Evening,
Spent ages trying to get into the car because of doors refusing to open.
Ended up geeting in the one door that would finally open (NSR), and clambering over the drivers seat, had to remove head restraint to do so.
What a spectacle, hope none of the neighbours were watching!
I then heard a recommendation on Radio 2 - WD40 on the door seals would stop them freezing shut
Applied generous quantities at lunchtime, and found them frozen shut again when I left work, so that was a waste of time! Car stank on the way home though
None of my neighbours appear to have any problems getting in theirs - any ideas/suggestions what am I doing wrong?
Thanks
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None of my neighbours appear to have any problems getting in theirs - any ideas/suggestions what am I doing wrong?
Do you use water to defrost your windows?
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Not recently (due to re-freezing), have done in the past though, maybe I have damaged the seals somehow.
Thanks for your reply
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I can recommend Vaseline. Stop sniggering at the back!
I had a Granada that used to be a swine for doors freezing shut. A thick smear of Vaseline on both body and door seals did the trick.
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Cheers Badwolf {P} , I'll buy some tomorrow
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I had two cars iced up this morning, plus the taildoor on the Vitara and the Kryptonite lock on the garage door ! Got all the car doors open after a vigorous tugging ( you be quiet at the back as well ). The garage lock had to be heated with the only thing I had out of the garage, a camping gaz lamp in the caravan.
I 'm pretty certain we didn't have this trouble with cars when they had gutters.
Likewise rain, open the door in a downpour and you get a wet right leg.
Another backward step, dictated on the altar of styling !
Ted
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Spraying de-icer around the door gap will defrost it. Use an extension attachment plugged into the nozzle of the de-icer to allow it to bend into the gap for easier application. Then once the door has been opened dry off. To help prevent reoccurrence dry off the door seals before closing the doors.
Vaseline may degrade door seals, it's better to use a Silicone grease/lubricant as an water/ice deterrent.
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Vaseline may degrade door seals, it's better to use a Silicone grease/lubricant as an water/ice deterrent.
My first thoughts too, Vaseline is hydro-carbon and generally bad news for rubber.
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...My first thoughts too, Vaseline is hydro-carbon and generally bad news for rubber...
Makes sense, although I wonder how much rubber there is in a door seal.
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..... I wonder how much rubber there is in a door seal.
These days the word rubber is used for all sorts of synthetic rubber as well as natural rubber. Vaseline may possibly affect some types of synthetic rubber ~ or not as the case may be. Are there any rubber experts in the Backroom?
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I use this:
www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?productID=9323&fro...9
My landcruiser is parked in a particularly cold spot and the door rubbers were starting to stick back in December. A coating of the rubber care has eliminated the problem.
If you're struggling today and need something immediately, I'd use a household polish like pledge.
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Rub seals with a candle. End of problem.
Seals must be dry and candle warm.. - 10 minutes in a pocket is enough.
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>>>Rub seals with a candle. End of problem.<<<
could be the start of your problems if someone from the Vice Squad or RSCPA see you at it!
;)
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All you need is a stick of Gummi Pflege - it is made for this exact purpose, and has a few extra bonuses. It keeps the seals back, keeps them from drying out, and reduces the need for new seals in the future.
www.z3bimmer.com/OffTopic/E24Bimmer/Gummi/images/g...g
You can usually get it from Einszett, but its out of stock at the moment! But there are a few sellers on eBay who stock it.
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Furniture polish (Pledge / Mr Sheen etc) spray onto a cloth and wipe on liberally around the curvature of the seals, polish off.
Be careful what you do use as it could ruin your other halfs frock when she traps it in the door ;o)
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My thoughts exactly. Used silicone grease on door seals decades ago and smeared on my sisters overcoat. She was not best pleased.
Maybe one of those 'back to black' type products would do equally as well?
Mr Sheen (original) is harmless to plastics etc.
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I use this:
Or go to Halfords or similar and buy one of the many products used for dressing tyrewalls or the interiors of cars. These are generally Silicone based emulsions and should be wiped geneously around all rubber seals. Admittedly with the cold conditions these aqueous products won't be too keen to 'dry' on the surface.
