93 850 Ice bound door locks—solved

Post by **JimBee** » 30 Dec 2018, 19:01

In Minneapolis the other day, we had rain all day, temps in the upper 30's, then rapid fall off to well below freezing. Yesterday, tried to enter my car and the key wouldn't even part the slide cover to go in the cylinder. I got some PB Blaster in there which has worked before, but to no avail.

Finally, I decided heat was the only solution. Got out the plumbing torch, set it upright on the ground and with several key-warmings, I finally got the trunk cylinder to operate, that opens all the locks. Even that one refroze so when I parked to shop had to leave it unlocked since I didn't have my torch with me.

Today it warmed up to high 20's and all the locks were freed up. I'm keeping my torch handy for the next couple of months.

Afterthought: a butane lighter might have worked and is easy enough to carry.

WhatAmIDoing · Post by **WhatAmIDoing** » 30 Dec 2018, 22:24

A little silicone and Teflon spray in the locks goes a long way in the winter. Wipe some Teflon on the door seals as well to keep them from sticking.

Post by **JimBee** » 31 Dec 2018, 17:29

Teflon spray. Hadn't heard of that before but, yeah, seems like a capital idea. I have wiped wax on the seals for winters past and that seemed to help. Surprisingly, for all the jammed up lock cylinders this time, the door seals weren't frozen, maybe due to last year's waxing.