Frozen door locking mechanism

[Gwen Agboat]

Hello everyone,

It has been frosty here in Toronto lately... even the snowmen want to be
indoors.

I seldom email... because I don't have any solutions.  

However; I did have the problem with the frozen doors and locks on my 1989
Audi 90Q several times this year and last year.  On more than one occasion,
I had to drive with one hand holding the door closed and the other steering
and changing gears - in order to catch the early morning train to work.
Last week, it was so frigid, but I had to clean my car, so I hand washed it
with a bucket & soft brush, including all the gaskets around the inside of
the doors.

I towel dried the car, gaskets and all.  I then sprayed a generous amount of
white lithium grease into the locking mechanisms through the key holes and
from the side of the door (with the doors ajar where the mechanisms are
exposed).  I wiped up the excess, sprayed the gaskets around the doors and
used the excess on the towel to rub the lithium grease into the gaskets.

The gaskets are supple and seal well now, none of my doors stick anymore
despite the wet followed by extreme cold (-29 C) we've had these last couple
of weeks.  The locking mechanisms don't freeze at all anymore.

Lithium grease is supposed to be better for locks than WD-40 because
apparently WD-40 builds up and then dries out (I'm not 100% on this) but my
favourite locksmith told me lithium grease is much better for locks.

Gwen
1989 A90Q
=====================================================================

-----Original Message-----
From: quattro-bounces at audifans.com [mailto:quattro-bounces at audifans.com] On
Behalf Of iain.atkinson at tesco.net
Sent: Tuesday, February 06, 2007 10:43 AM
To: SJ; quattro at audifans.com
Subject: Re: Frozen door locking mechanism

had the same problem on my urs4 real pita

> 
> From: SJ <syljay at optonline.net>
> Date: 2007/02/06 Tue PM 02:51:14 GMT
> To: quattro at audifans.com
> Subject: Frozen door locking mechanism
> 
> Patient: 1988 5kq
> 
> Cannot open drivers side door on cold days, after a rain or snow.
> The key lock works, but it wont budge the door locking mechanism.
> When this happens, I can open door locks (except drivers door lock) from
> passenger side door, then I need to climb over the center console to get
> into drivers seat. After the car warms up, the left side door lock will
work
> . . sometimes,  depending on length of drive.
> 
> Problem has been isolated to the window weather strip at the bottom edge
of
> window. This strip has shrunk due to old age. When it rains or snows,
water
> will run down the window and thru the weather strip gap and drip onto the
> locking mechanism. During the night, when the temps drop, the water
freezes
> and locks up the locking mechanism.
> 
> I sealed the opening with masking tape, and so far so good. Its been
tested
> in rain, snow and below 20F conditions - No more frozen locks. But I cant
> open the window of course.
> 
> Now the Question:
> Has anyone "extended" this weather stripping? Can I add a piece (from
> junkyard) of weather stripping and somehow bond it to the existing strip?
> 
> 
> SJ
> 85 Dodge PU, D-250, 318, auto
> 85 Audi 4k - - sold but still on the road
> 88 Audi 5kq
> 90 Audi 100q
> 
> 
> 
> 
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