What is probably wrong with the latches is that they have become loaded with contaminants and when they get cold they thicken and don't allow the mechanisms to work. We had to do thorough cleanings and servicing on the doors of the planes when I worked at Lear Jet on a regular basis. Usually the mechanisms became sluggush becasue the lubricant became loaded with wear particles and dust. We cleaned them with liberal spraying with either alcohol or electrical contact cleaner (becasue they disolved the gunk real good and then evaporated completely away fast), work the mechanism, spray it, work the mechanism, spray it, etc. until the run off from spraying was completely clean. Then we relubricted them with what ever they needed, some needed light oils, others ultra low temp grease (specail stuff that was good to -100F) I think that for the cars' latches a water displacing, penetrating, light oil would work well... something like WD-40. If you're worried about a oily mess a sprayable dry film lubricant that repels water would work too, like a silicone or teflon spray.
Last edited by JSmith; 01/16/06 02:45 PM.
