What might be wrong with this transmission.....and does it matter?

[turbomacncheese]

Hi folks. Talking to a guy about his car (possible donor). He said it was towed incorrectly while he wasn't there, and now it whines when decelerating. He's worried it's the center differential, which makes me guess that maybe the front wheels were lifted and the rears were rolled. Is this the likely problem? and since it seems to me that we lock that part of the transmission (still fuzzy on the details) does it matter for an 818? This will probably make the difference in whether the car is too expensive for me. Thanks.

[Pearldrummer7]

Well, it would ruin the center diff first in the transmission, which we take out and do not use. However, unlubricated bearings scare me, and the transmission spinning correctly (i.e. driven from the engine) is how it was designed to be lubricated.

[turbomacncheese]

So it's possible that this is a non-issue for me? That's exciting! He thinks the trans is in for a rebuild and is actually entertaining fair prices for the car, lol.