I suspect if I'd been applying Houdini to the lock every month the earwax would have stayed soft enough to work but of course it's better to fix it right...
Curt Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android On Mon, May 8, 2017 at 6:37 PM, OK Don<okd...@gmail.com> wrote: Good Job! FWIW, I have to re-apply Houdini to the old Cessna locks every 4-6 months to keep them working smoothly. On Mon, May 8, 2017 at 1:23 PM, Curt Raymond via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: The trunk lock on my '98 Jetta has never worked well. For awhile I had some teflon lock goop that would get it working again. More recently I used Houdini lube on it which worked well for awhile. In the last 4 months it hasn't worked at all. I rarely use the trunk but since the car otherwise has only one lock (driver's door) I wanted another that worked.The lock is held in with 2 screws, then held together with one E clip so disassembly is really easy. I didn't pay much attention to the orientation of the bits which became a problem later on but not that big of a deal really. What I found inside is a lock very much like a w123: http://i843.photobucket. com/albums/zz353/curtludwig/ 1998%20Jetta/IMG_20170506_ 155448848_zpsrm3sn25s.jpg The little lock wafers are pretty much exactly like a w123: http://i843.photobucket. com/albums/zz353/curtludwig/ 1998%20Jetta/IMG_20170506_ 155448848_zpsrm3sn25s.jpg The lock was clogged with what looks like earwax, it laughed at brake cleaner although carb cleaner melted it pretty good. I ended up using a combination of carb cleaner, Houdini lock lube and a brass punch to get the wafers out. Then used some 400 grit sandpaper to polish the sides of the wafers. Took about an hour of scraping with a dental tool to get the shmoo out of the lock cylinder. I did manage to lose a couple of the springs so I've only got 5 wafers instead of 7. I figure my car isn't much of a target for thieves... Theres an o-ring around the body of the lock that had failed. Since the little door on the end of the lock was intact I think water was getting past the o-ring and gumming up the teflon stuff I'd put it. I put a new o-ring on and hosed it down with Houdini lube, I'll keep an eye on it for the next couple weeks and report the results. Reassembly was a pain since I hadn't paid enough attention to the orientation, theres the cylinder orientation (goes in 2 ways) and then a block that clips on to that which can go two ways. I put it together wrong 3 times before getting it right... -Curt ______________________________ _________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/ archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/ mailman/listinfo/mercedes_ okiebenz.com -- OK Don “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.” – Mark Twain "There are three kinds of men: The ones that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves." WILL ROGERS, The Manly Wisdom of Will Rogers 2013 F150, 18 mpg2012 Passat TDI DSG, 44 mpg1957 C182A, 12 mpg - but at 150 mph! _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
