Frozen/Iced Locks?
Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 29,941
Likes: 46
From: Drummonds, TN USA
Best thing to do is to keep the water out (already said here) but on door weather stripping, I would go with plain old petroleum jelly (vaseline) to wipe down the weatherstrip - since any rubber or plastic that silicon or armor-all type products are used on become forever after reliant on those same products being re-applied.
The idea is to repell water from the mating surfaces, and vaseline will not harm paint, and it's a "WIPE-ON - WIPE-OFF" application. You don't want much on it, because it will attract dirt and become nasty. What you are looking to do is create a very thin, nearly unnoticable film, that will resist its replacement with water.
If worse comes to worse, start a kettle of water boiling before going out to the car or truck! I mean, I hate to say that - but there it is. A Bucket of hot water from the shower as I was letting it run to warm up in the morning has got me to work on time and cleared more iced over windshields than anything else I can think of
~Wolfie doo
PS: (and this may seem disgusting) If you ever get stuck and have absolutely no other way - PEE is body temperature (98 degrees f.), and if you have gone hunting and came back to your truck, with no other option available - remember that I said that. It washes off later...
But a SMART hunter always has some way to make fire, and some amount of water
The idea is to repell water from the mating surfaces, and vaseline will not harm paint, and it's a "WIPE-ON - WIPE-OFF" application. You don't want much on it, because it will attract dirt and become nasty. What you are looking to do is create a very thin, nearly unnoticable film, that will resist its replacement with water.
If worse comes to worse, start a kettle of water boiling before going out to the car or truck! I mean, I hate to say that - but there it is. A Bucket of hot water from the shower as I was letting it run to warm up in the morning has got me to work on time and cleared more iced over windshields than anything else I can think of
~Wolfie doo
PS: (and this may seem disgusting) If you ever get stuck and have absolutely no other way - PEE is body temperature (98 degrees f.), and if you have gone hunting and came back to your truck, with no other option available - remember that I said that. It washes off later...
But a SMART hunter always has some way to make fire, and some amount of water
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Cargo Master
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 2,571
Likes: 55
Good info here.
T-handles, yep. Just have to be careful not to melt the plastic. My other truck I cooked the handles a little bit... I've been careful not to repeat that.
Caps/covers are a good idea, but could be a pain to get off to access the key hole.
Some of the locks on caps that I have seen have flap caps over the key holes. That is a good idea too. Though, without a good seal around the whole mechanism water can get in from the area around the latch/handle joint where it meets up to the frame. All of it would have to be sealed.
As a former locksmith, I believe I can help here. What I have found over the years is that some vehicles have locks that freeze, and some dont. Usually though, it is a lock that has some exposure to water. Such as, bad seals around windows, or poorly designed drainage for water. SO with all that said, if your locks freeze, not alot you can do to stop it unless you can keep the moisture out.
Now lets talk about some of the things people have suggested. WD40 is an oil that displaces water. It can and will work great on locks if you use it regularly to wash out dirt that it attracts. Silicone or teflon spray are good lubricants as they usually don't leave any oils behind, and will usually displace water as well. The lock deicers are usually alcohol based with a lubricant in it also, they will eventually melt the ice and lubricate your locks without oil residue. Actually any of these will work good if you use prior to a bad storm or cold temperatures as they will displace the water and keep it out for a little while. My favorite and fasted way to thaw locks was mentioned above and that is to heat your key a little with a lighter. Just be careful if you have a chip in your key, can have worse problems if you damage that.
Biggest thing is to lubricate your locks more frequently in bad weather and you should be fine.
Now lets talk about some of the things people have suggested. WD40 is an oil that displaces water. It can and will work great on locks if you use it regularly to wash out dirt that it attracts. Silicone or teflon spray are good lubricants as they usually don't leave any oils behind, and will usually displace water as well. The lock deicers are usually alcohol based with a lubricant in it also, they will eventually melt the ice and lubricate your locks without oil residue. Actually any of these will work good if you use prior to a bad storm or cold temperatures as they will displace the water and keep it out for a little while. My favorite and fasted way to thaw locks was mentioned above and that is to heat your key a little with a lighter. Just be careful if you have a chip in your key, can have worse problems if you damage that.
Biggest thing is to lubricate your locks more frequently in bad weather and you should be fine.
Caps/covers are a good idea, but could be a pain to get off to access the key hole.
Some of the locks on caps that I have seen have flap caps over the key holes. That is a good idea too. Though, without a good seal around the whole mechanism water can get in from the area around the latch/handle joint where it meets up to the frame. All of it would have to be sealed.
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Aug 15, 2002 11:08 PM
