often times the door will open...but then won't shut and latch.

 

today i opened the door and it wouldn't close to i tried locking/unlocking to free it up only it went to LOCK position and then wouldn't unlock (i did this manually).

 

so the locking/latching mechanism is freezing shut somehow.

 

what am i looking for? and what do i do about it?

 

spray everything down and regrease? what kind of grease for door latches, locking, whatever parts are in there?

I suggest using some white lithium grease. You can buy it in a spray can with a wand. That is what I use on door latches.

Hm..I haven't had that exact scenario happen, but I have had the locks freeze up to where they won't lock unlock...usually in the fall I hose the whole thing down good with Kano Lubricone and it seems to keep it nice and loose the whole winter.

I suggest using some white lithium grease. You can buy it in a spray can with a wand. That is what I use on door latches.

use it where?

 

how do you use it on door latches - up underneath or from the inside?

Does the latch mechanism not close? Or is it the lock mechanism?

 

The latch itself has two operating levers that can stick and hold the stops open so the latch won't stay closed.

If the locking mechanism gets jammed it can hold the stops open as well, at least it can on the older cars. It basically acts like the handle is still pulled up when you shut the door.

 

Lithium grease on the outer part of the latch will help keep the latch mechanism free, all of the release levers and the lock mechanism have to be accessed from inside the door panel. The whole assembly is fairly easy to remove, there are the three screws in the door jamb and one nut towards the bottom of the door behind the panel. The rods that make it all work are kinda tricky just to figure out which end is best to unhook, but they are easy to pop loose. Then there is a wire at the bottom for the lock actuator that has to be unhooked then the whole thing can be fished out so you can grease all the pivots and levers.