I Own A 1998 Outback With 85000 Miles. 3000 Miles Ago The Inner Rear Wheel (during A Tight Right Or Left Turn) Would Start Binding Up And Make A "chattering Noise". Our Local Subaru Dealer Had Closed (there Are Not Many Subarus In Las Vegas) Unable To Figure Out The Problem I Took It To A Local Repair Place That Said They Worked On All Wheel Drive Vehicles. They Said The Rear End Needed Rebuilding-so I Had It Done ($1500.00) It Took 3 Weeks To Get The Right Parts!
After The Rebuild The Car Still Had The Same Problem! The Noise Would Not Happen When The Driveline Was Removed-so I Checked The Driveline And Found All 3 U Joints Were Bad-i Had The Driveline Rebuilt
For $675-the Repair Place Paid For Half Of That. After Repairs The Inner Wheel Still Chattered During Tight Turns!!!!! Then They Wanted To Take Out The Transaxle For Investigation (estimate Was $1800)-i Did Not Have It Done, Instead Took It To A Friend That Owns A Transmission Shop-he Would Not Work On A Subaru-he Felt The Transmission Needed Rebuilding. At Home I Replaced The Transmission Fluid (i Was Using Mobil 1 Synthetic Atf-it Was Changed 35000 Miles Ago)with Penzoil Atf And Replaced The Filter. The Noise Has Not Been Back Since (2000 Miles). My Wife And I Love The Car But I Would Never Buy Another One As Local Shops Will Not Or Cannot Work On The Car And The Nearest Dealer Is 30 Miles Away And Parts Are Expensive. I Have Performed All My Own Car Repairs And Maintenance For Many Years ,I found this car hard to work on and have had to special order most parts (eg transmission filter). Hope this info helps someone.
