high pitched squealing coming from rearend?

I have a 95 s-10 4x4 and just recently it's started making a high pitched squealing noise when i accelerate from a stop until about 20mph. Sometimes it will make the sound at higher speeds but not too often. I suspect the u-joint may be the problem but is there anything else i should check first? It's getting worse and i'm afraid it's gonna leave me stranded somewhere.

another thing to check is the wheel bearings and seals. The sound you're describing sounds like you could have one of those going. but as well, check brakes and the u-joints. Oh, if the truck starts shaking on ya, and you think you're having problems with a u-joint, pull over immediatly. I flipped my first s-10 doing that. poor '82, never had a chance. Put the drive shaft right into the bed, and caught a pot hole. all i saw from that on was gound. Enjoy.

check the brakes, first naturally, then the u-joint, then the bearings and seals.

I haven't been under mine for a while, but most driveshaft assemblies also have dirt shields, sometimes in front of the center bearing and also in front of the rear differential. These are flanges that are welded to the driveshaft itself to protect seals, bearings, and the like. Sometimes, these are very close to the housings they protect and if you get a little wear in the driveline, the tweaking caused by acceleration and deceleration will allow this shield to contact the housing making a metal-on-metal squeal. I have had this happen in more than one vehicle I have owned.

For what it's worth...

later...

eti engineer

think i fixed it. i tore the breaks down and adjusted them back a bit and the squeal went away... almost. I think if i back them off a little more i'll be good. I also took a minute and greased the u-joint, which i think i'm going to replace soon just to be safe. I know for a fact that this truck saw a lot of hard use before i ever had it and i'm rough on it sometimes, too. thanks for the input guys