Finally, an answer

I've been puzzling over my truck woes for a few days. Sunday evening, I removed the thermostat and the outlet pipe that holds it in place, having narrowed the likely source of my water leak to that site. I took the parts to the shop with me Monday evening, to use the wire wheel on the grinder to clean the old gasket material and some rust and scale off the thing before I put it back together. While inspecting it, I found a place that had rusted through! It had been too long since I last flushed and refilled the radiator, and the truck only has 210K miles on it, so it's my own fault it failed.

I figured that such a part would be a "dealer-only" thing, so I called the Ford dealer by Oxmoor, as their parts department used to be open late. Since those days, the dealership has changed ownership, and they are only open until five or so. Still expecting to be disappointed, I called AutoZone to see if they had it. Fortunately, they had one in stock, at a store I would be passing on my way home from Tool School. I get to reassemble the thing tonight, and maybe even take it to the Instant Oil Change place for a flush and fill before bed time tonight.

It will be good to have my truck on line again. I need to haul my bike repair stands home from the bike shop tomorrow night, so that we can do some more stuff to Jenn's bike (we now have the fenders that need to be mounted, I need to make some more reflectors for her, etc.).

Oh, and I got to ride to work today! Morning temperature was 25F or so, and my gear issues are mostly resolved for that range. The ride was fairly pleasant, and included the opportunity to enjoy the morning "pre-sunrise" sky as I crossed the bridge. Traffic on the bridge was pretty light, too, at least northbound just before 7:00.