Cixutumumab and Temsirolimus in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced or Metastatic Cancer

Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients with advanced or metastatic cancer
* Patients enrolled in the expansion cohorts may be on antidiabetic treatment, but baseline glucose should be =\< 120
* All patients must sign an informed consent indicating that they are aware of the investigational nature of this study; patients must also have signed an authorization for the release of their protected health information
* Patients are allowed to have unlimited prior treatments
* Patients must be registered in the MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) institutional database (CORE) prior to treatment with study drug
* Estimated life expectancy of greater than 3 months
* Patients must be ≥ 4 weeks beyond treatment of any chemotherapy, other investigational therapy, biological, targeted agents or radiotherapy, and must have recovered to =\< grade 1 toxicity or previous baseline for each toxicity; exceptions: patients must be \>= 6 weeks beyond treatment with monoclonal antibodies; patients may have received palliative low dose radiotherapy to the limbs 1-4 weeks before this therapy provided pelvis, sternum, scapulae, vertebrae, or skull were not included in the radiotherapy field
* Patients must be \>= 2 weeks beyond treatment of hormonal therapy
* Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status =\< 1
* Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1500/mL
* Platelets \>= 100,000/mL
* Creatinine =\< 2 X upper limit of normal (ULN)
* Total (T.) bilirubin =\< 1.5 X ULN
* Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase \[SGOT\]) and/or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase \[SGPT\]) =\< 5 X ULN
* Women of childbearing potential MUST have a negative serum or urine human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) test unless prior hysterectomy or menopause (defined as 12 consecutive months without menstrual activity); patients should not become pregnant or breastfeed while on this study; sexually active patients must agree to use contraception prior to study entry, for the duration of study participation, and for 3 months after the last dose
* Patients must be \>= 16 years of age; patients with Ewing's Sarcoma must be \>= 14 years of age

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients may not be receiving any other investigational agents
* Patients who are pregnant or breastfeeding
* Patients with history of abdominal fistula, gastrointestinal perforation or intra-abdominal abscess within 28 days
* Patients with uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, active infection requiring hospitalization
* Patients with history of hypersensitivity to monoclonal antibody treatment or immunosuppressant agents
* Patients with history of cerebrovascular accident (CVA), myocardial infarction or unstable angina within the previous six months before starting therapy
* Patients with New York Heart Association class III or greater congestive heart failure or uncontrolled hyperlipidemia (cholesterol \> 300 mg/dl; triglyceride 2.5 X ULN despite lipid lowering agent)
* Patients with fasting blood sugar \> 120; patients who are on oral hypoglycemic agents and insulin will be excluded; exception: patients in the expansion cohorts may be on antidiabetic treatment (including hypoglycemic agents and/or insulin) if controlled
* Patients on drugs that are strong P450 cytochrome P450, family 3, subfamily A, polypeptide 4 (CYP3A4) inhibitors or inducers; these drugs should be stopped 5 half-lives prior to starting investigational agents with temsirolimus; the strong inducing or inhibiting agents should not restart until 1 week after the end of study treatment; the principal investigator (PI) or his designee will go over/check the list of medication for individual patients; NOTE: Physiologic replacement of steroids (with either prednisone or hydrocortisone) in patients with adrenalectomy will be allowed
* Patients with history of brain metastasis are eligible, however the brain metastases should have been treated (treatment defined as surgery or radiation therapy \[RT\]) and the patient should have been free from symptoms/signs and off steroids for at least 3 months before study entry
* Patients with highly aggressive lymphoma (i.e. Burkitt's)