Hi folks,
The lock in the petrol cap on my Mk4 Escort has seized four times now. Replaced lock first time, had it serviced second and third times. Each time it's been fine for a week or two, then gradually become stiffer and stiffer. Broke a key in it once.
How can I stop this from happening please? Seems like a trivial problem but it goes wrong more than everything else put together :-)
Yesterday I removed the lock barrel and doused the innards in WD40. Seems OK for now but I have no doubt it'll happen again. A lubricant which is not dissolved off by petrol, perhaps? Any recommendations? (To hand I have copper grease, normal grease, car engine oil, motorcycle engine oil and motorcycle chain grease...)
Cheers,
Mark
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Is the key itself still working fine in the car?
I know the early Ford keys were notorious for wearing in the ignition barrels and wearing out.
I had this in my old Fiesta, except it was the ignition that chose to give up the ghost, not the petrol cap, that was even more of a hassle!
Blue
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Hi,
The key is a little worn but still works fine in the doors, ignition and boot. Actually I have a non-worn key and that isn\'t any better.
And the lock itself it working fine again now I\'ve WD40ed it. But I know it will seize again soon.
Cheers,
Mark
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Hi,
I've had exactly the same problem with the petrol cap on my Escort - including a couple of snapped keys! Like you, I found that although lubricating the lock helped in the short term, things sonn got sticky again!
My solution was to buy a new petrol cap from Halfords or similar. They're available 'off the shelf' for this model at minimal cost and it saves all the key-snapping. I haven't lubricated the new cap since fitting it and have had no problems. I guess the disadvantages are that it is black and not 'body-coloured' and that I now have an extra key on my key ring!
Cheers
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I recall doing the same as Mr Moo on my wifes previous escort.
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Hi Mr Moo,
Body coloured? That sounds like an expensive luxury of the sort not afforded to owners of the undesirable "L" model. My cap is already black. Mind you, even if it were burgundy like the rest of the car once was, it would stand out like a sore thumb as the rest of the car is now roughly the same colour as poo. (The colour is not where the similarity ends, as it happens.)
Thanks for the tip. I'll have one more go with industrial strength lubricant and then call it a day and get a new cap from Halfords.
Cheers,
Mark
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If I were you before going to Halfords I would check if a local motor factors can supply you with a petrol cap. When I lost the petrol cap on my Rover (a non-locking one) a few weeks ago Halfords wanted £20 for a new one when the same product was acquired for £7 from a local car spares shop!
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How about trying three in one oil in the lock? IIRC that has been the advice given to other people with lock problems, with some success. I think it is because WD40 evaporates over time whereas the heavy oil does not.
Do a forum search for 'stuck lock' or similar (at the top right of the page NOT site search)
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Been through this as well - stuffed the lock with vaseline - still fine after 12 months.
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petrolium jelly/vaseline..lube the lock inside and your sorted for life.
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...I recall being told here that WD40 can actually wash out the grease from the innards of locks...
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Thanks very much for all the advice folks.
I've put a load of motorcycle chain wax in, which I hope will not emulsify, evaporate, or be dissolved by petrol. It's certainly fine at the moment. Just have to see how it goes.
Vaseline sounds like a good solution - but difficult to get into the lock without dismantling. (Dismantled lock = dozens of near-identical washers over the kitchen floor.) Chain wax was in a spray can - spray straight in.
Cheers!
Mark
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Well, it lasted three months with chain wax, then seized again.
Now packed full with vaseline (thanks for that suggestion) - time will tell.
-Mark
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