Cold Mornings, door wont shut

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 19 Nov 2004, 13:18

Just wondering if anyone has trouble closing the drivers door on a zx in cold mornings, i had the same problem on cold mornings with my J-reg reflex and now for the first time with my current car, a good kettle of warm warm does the job but its irritating.

bxbodger · Post by **bxbodger** » 19 Nov 2004, 13:24

Well at least you managed to get it open in the first place.....[:(!]
I expect today will be glowplug day-glad I did mine at the weekend!!

Post by **Jon** » 19 Nov 2004, 13:25

Yep!
My last ZX used to do this too! Can't really offer a solution.

uhn113x · Post by **uhn113x** » 19 Nov 2004, 13:37

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by mezuk04

Just wondering if anyone has trouble closing the drivers door on a zx in cold mornings, i had the same problem on cold mornings with my J-reg reflex and now for the first time with my current car, a good kettle of warm warm does the job but its irritating.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Hi
The lubricant in the lock has probably dried up - you need to take the door card off, remove the lock, take the cover off, wash it out and grease it.
Fortunately the lock can be dismantled to do this - more details on how to do it if you need them.
You may get away with squirting WD40 through the holes in the door shut that have grommets in them, but you will need to do it properly sooner or later.

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 19 Nov 2004, 13:43

Yes chap at work suggested that solution this morning taking the catch out, though im not the greatest at diy jobs, so going to try the WD-40 way, sounds good to me. Cheers

shezads · Post by **shezads** » 19 Nov 2004, 13:55

Happened to me this morning! Although a few attempts to close it worked. Haved aquirted with wd40, just hate having to take the door cards apart - can never get the door lock thingy (on top of door) in place.
Does anyone know how to do this - as I have one missing - can't clip it back in place.

mipster · Post by **mipster** » 19 Nov 2004, 16:41

I struggled to replace the door lock thingy on my wife's Zx after dismantling the rear locks for a greasing until I realised that the door needs to be shut.
Get inside, shut the door and they try, worked for me.
mipster

mbunting · Post by **mbunting** » 19 Nov 2004, 19:30

Had exactly this problem this morning.
Warm water
WD40
Rubber Mallett.
Pen.
Took about 40 minutes combination of all of the above to get the door to close ( the "open latch" wouldn't shut ).

rg · Post by rg » 19 Nov 2004, 22:28

This used to happen on my 405.
Pre-emptive treatment with WD40/"dry" bike chain lubricant seemed to prevent it. I think that it's caused by moisure freezing around a small spring/sliding bit.
A kettle seemed to sort it "in extremis". Lock de-icer was no good, as the problem was deeper in the lock than the barrel, so I understood.
I was woken at 0615 around a year ago by my neighbour having the same problems with his Fiat Punto. A kettle sorted it. He thought I was a miracle worker...ahh..!
rg

davethewheel · Post by **davethewheel** » 19 Nov 2004, 23:57

had the same thing on my old zx, i used to use the kettle method, i tried oil in the locks and it made no difference.

Dave Burns · Post by **Dave Burns** » 20 Nov 2004, 00:03

Yep my zx too this morning, had to hold the door closed for three miles until it thawed out, the only real solution is to dismantle and re-grease the lock, it gets full of dirt which holds damp and freezes, watering the lock will gaurantee the continuation of the condition, WD40 will only be a short term fix assuming you can get it to where the trouble is.
Dave

Jayzee33 · Post by **Jayzee33** » 20 Nov 2004, 04:09

My ZX also does this when its cold. All I can suggest is what's already been mentioned - either with warm water to de-freeze the lock which should click it back into place, or a pen to move the catch out the way (and hopefully loosen it) so you can finally shut your door. (Pen is usually a quik-fix with mine). Very frustrating and not something you wanna be fixing on these cold mornings.
(At least I know I'm not the only one with this problem).[:)]

James.UK · Post by **James.UK** » 20 Nov 2004, 05:26

I spray all my doorlocks, rubber surrounds, hinges etc etc with "Granville silicone spray" two or three times a year. I insert the tiny tube that comes with it as far into each lock as possible and spray till silicone runs out.. So far *touch wood* I have not had any problems with them.. [:)]

uhn113x · Post by **uhn113x** » 20 Nov 2004, 13:45

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by shezads

Happened to me this morning! Although a few attempts to close it worked. Haved aquirted with wd40, just hate having to take the door cards apart - can never get the door lock thingy (on top of door) in place.
Does anyone know how to do this - as I have one missing - can't clip it back in place.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Yep. Easy. Push the rod down into the locked position, then, with a small screwdriver, push the inner part of the button down until it clicks into the bottom hole of the two. Push button firrmly on to rod - job done! If you don't push the inner part down, the button will not go on fully and lock.
HTH