My famous 500 dollar car is still working fine except for a few minor problems .... and with the continued Rust War!!

I took it for it's first Long Trip,,, a 700 mile roundtrip weekend down to the Hudson Valley (Croton-on-Hudson for the Clearwater music festival) from our home in VT. Despite the fact it's OD never has worked, the car did alright for an old baby that doesn't owe me much... and I usually never seem to need the OD as I tend to stay in the 60 mph range... up to maybe 70 once in awhile.. on generally non Turnpike roads.. (I took the Taconic parkway, and Route 22 instead of the obnoxious truck haven ... the NY Thruway..)

Anyway I'll deal with the OD maybe later but I am concerned that the occasional noise in the rear is either a differential problem,,, or maybe even the OD.

I questioned a previous owner about why the OD didn't work and they gave a vague answer about "we didn't need it anyway"... which is generally true for me too as our winding backroads don't allow much over 55 mph anyway... but I would have liked it a bit on my way to the City and back.

Would the OD be affecting reverse... or is the new brakes in rear maybe tightening up ... or even wheel bearings.. remember it only makes a dragging noise in tight cornering. Considering the rust I am also worried about mounts etc.... but have had the beast checked numerous times by a good mechanic (who did my brakes and put new rear coils on... A pleasant improvement for any older wagon btw!!!)

As for my OD, my mechanic did check the solenoid and found it working ... but that the connection between switch in gear shift (4 plus OD) isn't working.. and then while browsing my records I see that years ago a well known shop in our area purposely disconnected the RELAY to the OD???... ) Thus maybe someone's maybe hinting to me ... that for an old car "best leave it well alone... or we'll wake the baby" or something like that...

I am curious, but maybe my curiosity we'll cost me big bucks??? But as to the rear dragging sounds (which upon my return to calmer speeds seems to not be noticable except if I turn sharply in reverse...) any hints before I take in for the checkup???

And also Where's the RELAY for the O.D.? My manual is quite non specific about it's location (somewhere under the dash I think...)..

ps... I used to post a half a year ago maybe under dang dave or something.. and am quite pleased with my bargain car.. even if I got to patch a few underbody rust spots once in awhile... and seal the rear glass better btw. (a topic worthy of a whole list serve!!!)