17-AAG and Sorafenib in Treating Patients With Unresectable or Metastatic Solid Tumors

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients must have histologically confirmed malignancy that is metastatic or unresectable and for which standard curative or palliative measures do not exist or are no longer effective * Prior chemotherapy is allowed; patients may not have received chemotherapy for 4 weeks prior to the initiation of study treatment and must have full recovery from the acute effects of any prior chemotherapy; patients must not have had nitrosoureas or mitomycin C for 6 weeks prior to initiation of study treatment * Prior radiation therapy is allowed; patients must have completed radiation at least 4 weeks prior to initiation of study treatment; patients who have received prior radiation to 50% or more of their total marrow volume will be excluded * Prior treatment with biologic systemic therapies is permitted except for 17-AAG or Bay 43-9006 administration; prior experimental therapies (non FDA-approved agents) and immunotherapies are allowed; patients may not have received these therapies for 4 weeks prior to the initiation of study treatment and must have =\< grade 2 residual toxicities from the effects of these therapies * ECOG performance status =\< 2 (Karnofsky \>= 60%) * Life expectancy of \> 12 weeks * Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1,500/uL * Platelets \>= 100,000/uL * Total bilirubin within normal institutional limits * AST(SGOT)/ALT(SGPT) =\< 2.5 x institutional upper limit of normal; for patients with hepatic metastases, AST/ALT =\< 5 x institutional upper limi…