My mother drives a '99 Forester and it is doing the exact same thing: very loud growling/rumbling noise from the rear end which increases with speed. It is so loud it is difficut to hear the radio. I got under the car a month back and didn't find any fluid leaks or anything else that seemed out of the ordinary at a glance.
This Forester has had nothing but problems since it broke 100k miles. I'd like to fix this rear end problem so I can sell it!