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Date:         Tue, 21 Dec 2004 09:03:37 EST
Reply-To:     THX0001@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         George Goff <THX0001@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Frozen Locks! after rain
Comments: To: carl_hansen@IEEE.ORG
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

In a message dated 12/20/04 7:47:05 PM, carl_hansen@IEEE.ORG writes:

<< ... I have to yank on the door to get the door to release the seal.... and worse, the lock mechanism freezes up and won't latch when I try shut it!

Heat loosens the mechanism temporarily, but it takes sittin in the sun for hours to make the phenomenon truly go away!

Any ideas???? too much grease? not enough grease? kinda frustrating........ >>

I expounded on this subject before; I guess there comes a point on this list when all you can do is to repeat yourself.

Anyhoo --- door seals eventually queef out to the point that they do not seal tightly and water will freeze in the minor gaps between the door surround and the seal holding the door with a tenacious grip on bitter cold days. Of course the solution is to install new seals, but, from what I have seen, you might as well buy a new van for what they cost. So:

1/If you do not mind the peckering around factor, you can try to adjust the doors to draw closed more tightly.

2/You can wax the hell out of the door surrounds and talc the door seals.

3/You can lightly coat the seals and door surrounds with LPS-1 or (I think Martha Stewart might have come up with this one) PAM. Don't laugh at the thought of using PAM. Once, I had some submersible pumps rebuilt and the rebuilder filled them with transformer oil. The transformer oil migrated through the SO (rubber insulation) drop cords and they swelled until they looked like unsmoked kielbasa's. The solution provided by the submersible pump guys was to drain the transformer oil and replace it with vegetable oil.

The recalcitrant locks and latches are another problem caused by age or, to be more accurate, the accumulation of grit over a long period of time. The grit mixed with whatever lubricant might be present forms a thick paste which is tougher than snot and it can cause a lock to bind even on a warm day, let alone whenever the temps take a nose dive. While a shot of LPS-1 or graphite suspended in a solvent vehicle might get the mechanisms moving again, the only lasting repair which I have found is to disassemble, clean and re-lube the components. A word of caution: taking apart the lock tumblers is not work for the heavy-handed.

George


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