I recently bought a 98 forester for $400 and it had the fwd fuse in. The guy told me it binds when in awd. And so I took the fuse out and it starts howling very loud when I get over 40ish mph. I'm think its the rear carrier but id like some others opinions. I am going to put it on the uncles hoist soon. Id like to hear what you folks have to say. Its my first sub and I really like it!!

howling with the fuse removed.

no howling with the fuse installed?

 

so it's something not being driven in FWD mode.  the tailshaft end should spin even while driving i think since the rear wheels necessitate the driveshaft turning...

 

does it make the noise no matter what - like coasting as well?

 

subaru has a website called opposedforces - it has exploded view diagrams of the transmission, with diagrams showing the guts. 

 

the rear extension housing is removable without removing the transmission so it's good to know it's not too bad of a job if it needs fixed at least.

Only howls when the fuse is out. And the awd does work good at slow speeds and I can feel it bind but I've read up on the duty c solenoid. Also note it has 270k

Could be the rear diff if they drove it around for a long time with it binding.

Drain the fluid and see how it looks.

 

Even though the rear diff is turning all the time, when the FWD fuse is in there's no load on it, so it may not make any noise.

Thats what I was thinking about jot having a load on it. And its pretty wet so maybe is kinda dry? Ill check the diff fluid.

Yeah, If its wet there may not be any fluid in it! It'll definitely make noise then!

Of course if that's the case it will need to be replaced because a hypoid gear set will destroy itself in no time if its doesn't have any oil on it.