-45 mph. It used to be that I could only hear it in those ranges, but now I can hear it on the freeway as well, and whenever I accelerate. The sound goes away completely when there is no gas (when I shift or am idling, for instance), but comes back whenever the engine is on. It seem sto be most prominent when the engine is braking, but that might be my mistake.

The sound is definitely coming from the front end of the car.

Any ideas?Remove the air intake plumbing look inside the plumbing for foreign debris or loose components or holes, or loose clamps, bolts. Might even drive the car without the intake plumbing to listen if sound is gone.

Welcome to the Club!

Not sure if you're fixed yet but it sounds like a noise I once had in my '98. The mechanics at Chevy, Big Al's Muffler, AAmco couldn't figure it out but it turned out to be the starter. I had it replaced and the sound went away. It would not completely disengage after starting the engine and it casued a rattle or buzz everytime I accelerated.

Not sure if you're fixed yet but it sounds like a noise I once had in my '98. The mechanics at Chevy, Big Al's Muffler, AAmco couldn't figure it out but it turned out to be the starter. I had it replaced and the sound went away. It would not completely disengage after starting the engine and it casued a rattle or buzz everytime I accelerated.
same problem I had here. The solenoid wouldnt pull the pinion gear away from the flywheel and it just went with the flow sounded bad at first but it wasnt coming from the engine.

My 98 is doing the EXACT same thing as the original poster's up there, and it's a pretty nasty sound. I see this post was made last year, but if anyone has figured anything out since then I'd love to hear it. I've noticed that it doesn't sound near as bad when you're on the outside of the car. Had my friend drive my car and rode in the next lane and it was hardly noticable. It's also much louder when sitting on passenger side. It's driving me CRAZY, so any suggestions would be appreciated greatly!