Here is the story. I live in Austin, TX and there is not much rain here. I've got my 97 Outback in December and it's my first car. I love how it looks, drives, huge cargo space, roof racks and all. I've a mechanic fix valve cover gaskets, replace water pump and TB only to find later it needs HG as well, which I decided to do myself. It never overheated so I thought my chances are good.
About a month ago turning left from a light in the rain (at 15 mph or so) the car acted up, not reacting as expected to steering and I hit the curb bending front-right control arm.
I replaced control arm, bushing, ball joint, went for balance and alignment, and been driving it happily until there is a rain again.
Today going back from Harbor Freight with cargo full of tools for HG job, I noticed some skidding when turning left (that special tires noise). Half a mile later on a slight left curve the car suddenly pulled to the left, I turned the wheel to the right, which kind of worked for .5 sec until it started skidding again now to the right. There was another car front and right and I probably hit the brakes instinctively because then I was spinning, hit the curb on the right with the rear left and then right wheels ending up on a grass with broken rear left alloy rim and rear suspension damaged on both sides.
I limped off the highway to the nearest auto service, the guys there come up with $4k parts + $1.5k labor quote to fix it, which wasn't even funny. I towed it to my garage.
So now I have another expensive project in sight (getting parts online will cost about $800 incl. shipping, wheel being the most expensive part), no car to drive and concerns whether there is some mechanical issue (torque bind maybe?), which makes the car unsafe in the rain even after I fix all that.
I know braking on a wet road is a bad idea but other than that, are there any special tips for handling Subaru on a wet road? I've heard someone saying AWD helps until it skids but then the skidding it's much less predictable than rear- or front- wheel drive.
About a month ago turning left from a light in the rain (at 15 mph or so) the car acted up, not reacting as expected to steering and I hit the curb bending front-right control arm.
I replaced control arm, bushing, ball joint, went for balance and alignment, and been driving it happily until there is a rain again.
Today going back from Harbor Freight with cargo full of tools for HG job, I noticed some skidding when turning left (that special tires noise). Half a mile later on a slight left curve the car suddenly pulled to the left, I turned the wheel to the right, which kind of worked for .5 sec until it started skidding again now to the right. There was another car front and right and I probably hit the brakes instinctively because then I was spinning, hit the curb on the right with the rear left and then right wheels ending up on a grass with broken rear left alloy rim and rear suspension damaged on both sides.
I limped off the highway to the nearest auto service, the guys there come up with $4k parts + $1.5k labor quote to fix it, which wasn't even funny. I towed it to my garage.
So now I have another expensive project in sight (getting parts online will cost about $800 incl. shipping, wheel being the most expensive part), no car to drive and concerns whether there is some mechanical issue (torque bind maybe?), which makes the car unsafe in the rain even after I fix all that.
I know braking on a wet road is a bad idea but other than that, are there any special tips for handling Subaru on a wet road? I've heard someone saying AWD helps until it skids but then the skidding it's much less predictable than rear- or front- wheel drive.
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