Gray Man, Inc.

[DRIVEN]

Subaru. It's for the Outback I bought to flip. The builder lives NE of Camas out in the hills. I had a job in Portland on Wednesday so I killed 2 birds.

[DRIVEN]

Remember the Forester I bought to replace Supervibe? Well, my daughter kept bugging me about it so I made her a deal. She's been driving it to work for a couple months now and it seems to be doing okay. Looks like it's sips a little oil, but I mostly expected that it would.

Today we went out to Silver City because she'd never been up there. We bounced around town and walked the cemetary, then drove up to War Eagle at about 8000'. This was a first time offroading for her and the Forester. Both did great.

[Taterhead]

I’m going to have to have some work done on our outback before too long. It looks as though mine has that cam cover oil leak that is common.


Would you know if the transmission pan would have to be removed for the transmission control module to be replaced? We had the TCM replaced last year, and it seems to be leaking from the pan gasket (maybe the repair shop didn’t get a good seal on it) which is really just a bead of silicone. I had to add fluid to it last week.

[DRIVEN]

I wouldn't think you'd need to droop the pan for TCM replacement. Could it just me age and mileage?

[Taterhead]

I didn’t think so since the TCM is on top of the trans as far as I know.

Sure, I guess it could be. 2016 with 173k on it. It looks like it has orange permatex crap as the gasket. I thought Subaru used grey exclusively. Honestly, it could have been like that and I never noticed. Either way, I’m gonna have to fix it I think, I believe that’s where it’s leaking from since I don’t see any higher up on the transmission itself.
Thanks

[DRIVEN]

Tater, if you haven't seen this guy's channel before, he's pretty solid.

[DRIVEN]

Outback engine is in and running. Sounds good. It's been through 2 heat cycles. I'll do one more in the morning and do an oil change. I've got a set of tires, wheel bearings, and hood struts on order. Then a detail.
It'll look great in someone else's garage.

[Taterhead]

Thanks for the video recommendation, I’ll check it out.

[DRIVEN]

I guess I never really finished up the cabin updates. It's all done and she's moved in. As such, no current pics of the inside to respect her privacy. The bar top got dark stain and sealer before being installed at the edge of the platform above the barstools.









Tile backslash and fancy faucet installed in the kitchen. Then I built the flip-up steps (hinges not installed in pic).


After the first 20 degree night, we found an exterior water line that needed more insulation. Other than that, it's been issue-free. She bought a stack unit washer and dryer that will get installed in the shop soon. The last item will be a small deck outside the front door. She's cash flowing the whole project, so it'll probably be a few weeks until it's completely done.

[DRIVEN]

This guy showed up a couple weeks ago down by the cabin. He was hobbling around on 3 legs and I was hoping he was a hobo just passing thru. Unfortunately, he moved in and my wife caught wind. Now he's permanant. Apparently his femur was broken off at the pelvis. Ouch.
No collar or chip but he's about the friendliest cat I've ever seen.



I finally got around to cleaning out the Dorsett. Most of the debris was just garbage but there was some standard boat stuff worth saving. Some bumpers, stainless cleats, dock lights, etc. I pressure washed the interior and drained the bilge, then towed it down to the shop and tucked it away to dry out. I've also been to DMV and gotten all the paperwork sorted, including the previously undocumented trailer. All mine now.

[Taterhead]

Tiny house looks great.

Something you may or may not know, most orange cats are male.

And I’m still envious of the shop.

[DRIVEN]

Thanks.

I hadn't heard that but thinking back, all the orange ones I've known were males. This guy seems to act more like a dog than a cat. It's weird.

Thanks, it's not as big in real life as it looks in the photo (giggity). I'm fortunate to have it though.

[DRIVEN]

I put a bunch of break-in miles on the Outback. Took it to the detail shop and listed it this morning. Wish me luck.

[Taterhead]

Hey it looks good. Good luck with it, if it were closer…

[DRIVEN]

Aaannnnnd...it's gone.

[DRIVEN]

Supervibe got it's 395,000 mile oil change, a set of tires, and a set of front brakes.



I'm starting to cross off items on my winter projects list. Started today by honing a used OEM cylinder, then lapped valves and built a head with a new OEM XT225 cam an upgraded front support bearing.











I adjusted the valves and cleaned up all the mating surfaces. It's all ready to bolt together. This is going on the white TW. It'll be in the teens for the next few nights and my sho has no heat. I'll update when something happens.

[BLUE]

Wood burning stove as a christmas gift to the shop ?

[DRIVEN]

Supervibe isn't officially retired yet but I picked up its replacement a couple days ago. I've been looking for a pretty specific combination of options so I had to travel over 1000 miles to get it home.


I've ordered up some things to get it trimmed out for work. I'll update as I go.

[BLUE]

I really like those. I’m looking @ one for sale tomorrow. V6/fwd i believe.

[DRIVEN]

This is the 3rd Venza I've had. This one is a 4-cyl AWD with Pano-roof and heated leather. Pretty unusual combination. My wife's is a loaded AWD V-6. The 2GR scoots! They drive pretty nice and are really comfortable --boomer cruisers. The back seat has pretty impressive leg room and reclining seats. Can't think of a better car for 4 adults to take a road trip in. Highly recommended.

I spent a couple hours today catching up on maintenance. Wipers, oil change, transmission dran and fill, air and cabin filter. I think I might have found the source of the faint musty smell.


Honestly, it's a little cosmetically challenged. Looks to be mechanically solid though. Only thing I'll need to address are the seeping rear axle seals. I've got a hitch and wiring, OEM all-weather floor mats, OEM cargo carpet, inverter, USB ports, and OEM TPMS sensors on order. It's got brand new Michelin Defenders on it but the light is on. I'll probably upgrade the stereo at some point. This is my office for about 50,000 miles per year, so I want to be comfy. It's got 150k on the clock so I could probably stretch it 3-5 years if I wanted. Realistically, it's a disposable commodity like Supervibe.