How did you break your first Subie??

[The Beast I Drive]

I know most of us have done it at least once, some of us do it on a regular basis, so what's your story? How did you break your first subaru, or what was your worst incident, or the funniest, or so on?

 

I broke my first axle on the Beast about a month after i got it runnin, muddin in a corn field! This was back before I lifted it too. Nuthin but trouble since then

[crazyhorse001]

My wife broke my first one, an '86 XT. She hit a Ranger 4x4 head on, at low speed.

[xbalancex7]

well my first was a 1984 Brat. Black in color. was a sweet as ride now that I look back. 4 speed, t-tops, ran perfect. perky little paid for car. I utterly abused that car. I was 16. I constantly did burn-outs......mudding was an everyday affair. I kept mud all over it mostly for the looks. even if I did go mudding and it wasn't covered, I would purposefully throw mud at it to get a good full coating of brown, except for the windshield wiper marks.

 

I jumped it over steep hills, bottomed out the chassis numerous times. broke the axels mudding, completely submerged the engine bay in what I thought was a small puddle, but rather it was a small pond. It ceased to run after the submersion so I pulled it home with chains while it was in gear to "clean" out the water.......at some point the t-tops broke while fourwheeling later and a tree proceeded to grow out of the passenger side from all the rain water and dirt that collected. I believe I ended up giving it away to someone who liked it.

 

poor car, it was running when it left, just abused. if I remember it was at 190,000 hard miles when I gave it away.

[Subaru_dude]

1987 EA82 wagon, light blue 5sp D/R. Jumped it over train tracks numerous times, bottomed it out several times jumping it on dirt roads, plenty of mud and ruts, drove through a pond up to the headlights once and ALMOST got stuck but not quite, slammed it nose first into an embankment (engine actually shoved electric fan into radiator, causing alot of unwanted noise), slide sideways into a curb at about 60 and bent a radius rod and broke the rim, got it stuck in a field behind an Ingles and had to get my friend to pull it out with his bare hands while I gave it hell, got stuck in the middle of a field in Iowa (high centered) and had to get a tractor to pull me out, towed a 1964 Stepside Chevy pickup 1/8 of a mile up a fairly steep hill, played tug-o-war with an '89 crown vick and won, it saw 8,000 rpm a few times... but I never broke any axles. It was done in a little over a year ago when I hit a 2004 Ford Taurus head on. The driver of the Taurus suffered some trauma, I was fine. If it weren't for that it would still be around raising complete hell.

[Milemaker13]

Well, my first roo.... I belive it was an 83 wagon? I was only like 14 I guess. We got it for $300 to cut up for a dune buggy, not knowing it already was a dunebuggy! We cut off the top, made roll bars (that would have folded right over:dead: ) and pulled the motor. But thats as far as it got. We smoked alot of weed while ripping it apart, then called Victory auto wreckers to haul it away. I have a few poloroid pictures, but no scanner ( or whatever would allow me to post poloroids!) Man, them were the days!!

[Bucky92]

My first Soob was my 88 GL wagon..Silver FWD 5spd...just used it as a work horse...hauling the dogs to dog shows...delivering newspapers..beating the snots outta it..But it was what gave me the love for Subarus.I think the exhaust fell off at the y pipe and it needed axles and I think one on the rear struts bit it..I took it to auction and got what I paid for it $500..I regret it all the time though

[mudduck]

Had an 86 Brat for my first car. Did a j-turn into a rock and bashed in the front drivers side fender. Not even a mounth after fixing the carnage from that, had it up on two wheels after riding down the dirt road with the pass side wheels up on the embankment going about 20 mile an hour and clipped a tree root with the control arm, had it in water over the hood on a few occations, many full throttle runs through deep snow banks, catching air lots of the time, 4wd donuts at 7,000 rpm a bunch, had the thing so over loaded with firewood, had to put it in 4wd to get going because the front didn't have enough traction to move the car, hitting speed bumps with speed, lots of it, and the list goes on. Oh yeah, got rear ended by a car going 40 mph, and drove the brat for 2 months after that, until I sold it.

[nipper]

My 1981 GL coupe died of cancer. It was a slow peacful death.

 

nipper

[2K4 STI]

04 WRX Revved to about 8500 with Pics of Carnage :-\

 

[SOOBOUTLAW]

'80 GL wagon EA71 4wd. Have had her bout ten years. My first Subaru, second car. Did the usual, wheel bearings, cv joints, head gaskets on two motors (stupid stuck thermostats!) three transmissions violated by the same motor (JDM EA71 baby!). Had a cv go bad on me and the axle was rattling around loose for three days before I figured out what the clinking was coming from. Skidded into a curb at 30 and tucked the rear passenger trailing arm underneath (still drove, but dragged the busted wheel). Tons of mud and offroad action. Lots more stuff that I can't think of at the moment. I really gotta put my baby back together cuz she loves the rough stuff. And I'm building her up for more of it. BTW, I can't recall the very first thing I've broke, was a long time ago, and I've probably broke it a bunch of times, and will break it again and fix it til I break it again. Then fix it again. I love my Subarus.

[bheinen74]

they are kinda hard to break. I smashed a leg into a pile of rebar hauling rump roast after i hit some loose gravel. airbag deployed, radiator punctured, both control arm bent badly, both front tires blown, and hole in the oil pan, and both motor mounts torn in half. drove it like 10 blocks after like this state, to home, and one tire was off the rim at that time. no oil, no coolant. went back to get my tire that was missing, and couldnt even find it. it has a free replacement...

lots of fixes, and still driving the poor thing now, don't look at my lower rad support.... good thing for AWD, th rear tires pushed me home.

