Bluetoy

I can tell you that the Ghetto fix does not fix all the freezing problems. I finally did it the other day on the other 3 doors on my truck. Both passenger doors would not unlock or lock with the electric locks. I had to open the front door from the inside handle and the rear door I had to pull up the button. I had no choice and brought it in and I got 18n03 done and have the exact same problem. All doors latch and unlatch but the locks freeze and makes the door kind of useless. Guess I'll bring it back and get them to try something for the locks.

KEVININCHICAGO

It is not going to be spray and go. You have a lot of moisture that has to be eliminated if it went so far as to freeze up. It will take a day or so with the plugs removed to clear it up. Remove the plugs by the door handles (the 1" ones) for a while to speed things up. WD-40 won't gum it up. You could run a hair dryer in the elbow hole with the elbow removed for a few minutes to move things along.
Here in Chicago tonight, it rained for 2 days. Now going to drop to 5 F overnight. I can't think of a worse case for these trucks.

Lamajama

Well I've just done the redneck fix since it warmed up this week to above freezing. In Vancouver it's been only -2C to - 5 or so (around 28F to 23F) which frankly isn't that cold but my driver's door and passenger door has been freezing
so I've taken the plugs out etc etc. It won't be perfect as KEVININCHICAGO says the current moisture has to be eliminated but hopefully it helps. It's such a PITA to screw around with this every morning. Thankfully this freezing does not
occur for long in Vancouver (usually a week at a time). I feel bad for those back East.

hawetr

why, no problem around here

remltr

Since water freezes at 32 deg F why does it take until 20 degrees or lower, in my case, for the locks to freeze up?

Stu Cazzo

I dont know that its solely water related - maybe more so a lubricant issue that binds up in the cold.
Ive heard good things about LPS1 - its used on aircraft to keep parts lubricated in extreme cold temperatures.
Come spring im gonna take the doors apart clean out the gobs of grease that I suspect are inside and lube it all up with some LPS1.

remltr

Good point. I left out the lubricant factor.

KEVININCHICAGO

i found the WD-40 can with the metal bendable straw to be a big help. You can really get it up in there much better than the straight red straw on the older cans. It will displace water, but ice, not so much. You need to be aggressive and not care about the temporary mess you make. That is why you remove the three torx screws to be able to move the latch over a bit to get in there. I could not tell you what part is the most critical, I just don't know. It is the shotgun method where you just hit it all. The PB Blaster step is good in that the product will creep into the tightest place over time. Again shotgun method. The Fluid Film just makes the latch when done work really smooth. A little heat on the Fluid Film and it will spread and creep into places better also. The Fluid Film is kind of a bubbly foamy mess until it gets a bit warmer and creeps in. The Ford method you may as well put your wet parts in a plastic bag and throw it in the freezer. I am sure it will keep more water from getting in the door than Ghetto style, but it won't let the moisture out either. Like a roach motel, water goes in but can't ever leave.

DraKhen99

Well, I picked up my truck from the dealer yesterday afternoon. They had gotten some of the black sealant on the outside of the doors and such, so I used Tarminator to get rid of it. Worked like a charm!

A couple of hours later I went outside to get in my truck to go get dinner, and the alarm went off. Oops, I had left my key in the house, but long story short, I found out was that my driver's door was not locking. Checked the other 3 doors, they all functioned properly. Drove back to the dealer, and they stayed until 8pm to fix it. Now my doors all latch and lock. I think it's supposed to go below freezing here in the mid-atlantic area next week, so we'll see if 18N03 fixed it.

-John

remltr

This got me to thinking. What if it is just simply a lubricant issue and all the water in the world turning to ice has nothing to do with it?