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Date:         Fri, 28 Apr 2000 13:01:57 -0700
Reply-To:     Garrett Adams <gadams@JPS.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Garrett Adams <gadams@JPS.NET>
Subject:      Re: Locking Gascaps
In-Reply-To:  <Pine.LNX.3.95.1000428084019.29954A-100000@quality.qadas.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Jon,

You're not alone. I've had my gas cap and door locks freeze up twice. Each time it happened the temperature had dropped down to the low teens. Since I was overnighting inside the camper I could unlock my doors in the morning to exit the vehicle. My temporary solution was to hold the gas cap key with pliers and heat it over a range top burner, and then quickly inserted it into the lock. The heat transfer melted the frozen water inside the lock. Since I didn't want to overheat the key too much I had do it a couple of times until it worked.

Deciding I didn't want this hassle any longer I queried my camping friends and the consensus was to use a lock de-icer. Upon my return home I bought a small can of Qualco brand pressurized "Lock DE-Icer" at my local Pep Boys. Use it, or a similar product, as a preventative and carry it for emergency re-applications. BTW, after the first lock-up I did spray some WD-40 in my locks. That made for easier key action but it sure didn't prevent the locks from freezing.

While we're on the subject I should mention I also had my parking brakes lock up on those two occasions. Each morning when I released the hand brake its' cable disengaged at the rear underside "Y" junction. After searching Deja.com I found this was a problem with many vehicles, not just Vanagons. The only cure when camping I can think of is to remember NOT to apply my parking brake whenever I expect overnight low temperatures. Also I think it's also more likely to happen when the underside has been soaked with water after driving through rain or snow. I suspect I could remedy the problem by performing R&R on the mechanical brake cables and their drum counterparts but I don't want to go to all the trouble.

Garrett Adams 83.5 Adventurewagen GL Stockton, California


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