Frozen Locks?

[1987cp]

same thing happened to me last night, now that it's warmed up outside a bit, everything works as it should, except for the outer door handle. I can exit from the drivers door, but have to enter thru the passenger door. Must have yanked a little too hard on it!

Once I pull the door panel to repair whatever is broken, I'll lube everything I can reach with some Hi-temp wheel bearing grease.

Same situation mine has improved to. I'm thinking I must have tweaked either the locking mechanism or the rod that goes to the outer door handle, or possibly both. Now that the car's actually spent the night covered, I'll have to yank the door panel and see what I can learn.

Is it just me, or do the door mechanisms on newer cars seem to be quite a bit more reliable when it's cold?

[gabegt90]

my drivers door has no actuator in I took it out after I fixed the door locks. The passenger side is still in there it does not work. when I was Detroit I could not open the passenger side at all lol

[fordktpjoe]

Same situation mine has improved to. I'm thinking I must have tweaked either the locking mechanism or the rod that goes to the outer door handle, or possibly both. Now that the car's actually spent the night covered, I'll have to yank the door panel and see what I can learn.

Is it just me, or do the door mechanisms on newer cars seem to be quite a bit more reliable when it's cold?

Yeah, there are only a couple of us at the plant that have older CV's (and some mid 70's F-150's too), most drive newer Fords, if ya drive anything else, you have to park in a different parking lot!

But there were only the older vehicles sitting fighting the lock issue that night, so yeah, I'd say that it has greatly improved on newer models.

[Nathan in MI]

Could be, too, that on the newer models, the factory lubricant just hasn't gotten worn off yet the way it has on the older cars. *shrug*

[CheeseSteakJim]

Protip: When lubricating the contents of the car doors, use white lithium grease. That's the absolute best for this kind of application. That also goes for window sliders and door hinges. It doesn't dry up and it's not overly messy... doesn't seem to attract dirt/dust as badly either, which is something that will definitely happen with wheel bearing grease.

[gadget73]

I'm waiting for mine to give me grief. 3 are original, one is a used original from an 88 mark vii. They all work fine, not through any special effort on my part.

[86VickyLX]

same thing happened to me last night, now that it's warmed up outside a bit, everything works as it should, except for the outer door handle. I can exit from the drivers door, but have to enter thru the passenger door. Must have yanked a little too hard on it!

Once I pull the door panel to repair whatever is broken, I'll lube everything I can reach with some Hi-temp wheel bearing grease.

you probably bent the rod or dislocated it. I did that by accident when I did the actuators in school.

[1987cp]

Protip: When lubricating the contents of the car doors, use white lithium grease. That's the absolute best for this kind of application. That also goes for window sliders and door hinges. It doesn't dry up and it's not overly messy... doesn't seem to attract dirt/dust as badly either, which is something that will definitely happen with wheel bearing grease.

I'll give it a shot! I've got some (two cans, actually), and it's a lot easier to apply anyway.

I also stopped by AutoZone today and asked one of the guys about Rizzo's tip to put silicone on the weatherstripping. The guy handed me a can of Liquid Wrench Silicone Spray Lubricant (it's a white and yellow can), so for $3.50 I figured I'd give it a try. I've now applied it to the four passenger doors on my car as well as the two on the wife's car, so now I guess we just wait to see how it works.

[fordktpjoe]

you probably bent the rod or dislocated it. I did that by accident when I did the actuators in school.

Could be that's why the interior lights and the door key light wont come on now when I pull up the handle? Dislocated rod? I'll do the Lithium grease thing too rather than wheel bearing grease.

[1987cp]

you probably bent the rod or dislocated it. I did that by accident when I did the actuators in school.

In that case, I've probably bent stuff up slightly as well.

[1987cp]

Could be that's why the interior lights and the door key light wont come on now when I pull up the handle? Dislocated rod? I'll do the Lithium grease thing too rather than wheel bearing grease.

My brief experience is that the keyhole light thing simply isn't very reliable as it ages. Mine on the LTD pretty much work when they decide to. :p Pretty sure there is a separate little rod that actuates that stuff when it's working right.

[fordktpjoe]

My brief experience is that the keyhole light thing simply isn't very reliable as it ages. Mine on the LTD pretty much work when they decide to. :p Pretty sure there is a separate little rod that actuates that stuff when it's working right.

True, but it worked up until I yanked on it and broke or dislocated whatever inside of it.. musta broke 'em both!

[gadget73]

Could be that's why the interior lights and the door key light wont come on now when I pull up the handle? Dislocated rod? I'll do the Lithium grease thing too rather than wheel bearing grease.

I think that switch is actually inside the latch mechanism itself. Might want to spray it down with wd40 to loosen any old gummy grease up, then spray the white grease in there and see if it fixes it.

[86VickyLX]

In that case, I've probably bent stuff up slightly as well.

Should be able to bend it back. IIRC, there was a plastic clip attached to the rod. That may have just broken. It's the same clip you use with the door lock actuator itself.

[1987cp]

Now that you mention it, I think I'm missing at least one or two of those little clips ..... can't remember where from, though.