pimpbot

My mo-inlaw drive a beaten up '95 Legacy wagon, an automatic sled, naturally. The clock says it has 95k miles on it, but I think the odo has been rolled back by the scumbag used car lot that overcharged her for it back in Colorado. Judging by how it looks, I would guess more like 170k.

I drove it today, and noticed it was binding like crazy when pulling a U-turn. Wheels audibly scrubbing. On the freeway, it bumps from side to side over bumps, but that may be alignment and/or shocks.

She's pretty low on cash, and doesn't want to involve the mechanic any more than she has to.

What are the things we should look for? Center differential, rear diff? Any easy way to isolate them? I remember from my old VW Rabbit days, you could just jack up the front end and spin the wheels around, feeling for roughness, backlash that sort of thing. Is that effective here? Is there a limited slip in there?

Any input is appreciated.