High pitched ringing after highway driving?

[chrispix]

After about 20 minutes of highway driving, a ringing sound emits from my car while in motion. the ringing continues even if i push the clutch in or put it in neutral. i cant really pinpoint where it is coming from. any clues?

 

[x camaro owner]

After about 20 minutes of highway driving, a ringing sound emits from my car while in motion. the ringing continues even if i push the clutch in or put it in neutral. i cant really pinpoint where it is coming from. any clues?

this is a hopeless cuase, not even a direction of where the ringing is comeing from. but it could be a ding, or maybe a schwing.

 

[Defiant]

Pinion dust cover on the back of your transfer case is loose. The transfer case is about to take its last, really big, shit.

 

[chrispix]

more info: the whining is monotonous and is not constant. it seems to start after getting off the highway, if i go back up to highway speeds, it stops. it will whine for 15 secs or so, then stop, etc. when im in city traffic.
i did a search using: "pinion cover" and "transfer case pinion" and didn't find much. i found more stuff on rear diffs than anything.
why does it only happen after coming down from highway speeds?

 

[chrispix]

the "ringing" sound is akin to rubbing a wet finger on the lip of a crystal wine glass.
if that helps with further diagnosis, or support of defiant's diagnosis--which scares me. i wish i didnt have 80 hours of homework from school a week--then id have time to perform maintenance on my car...or have a life.

 

[1LE]

Could be stuck brake caliper too. That's what mine sounded like when it got stuck and I had Carbotech pads. Would go away when I hit the brakes.