hey all this is my first post so bear with me

i have a 99 subaru outback wagon with 240000 miles its got a 5 speed transmission.  the transmission has always made the typical subaru rattle in 5th gear that stopped when i put my hand on the shifter. 

lately the transmission has been making weirder and weirder noises  whirring and grinding while in gear accelerating or decelerating didnt matter what gear it was in.  today i went to back out of my parking spot at work and the car crunched and stopped it almost felt like i had ran over something  so i got out and checked and there was nothing there. i pulled forward and it made another crunch then drove fine.  the car drives normal but its making god awful whirring and rattling sounds whenever the car is moving  even in neutral. i pulled out the dipstick and it looks like one side has been dragged across a grinder and shaved down just a tiny bit.  what do you guys think? transmission going bad? front differential bad? is this car gonna kill me if i keep driving it? any input would be greatly appreciated  

thanks Nate 

oh the fluid on the dipstick is full

Pull the drain plug and check for metal shavings in the pan and fluid. If it's there, then yep. Time to find a replacement trans - which if you shop around can be had inexpensively enough and are an easy swap if you're not afraid of some wrenching. Car-part.com is a good tool, but I've had great luck with craigslist and self service yards on the cheap. $100. got my last one.

 

Possible check would be the drive shaft. If the joint is going bad, you can get lots of clanking/bucking especially at low speeds before it goes. had that happen to me last summer.

 

240k though, it wouldn't be surprising if the trans is going. Mine made it 276,000 before it started popping out of gear.

99 had a problem with a snap ring on the center differential popping off and getting caught up in the rear transfer gears.

There is also the all too common worn out mainshaft bearing, so you may have two separate issues.