EMILY COWEN wrote:
>
> Hi Bobby De Weese!!
>
> Does your locksmith's training tell how to dissolve the corrosion
> that makes my '73 "B"'s door locks inoperable??
A couple of questions:
Are you _sure_ that you have the correct key. In other words, did the
locks work at one time with that key?
How long has it been since the lock has functioned?
I know penetrating oil
> won't work ('cause I've tried it).
Never put _oil_ in automotive locks. I attracts dirt and grime to the
tiny moving parts.
Someone once suggested trying
> vinegar to dissolve the whitish crud that jams the lock barrells, but
> that didn't work either.
Geez! I hope the vinegar didn't "eat anything up".
If it's been like that for a good while, first try drowning it with
WD-40 and running the key in and out (rappidly) about a doezen or so
times. Then repeate a few times. (Squirt - run key in and out - squirt
- run key in and out).
If this doesn't work or the key won't go in at all, remove the lock and
soak it in WD-40 over night, then try it. If _that_ doesn't work, the
tumbler springs may be deteriorated to a point where they can no longer
prform their intended tast of pushing the tumbler against the cuts of
the key. If that is the case they will need to be replaced.
I wouldn't advise disassebmle of the lock unless you know what you are
doing. Besides you probably wouldn't be able to get the springs any
where but from a locksmith. (Just about any foreign car tumbler spring
can be made to work.) The tumblers are another story, so if you _do_
take it apart, be carfull with them.
> TTUL8r, Kirk Cowen (who knows it's futile to lock a convertable,
> but wants the locks to work "just because")
I can relate.
Bobby
77 MGB Roadster
--
Bob De Weese
Certified Professional Locksmith
bearlock@bigfoot.com
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