Ford Door Lock Advice...................

[dkryan]

I acquired my Dad's 1997 Ford Taurus GL from him last December when he had to go into a nursing home. The car only has 65,000 original miles on it. It also does not have a key fob to lock and unlock the doors.

Both keys are Ford keys. The driver's side door lock does not unlock using either key without a lot of "wiggling" of the key. There's no issue with either key on the passenger side door lock.

Newly made keys don't result in a smooth lock operation so it must be the lock. I sprayed Liquid Wrench into the lock and a few minutes later it operated as smooth as one could hope for. For about three days.

I'm loathe to keep loading the lock with various types of lubricants. Even though it has low miles on it, I'm guessing the lock may be worn out. (?) Should I just take the car to a locksmith and have him install a new lock?

And how much labor does that entail? Thanks.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Before replacing it, try a dry lubricant in the lock, like graphite. Liquid lubricants will attract grit and dust over time, whereas dry lubricants typically will not. You may see longer service life with a dry lubricant.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Clean it with brake fluid or gasoline, let it dry, then use a dry lubricant.

Because my Taurus sat a lot, the power locks would always stop working. I lubed with WD40 and they would work again ... just to freeze up.

Eventually, cleaning with gasoline seemed to help enough to get it to work.

On a side note, gasoline in a door makes it smell like gas for a while. This is also the door that I had to light on fire with alcohol to get it to latch on a cold day. After about a week of 0 degree temps, I got tired of holding my door shut while driving.

 

[dkryan]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Before replacing it, try a dry lubricant in the lock, like graphite. Liquid lubricants will attract grit and dust over time, whereas dry lubricants typically will not. You may see longer service life with a dry lubricant.


Liquid Wrench is supposedly PTFE based and they claim to be a "dry" lubricant. I completely understand about the potential for gumming up the lock which is why I went with a "dry" product.