Zen and the Art of Non Triumph Work-Out into the Cold

Last October my 1994 Ford Ranger developed a cooling system problem (overheating) that seemed to correct itself for reasons that I can't identify although I knew instinctively the "weakness" would need to be addressed "sooner or later" as these things happen for a reason. I was distracted by my Triumph work and as such, ignored any further investigation or repair other than a partial replacement of coolant. The weather quickly turned cold and winter like which eliminated any further "shade tree mechanic" potential. "Later" came last week when the thermostat permanently stuck open and my truck failed to reach operating temperature. This condition at the best of times is not satisfactory but at -30 degrees C. the reduced cabin temperature made for an uncomfortable commute.

A call to my local repair facility of choice indicated a $100 charge for the change out with the potential of fitting in between repairs of other vehicles. I contemplated spending the money for a job I could do myself and decided to check out the long range weather forecast and noticed an "opening" of warmer weather for the weekend. I decided to tackle the job in the driveway yesterday.

On Friday night I spent some time prepping for the job. Out came the Haynes repair manual (which didn't have any specific information about the change out-just a general description) coupled with a quick review of available YouTube videos (which I often find very useful) and I was mentally prepared for the job.

The job took about 45 minutes to complete. It turned out to be fairly difficult based on the fact there was very limited access and clearance due to an electrical cable, an air conditioning line (that did not move) and the serpentine belt and related pulleys etc. I also found my hands were a bit too large to navigate the available opening so I had to "fumble" around a bit more than I would have liked. Fortunately I had all the tools I needed to complete the job-the 1/4 inch drive socket set and universal seemed to do the trick. The most difficult aspect was replacing the fastener on the bottom left hand side of the thermostat flange. I ended up having to pack the socket with wheel bearing grease to keep the bolt from falling out of the socket and with a lot of manual dexterity I was able to finally position the bolt and hand tighten it down.

During the process it started to snow fairly hard. I pushed on. Fortunately my driveway is somewhat protected from the elements but the engine compartment did fill up with snow flakes. Interestingly I did not notice the cold too much. The ambient temperature was about -3 degrees C. and I was dressed warmly enough to be comfortable. My hands stayed warm enough also. I very much appreciated a warm cup of tea afterwards.

The "Zen" aspect comes into place with respect to my inner spiritual work I am undertaking and my consideration of the replacement thermostat-the fact I had purchased it much earlier and not taken the time to install it (see above) and now had to install it in much less the optimum conditions (the Zen of procrastination playing out) plus my mind went into a "anticipatory" cycle around the "potential" that the replacement thermostat would not be correct (while I was unbolting the flange) and will have to make another trip to the jobber to get the right one. This internal tirade turned out to be completely unwarranted (and a waste of energy) as the replacement thermostat was an exact replacement.