I'm thinking about doing this to my Subaru. I went 4-wheeling in a canyon above Kenilworth yesterday and bottomed-out going through a dip in the road, and eventually ended up turning around because my car couldn't clear a rocky part of the road. With a 3" lift and larger tires (including a 6-lug conversion), I could gain about 2" of suspension clearance and 5" of body clearance. Of course, it would have to wait until I got a new vehicle for my wife, because I wouldn't trust her driving a 4-door station wagon with a lift--she'd probably roll the damned thing, because I wouldn't expect it to have very good street manners.

Yeah, I might be a little bit crazy. I already own two Subarus, and I actually wouldn't mind owning a few more. I'd like an older EA81 wagon, and maybe a Brat or two (preferably just like this). The newer WRXs and Legacy Outback wagons and sedans are really nice looking, but they seem a lot more fragile than the older ones. I've beaten the shit out of my '88 wagon, and it takes it like a champ and keeps on going. I'm sure it's seen more off-roading than most Grand Cherokees ever will. =) Of course, when you pay $800 for a car, you wouldn't exactly tend to be as careful with it as a $20,000+ vehicle...

Wait, you mean people take their Grand Cherokee's off-road?

But...but it'll get SCRATCHED! ;-)

a *little* bit crazy?

Anyway, I got the Grand Cherokee pretty muddy the other day. I didn't do anything that would cause any damage of course, like driving it off of any cliffs, but I'm willing to take it off the pavement at least. I'm not a soccer-mom you know.

C'mon, I'm just givin' you a little shit. =) I wouldn't take anything that nice off-road much either, especially not most of the places I've taken my Subaru. Besides, Jorge strikes me more as the soccer-mom type anyway.

When you've got two nearly identical vehicles (with a combined worth of $950), you can afford to break anything on one of them. =) In fact, when I get my '87 up and running, we should go 4-wheeling. I might be able to keep up with you then because I'll be less worried about breaking an axle or something.

Hahaha..... BURN!

Actually I think Jorge has done more 4-wheeling than me.. how sad.... I think I better get up in them hills.

And I (think) I get to say that I broke the first axle out of the two of us. (remember the yugo and the pothole?) I actually think you were in the car at the time weren't you?

I wasn't with you that time--I think it was Jorge and Brent. I've never actually broken an axle, but I've broken more than my share of drive shafts (four at current count). I still haven't fixed the front one on my truck, so it's been 2-wheel drive for over two years now. I guess when I get it fixed, I can go all the way up that canyon above Kenilworth. =)

I miss my brat. *sniff*

Every time it snows I think to myself "I miss that yugo"...

That thing did the tightest donut you can imagine

How the hell did you manage to break 4 drive shafts anyway?

shaft.....

The first one was on my Jeep, and I think it was cracked when I bought it. It completely broke when I was almost at the top of the hill going to Nutty Putty Cave, which is a pretty nasty trail.

The second one was also on my Jeep, and I think it was due to shitty bolts that the dealer used when they replaced the drive shaft the first time (so that one was free).

The third one was the front drive shaft on my Ford, and it was probably original to the truck, which would have made it more than 20 years old when it broke--it happened 4-wheeling out near Airport Road. It had been making noise for several months before it happened, so I think the u-joints needed to be replaced, but I was stupid and ignored all the noise.

And the last one was the rear drive shaft on my Ford, which was probably my fault. I'd replaced the u-joints a few months before it happened, and I assumed that there was enough grease in the new u-joints that I didn't need to grease them myself. I was wrong--one of them broke and threw the drive shaft while I was doing about 75 MPH on I-15. =)

Jebus, how the hell are you still alive? When we were driving about 60+ on I-15 in our massive Suburban the back left tire flew off 3 times before they decided to tow it. Can't beleive nobody got hurt. It did hit some guys brand new fence once. Bent it up really good. Then my parents mentioned something about angels holding up that side of the vehicle....

Did the lug nuts keep coming off, or did the entire wheel assembly become disconnected from the axle?

I got lucky, and the drive shaft didn't drop to the ground until after I got slowed down and pulled onto the shoulder. If it had dropped immediately after the u-joint broke, I'm sure it would have ripped the entire rear axle off my truck.

"Then my parents mentioned something about angels holding up that side of the vehicle"

hahahahahahahaaha.....

The lug nuts kept coming off. Then the tire would fly down the 4 lane hi-way and some how miss all the on-coming cars. We just had the tire replaced by Tire King, so double check their work if you ever get work done there.