My wife started to drive to work in her '03, manual trans, front wheel drive the other day. The wheels happened to be turned to the left. As soon as she let out the clutch it made a very loud mechanical racket like she had popped the clutch and stalled it. I thought maybe the passenger side drive shaft had popped out of the transfer case or perhaps the parking brake was stuck on. I found that if I straightened the wheels I could pull forward with no noise, as soon as I tried to turn left, the noise started and got worse as I turned increased the turn.
I've jacked it up and checked the shaft, seems fine. With the front end on jack stands I can put it in gear and both wheels rotate normally when I let the clutch out.
I'll check the fluid in the transfer case, but how would low fluid cause a problem only when turning left?
Any thought, ideas, comments appreciated as always!