[[HTi]Dain]

Mmmmmhhhmm

 

 

or this one

 

I was on my way to a party in the dunes, in the dark, and I drove it off an eight foot razor back! It was burrried in sand up to the hood, so we dug it out and my buddy pulled me out with his hatch. The front end was smashed up into the block, so we had to cut the fan wire. I still drove it out to the party, and procedded to get lost. But still, she drove out of there in the monring, and still lives to tell about it today! It was my first car.

here is a before shot (on the left)

[nvexplorer]

First was in my 93 Loyale. Broke the water pump shaft going up Spooner summit.

 

My worst was rolling my 87 GL wagon one night coming home from hunting. Rolled from the west bound lane to the east bound on I 80 just west of Winnemucca. RIP my orange beast.

[psychsurf]

My '83 hatch was parked on the hill in front of my parent's house in the winter. The driveway was icy, so when my big ol' chevy pickup lost traction and slid backwards, it dislodged the subi from where it was resting. The truck stopped, but the hatch took off down the hill like a shot. It went hatch-first right into a spruce tree, caved in the rump roast end and sealed the hatch permanently.

 

I sold it to a friend of my dad's who framed out the rear with some 2x4s and threw on a sheet of plexi, then used it for his paper route for like 3 more years.

 

My 84 wagon was another story. I tried everything I could to kill that thing, it just refused to die. Damn I wish I still had it!

[screwbaru2]

My 86 GL died of cancer. Put almost 1000 miles per week on that car for 2years, the drivetrain was willing but the body just rotted away. Thought soobs were bulletproof until I met the 2.5L!

[subaruguru]

well my first soob died due to alot of mud in the engine just seized up and i had never worked on a suabru so i just got another and let it go to the JY i really missthat car. here it is on my first wheeling trip.

 

[TeamCF]

My first good break was when I was wheeling up on Goat.

Went up a rutted hillclimb and tore my exhaust apart at the top.

Had to use a tow strap to hold the pipe up off the ground to get home (and out of the woods).

Ended up smashing the cat converter so bad that all it's guts broke up and fell out. And broke the hanger that bolts to the trans. Not to mention all the cracks and smashes in the pipe. All bolted back together now but it's just one big backfiring exhaust leak. Gettin' a new exhaust in jan/feb.

[subyrally]

i wouldnt say that i broke my impreza, i blame that damn deer hanging out on the highway.

 

$4300 in front end damage. samshed the lights on the driversside, buckled the hood, crushed the grille into the radiator, pushed the fans into the belts, cracked the radiator, and a few other little things here and there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

and that was at 65 mph. i didnt feel the impact at all. granted, i actuall accellerated when i saw the deer since i had no chance to acoid it and i didnt want it in my lap. the car did what it was made for, saved my pretty face from deer butt.

[Uberoo]

well I smashed out the back window of an EA82 wagon when I jumped it with the back end full of all sorta hard metal objects(bits of exhaust,various flywheels,etc)

 

numerous blown headgaskets though due to piss poor radiators,steep hills,loss of pressure,etc...

[Hondasucks]

I didn't mess up my first Subaru... I was rollin down the main drag and this guy in a Datsun pickup pulled out in front of me, and when I laid on the horn at him, he STOPPED in the middle of the road and I T boned him @ about 25ish... Then he took off so I chased him lol, finally pulled in front of him at a stop sign and waited for the cops.. Guy didn't speak english so the cops had to wait for someone to show up that spoke Spanish (In the meantime, he was trying to tell me in Spanish how it was my fault that he pulled out in front of me..) and get this, they didn't cite him for hit and run beacuse "I was yelling and probably scared him" so he got off with a "failure to yeild the right of way" ticket..

 

Good part was he had insurance, I got $700 out of the insurance, and got all the parts for $100 from the junkyard Drove it for another year or so until some ********************* ran me off the road (He didnt' have insurance) and from the jump I took the frame got tweaked, so it's washing machines now still have the engine though...

[Gloyale]

My first suby, an 85 GL wagon D/R. Went up on Mary's peak to mess in the snow. Everything was fine until I went to shift back into 2wd HI. It would not go out of low, and just made bad grinding noises. So I drove home slowly in 4-Lo. Pulled the rear axles later, and drove it for another 6 months in 2wd LO, till I bought a new body and swapped in my old engine. I was 19, and was scared of opening up a trans to fix it. Now I would. Wish I hadn't junked it, but it had been rear ended and was smashed up anyhow.

[Prospeeder]

Uhh i was trying to see if my Subaru would do 105 and then my big feet accedently hit the gas and the brake as i slowed down and it free reved at what i guessed 7k and gernaded the water pump (wich was new), that was scary, i thought the engine blew!

[Frank B]

86 GL 3 door 2wd. I just got two new tires on the front and planned on two for the rear on the next pay-day. On my way home, less than a mile from home, I spun out on a down hill blind turn in the rain. Slid around the turn into the ditch backwards and through a barbed wire fence. It came to rest around a cedar tree. The hit destroyed the right door and pilar but didn't break the glass. It also bent up some of the front suspension and the barbed wire scratched the paint and bumper. The bottom of the door and body was smashed in so bad that the top of the window stuck out like three inches. So in proper fashion, I started it up, drove home, banged the bent suspension back into shape, duct taped the gap between the window and the body, and drove it for several more months before the head cracked. I ended up giving it away to a board member that lived near me.

[zyewdall]

'82 GL wagon.... nothing extreme, just figuring out just how much like a jeep I could treat it... slid off a snowy road into a tree and bashed up the drivers door once. And it was in a terminal case of body rust (but not frame rust) when I finally got rid of it. Still ran great though (well, no idle left since the carb was shot, but still started in the cold and ran fine while driving).

 

Z

[The Keith]

I've yet to break a Subaru.

 

tore up my fords and chevys though...