Re: frozen door locks.
When the door is impossible to unlock because of ice, it is in most
cases the lock that is frozen. If it can be unlocked without problem
from the inside (getting in the other door of course), it is proving
it's not the latch.
In mild cases you can get the key in, but it will be hard or impossible
to turn. It can also be so bad you can't get the key in.
You can melt the ice by warming the key with a lighter, or in mild cases
in your hand. Then the key will melt the ice after you put it in.
You can also use door lock oil. It is light oil with alcohol added. You
spray it into the keyhole and the alcohol will melt the ice and the oil
will make it harder for water to collect there and freeze afterwards. But
if you're like me, you will be on the outside and the lock oil on the
inside of your car. If you're more organized than me, it will work :-)
Or; maybe we could attach a small bottle of the stuff to the inside of the
bumper?
What I do instead is to try preventing it from happening. I squeeze
a liberal amount of light oil in through the keyhole, and make sure
the flap that is meant to close the hole is really doing that. If
you do this several times through the winter, you will probably not
have problems. CRC or WD40 is a bit too light, use sewing machine
oil or similar. Lots of you probably have some for your SU's already.
Engine oil will work. It will make the lock harder to twist in
cold weather, but it will not freeze up completely.
Einar Sjaavik Speaking from the cold winter wonderland of Norway.
P.S.
Since this is my first posting to the list, I'll present myself:
-Mini 1000 not on the road yet. This is my 3'rd B(L)MC.
-Maserati Spyder for fun in the sun. (Yes, we have sun here.)
-Opel for basic transport.
If a car mechanic tries to open the hood on one of my cars, I'll hit
him over his head with his own sledgehammer. I do everything myself
primarily due to BAD experiences with mechanics.
Also I'm a tooloholic, can't walk by a tool store with my wallet intact.
My line of work is in industrial electronics.
And I hate long "sig's". So you will be not see this again.
ESj
|