15 replies to this topic

[minidavid]

i know many of us have problems getting our minis to work at times, but is it common to not be able to get in to mine?
its a 1996 mini sprite

been sat on my drive for a few months doing nothing. When i got it the key would go in the both doors fine and turn with ease
now i can just about get the key in the drivers door, but not be able to turn it at all, same with passenger except i can turn it just, but very stiff

anyone else had this problem or should i just put some oil on the locks?

[luiji89]

i have this also, really stiff to lock it!, any advise will be much appreciated

[welshdan]

get some release oil squirted in there and work it with the key.

[minidavid]

cheers ill give it a go, thought it might have something to do with this *melon* weather? only occured recently

[adam_93rio]

you can get a special lubricating fluid for lock and barrels
although just spray some wd40 in there and see how she goes. i started to get this problem a bit a couple of weeks ago and this seemed to do the trick

[luiji89]

cheers all

[Dan]

Don't oil locks, it will make them worse in the long run and make them wear out faster. Oil traps dirt which is what clogs the lock up and causes damage. You need a bottle of graphite powder which is used as a lubricant for locks. It's available from more places than you'd think if you search for it. Whenever I post this people reply that it must be hard to get hold of, simply because they haven't heard of it before and so haven't looked for it!

[minidavid]

yer i thought there mite be something wrong with oiling them but i dunno y, yeah i never heard of graphite powder but just had a look on internet and it seems pretty common, only like £3 aswell so ill give it a go, cheers

[jayare]

Graphite powder is great stuff - my locks got to the stage where I could barely move them. Got some off ebay for a couple of quid, put some in and locks worked great. You should be able to get it from your local locksmiths,

JR

[paul6266]

i used to work as a lock-smith and yes graphite powder is best just very messy, its available from TIMPSONS or WILKOS i would imagine but timpsons will def have it

[minidavid]

Cheers paul, there is a timpsons about 3 mins from me so ill pop down tomorrow

[minidavid]

so i got some graphite powder, do i just pour it in to where i put the key and wait for it to work its magic?

wiggle the key about perhaps?

how long should it take you reckon?

[Dan]

Yes that's about it. It should be in a bottle with a nozzle so you can 'puff' some in. It's a dry lube, the effect should be more or less instant as you would expect with oil.

[minidavid]

yer it came in the bottle with the nozzle and worked like a treat, a lot easier on passenger door as there was a tiny bit of movement so i managed to wiggle it around and it worked, drivers door there was no play so until i managed to move it that first mm not alot happened but its all good now

cheers 4 the advice

[welshdan]

oil has always worked perfectly well on the several minis i have owned