Hello, I own a 2003 Subaru Forrester with 76,000 miles bought it with 68,000. After a year of driving it started to develop a whine towards the front passenger side. At first I thought it was the brakes. Boy was I wrong. I checked the front diff. fluid. and it was at the proper levels but there were some fine metal flakes in the fluid and on the drain plug. I took it to the mechanic and he informed me that the front transaxle(front differetial) needed to be replaced. A $2000 dollar repair job or more. He mentioned that it was rare for a subaru with such low mileage to have such a huge problem but I guess thats the luck of the draw.
Time for me to fix my car and sell it! Too bad I was hoping to own a subaru for a long time. Hope this info helps those with similar problems.