Also, as for whether or not I can tell if there's a steering problem, ie PS not really working right ... it's hard for me to really tell. I got so used to my old Geo Prizm and 8 years of rack and pinion, that power steering is sort of alien to me. If there's a difference from when I bought the thing 2.5 years ago and now, it's subtle at best.

Yesterday, I bought some cheap Coastal brand ATF Dextron stuff from Autozone. Topped off my P/S fluid reservoir, as per the leak. Went for a long drive of about 50 miles today. Got home and did a couple of slow, extremely sharp right hand doughnuts in the back yard. No binding. Smooth and easy turns.

 

Once I get the leak fixed and have that bushing replaced at the dealer this weekend, and get fresh fluid in there, I'll go for another long drive and see what's what... Test it again. Would be very nice if a leaking P/S hose is the only problem, instead of having to replace the center diff. :-\

Update:

 

In September I hit 192,000km and as part of the maintenance schedule had the tranny fluid flushed and the tires rotated. The result? The problem is gone - I no longer have binding after long highway drives. Don't know which change solved it, but the tire that was on the front passanger side had un-even wear due to my driving with a bad ball-joint for too long. So it could have been the tire rotation that help as well (keep both axel speeds the same).

 

Also, after all the snow and ice and now living in rural area, I know that the VCD still works coz I got stuck the other day. After about 5 seconds of the right front wheel just spining on I could feel the torque slowly being transferred to the rear as the VCD started to bind, until finally the car moved and I was out.