anyone know anything about vehicles??

My dad, brother, and uncle are all good mechanics, so I grew up listening to them.  It is always a good idea to keep a check on the condition of your belts and hoses - and have them replaced when you start noticing wear. If the belts are squealing, it could mean it needs replacing because it has become so worn it has slack in it. Change your spark plugs at a recommended mileage period like you do your oil. Also, have a regular general upkeep done - change all the fluids - oil, brake, transmission, power steering, etc. Keep your air filter cleaned and replace when it gets too dirty. I agree about running a carb cleaner through your fuel tank too. Remember regular maintenance is important!  It can help keep some of those annoying 'sounds' taken care of, and help prevent some of the bigger problems.

I thank my dad a lot for keeping me from being stranded by our older vehicles. I went through college with a 20 year old 200,000 miles (by the end) Buick Century that only gave me 2 major worries the whole time I was gone (and the thing is still going under another owner now!).  One of the problems even taught him a lesson - never run over a plastic bag on the highway - without checking to make sure you see it blowing behind you. I had an oil leak that I just couldn't find, till I got home and he finally found a plastic bag wrapped around the rear wheel axle!  I had drove over an empty plastic bag, and it had caught under the car and wrapped around and eaten through the seal - thus the oil leak.  Needless to say, it is a funny joke now - but we all look in the rear view mirror when we can't avoid driving over a plastic bag! LOL []

Hope they can find out what's going on with your car, and it won't cost you too much to have it fixed.

I agree with Xerxes. My engine has a serpentine belt. I replace the belt about once a year, preventatively and keep an extra behind the seat. It takes 5 minutes to replace. So, if I'm the the middle of nowhere and the belt breaks, 5 minutes later, I'm back on the road. The belt tensioner for mine costs $50 and I had to replace it once. That took an additional 10 minutes.
 
The gravel sound could be your speedometer cable. In cold weather, if the original cable lube has worn off, it will make that noise until the vehicle is warm. Until then, it will also cause the speedometer dial to fluctuate wildly. My wife's car does that on frigidly cold mornings.
 

you all are awesome! xeres, thank you so much for finding that out for me. I'm taking it to one of my friends' dad on monday...i feel a little bit better about that because i'm sure he wont try to rip me off.