Bob, I believe I have a similar problem. See "tranny or axle" last post was Thurs July 12th. When slowing down a hill or under hard decel from about 10 to 8 mph my 02 Rubi makes this noise. I have not checked in low range to see if it does it there. I know it will do it in D1, D2 and ESP although ESP is not as bad. I can stop the grinding from happening if I keep a slight throttle pressure. I'm not sure if it is the tranny or clutch but have eliminated the front axle as a possibility. Please post what you find. Thanks, Joe