really? your side windows, and mirrors defrost from the washer fluid?

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

As long as 120v is available, an old pistol style hair dryer works great. Got one at a thrift shop a number of years ago for $3.00; and although hot, it is not as likely to crack glass as hot liquid.

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1961 190Db retired
1968 220D/8 325,000
1983 300D 164,150

Mirrors defrost electrically but keeping the car under cover takes care of everything all Winter.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Another big question is how you keep the lock from freezing up! Thats a constant problem for me, weather gets in the lock mechanism, and its a block of ice, you use hot water or lock de-icer to clear it out, and by the time you get to your destination, its frozen again! Ive been locked out of my car multiple times because I could not get the key in the door

On my truck with flush lock tumblers to the door, I was having great success using a little suction cup to cover the tumbler, but I have not found a really great solution for the MB, aside from putting a piece of duct tape on the handle as a weather seal for the tumbler.

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

Solid metal key, vice grips and a cigarette lighter or small butane blowtorch.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Lol, well you are braver than I to be using vice grips on a metal key in the door in super cold brittle conditions! My keys are all soft metal copies though, not the original material.

Torch sounds like a decent idea, lighter I have tried, does not work in application to heat the inside of the lock mechanism where the ice is preventing the key from getting in.

My ultimate solution will probably be just to install a remote lock/unlock capabilty.

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

Are the little flappers broken in your locks? They aren't that tough to replace.

Get the lock cleaned and lubed well, use a hygrophobic lube like silicone, should help a little, and avoid washing the door handles when it's cold out.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

Did all those things but my wife's 77 300d used to freeze all the time nonetheless, even here in CO where the humidity is very low. Hence the heated key.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Totally missed the point of your earlier post, yes heating the KEY makes good sense!

Ill try that this winter. Have not done that before since I had a mix of materials key, but with my sold metal keys this year, should work well.

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

a 55W halogen bulb mounted under the tumbler and controlled by a reed switch should do the job. Hide a magnet some where to activate it when you need to. Takes a minute or so to thaw the tumbler is my guess. The tumbler has a o-ring gasket that is worn or broken and that is where most of the water is getting in.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

If it's the 240D you're talking about... I've never had any problems with mine. The heater blows like jet engines are mounted in the dash. Just let the car warm up a few minutes and turn on that heater - PRESTO. No more ice.

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Codifex
1981 240D ChinaBlue (Got her running with a donor engine.)
1983 300DTurbo w/sunroof.
1984 300TD manual sunroof. (Electrical Gremlins)

Have you tried powdered graphite in the tumbler? As little as the lock is used, you shouldn't have any problems with abrasion.

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Codifex
1981 240D ChinaBlue (Got her running with a donor engine.)
1983 300DTurbo w/sunroof.
1984 300TD manual sunroof. (Electrical Gremlins)

for locks I've tried most things, but I keep coming back to light machine oil (avoid WD40 as it seems to have a lot of water in it). The only problem is that you often drip it down the side of the door.

KY jelly on door seals - used sparingly - also helps. In my opinion better than silicone spray (partly because it eats rubber)

And window de-frosting:- tarpaulins are good but on windy days will help to scratch paintwork.

I seen old sheets / pillow cases / and carpets held down by windscreen wipers and string threaded through the doors. This seems quite effective. Some people here (in the Netherlands) even use those silvery reflective sun things that are meant to used on the inside of the car to keep most of the frost off.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!