Alternatively buy a Silicone grease from your plumber's merchant as it is always useful for other things. Never use hydrocarbon-based greases on 'rubber' or it will, over time, soften it and degrade it.
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I'd agree with the silicone grease/lubricant suggestion. All of the polishes suggested, Pledge, Mr Sheen etc, have silicone in them. There's no need to smear it inches thick, get an aerosol from Halfords. It helps preserve the seals too (allegedly).
As for getting in, well I always found that there was one door you could get in, however inconvenient. These days it goes in the garage (smug grin!!).
Have you thought about where you are parking? Choosing a sheltered spot can make a big difference.
JH
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I 'm pretty certain we didn't have this trouble with cars when they had gutters. Likewise rain open the door in a downpour and you get a wet right leg.
or a car seat covered with a bum-numbing layer of ice crystals - and that's after clearing the roof
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Vaseline may cause the plasticiser in the rubber/neoprene content of the seals to migrate out and the seal will harden and perish. Silicone release agent or simple candle grease will do the trick, re-applied frequently. Besides the Vaseline could smear onto clothes etc when entering/exiting the vehicle. Had an insoluble problem many years ago when parked by a dockside. Sea fret gently wafting into the side of the car as the temperature fell combined to produce a 12 inch thick layer if ice along the drivers side of the car. The car had a hell of a tilt on! Had to use a steam hose to free it! Put a sticking door into perpective> Concrete
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12 inch thick layer if ice along the drivers side of the car.
Many on here find tepid water gets rid of the ice on the car's windows in the morning. Surprised that did not work for you ;-)
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Vaseline may cause the plasticiser in the rubber/neoprene content of the seals to migrate out and the seal will harden and perish. Silicone release agent or simple candle grease will do the trick re-applied frequently.
Candle wax may be harder but it is still a hydrocarbon wax and should it penetrate the rubber door seals it will have a deleterious effect on it.
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This is all very well as prevention, but what if it has already got stuck?
The answer I have found is to PUSH the door instead of pulling. Simply lean on the door with your bodyweight which helps the seals relax. Then open the door as normal. Simples.
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I still find it humorous that given a product actually designed for this purpose, people ignore it just because it has a stupid name. Gummi Pflege people, Gummi Pflege!
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But if you Google it, it does not seem to be widely available, indeed all but one hit is for ebay.
I think a lot of specialist products have common ingredients and just a different label. It gets a few more bob out of our pockets and at inflated prices. But I'm just an old cynic :-)
JH
Edited by JH on 08/01/2010 at 19:39
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>>>>>>>Gummi Pflege! >>>>>>>
£6.85 (plus £1.95 P&P) on ebay to sit on a shelf or 10p worth of furniture polish.
A really difficult decision for 99.99999999% of us
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Can't help regarding door seals (damaged one on the old pick-up last week when it froze, much to my annoyance) but where frozen locks are concerned, is it me or do more people have problems with this now that less people smoke? ;-)
I've always got at least one lighter on me; usually does the trick.
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Non-smokers here.... but wife asked for a lighter. Locks have frozen on her car and no remote lock/unlock. Someone told her about using a lighter.
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Thanks for all your suggestions. I bought some "non-branded petroleum jelly" and applied that to the seals, full test tomorrow!
When applying, I found that the door seals were in poor condition, not something I had previously noticed (heavily pitted in places), that has probably contributed to the problem
Cheers all
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>>I've always got at least one lighter on me
I carry one, even though I don't smoke; I have to open car park gates at work early in the morning, the locks are always frozen in this sort of weather, I've got one of those jet flame lighters, does a great job.
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door locks mechanisms only fail due to age and or poor maintenance
maybe next time consider a garage that not only services the car but also lubes the locks/mechanisms with appropriate lubricant (not wd i might add)
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I've been using de-icer in the padlocks for shed and gate,probably not the best thing for the mechanism but it stops them freezing for a few days.
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I'm not saying i'd recommend it, but a friend of mine successfully used a blow torch last night to defrost his bmw lock! :D
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a youtube linky would be nice sporty followed by a look at his insurance claim form ;-)
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