fiddilin jay

Subaru Enthusiasts - I'm new on this site and apparently posted this question incorrectly as a reply to an existing thread. Found out while googling that some of you replied and asked for additional information. Thanks for the input. The 96 OBW has a 2.5 engine and AT. It has 246k miles. I rescued this vehicle from an abusive owner with a blown head gasket. I've repaired and seems to be running fine. Their is a very noisy howling/whinning noise coming from the rear end when accelerating and coasting. There was no oil in the rear differential. The previous owner attached a towing package and an upgraded swaybar unit. Don't no what he was towing. Also the badly worn tires were mismatched due to alignment issues. The spare donut tire was completely bald. At any rate, should I replace the diff, was wandering what newer units would plug in without having to make modifications elsewhere with the drive system. I've researched and found a number of salvage yards that have units. I would like to replace with a low miles unit, but 96-99 diffs pretty much have an excess of 150k miles. Salvage yards list units as locking or non-locking. Any thoughts?????

Hey Subaru enthusiasts - a couple of questions regarding rear differentials. Are any later Outback rear differentials, 2000 and beyond, interchangeable with my 96? Also, what is locking verses non-locking. Will have to replace mine soon.