I had to disassemble and clean all the locks on my Tristar.  The factory
grease had become so hard, all the tumblers were stuck and any key would
open the door.  I thoroughly cleaned the tumblers and all the hardware
before I reassembled with a light coating of anti-seize (all I had handy at
the time).  Everything works crisply now.

Cheers, 

Jeff

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
John Rodgers
Sent: Sunday, March 14, 2010 8:24 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Holy cow: rear hatch latch

A light grease known as white lithium grease is often used on airplanes
to keep fine parts lubricated and water out. It is a very thin grease
but has enough body to stay put. Other lubes often used in the aircraft
world for lubing of finner parts were LPS (three different weights as I
recall), Marvels Mystery Oil (the penetrating oil - not the top lube
stuff). WD-40 also works but didn't make for the best lube over time
because it evaporates and/or runs off. It is really a water displacement
agent. There were also teflon spray products - one particular as I
recall called Treflon. Worked well in some applications. And once in a
blue moon graphite was used.

John Rodgers
Clayartist and Moldmaker
88'GL VW Bus Driver
Chelsea, AL
Http://www.moldhaus.com

Janne Ruohom�ki wrote:
> Think about it: a locksmith fixes jammed, broken and worn locks. If
> the lock does not jam, broke nor wear the smith is out of job. In my
> opinion they definitely need to be lubricated. Mine are lubricated to
> the point I get stains from the keys once in a while. Does not matter,
> I wear all black all the time, but the money in the same pocket with
> keys is sometimes greasy. Keeps the money from corroding also.
>
> That being said, it does matter a bit what You put in there. I make a
> claim here on several special liquids meant for locks: they jam the
> lock when volatile stuff evaporates. Then You need to apply that
> liquid again. FIxes the problem temporarily, but then You need to buy
> a new bottle. This is why I have always only used gun (into the key
> hole) oil and synthetic grease spray (the actual door locking
> mechanism) on them.
>
> Last year I opened all the lock cylinders of my van. What surprised me
> was that they were all almost filled with very stiff grease. All the
> locks similarly. I do not know whether it was previous owner or
> factory. I always thought one should use more running oil especially
> in region like where the van has been driven. All the locks actually
> worked alright, the reason for opening them was that one of them just
> wasn't meant for keys I had for the van. I just wanted to be sure they
> are all ok. I fixed that and all of them work alright. At the moment
> they just have been dipped in engine oil to protect them until spring.
> I will soak them in solvent later on, before actual lubrication.
>
> Encouraged by what I saw inside the lock cylinders I now plan to fill
> those cylinders completely with similar stiff grease that somebody
> else already used. This is to prevent them from sucking salt & water &
> sand mix inside the lock. Reasoning goes as follows: the cylinder is
> quite tight from the bottom (eg. If I try to blow through the keyhole,
> the air will go through but not very easily). During winter when one
> drives from heated garage into that flying salty debris the
> temperature of all the air in the cylinder goes down and so goes the
> density. There's a suction from the keyhole. Now replace all the air
> with grease that does not vary its density along with temperature. No
> suction. This is what I do with my bicycle bearings: I have installed
> grease nipples into the axles and once in a while I pump in the new
> grease and watch the collected dirt come out while the bearings get
> all new grease.
>
> There were two little springs per "paddles" inside my vans locks
> (things that follow the bumps in the key), and they really felt strong
> enough one could use a bit stiffer grease than I usually use. Nothing
> like this in japanese locks I have dissassembled. Would not try
> stiffer grease in there.
>
> On Sun, Mar 14, 2010 at 5:12 AM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans
> <scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:
>
>> I have never believed that old 'never lube a lock thing' !
>>
>> all metal parts that move in contact with other parts need lubrication.
>> I use any good spray lube.
>> Many to choose from.
>> LPS from the hardware  store ..about 9 bucks a bottle...
>> works just great.
>> Trying a new one lately ...3 In 1 ......'all lube' ......or something
like
>> that.
>> They are pretty similar.  When I get a vanagon , I have to lube about 300
>> places on it , immediately.
>>
>> Every lock mechanism, every lock cylinder , ever pivot point or sliding
>> point of anything in the whole, whole van.
>> Shift linkage, seat belt ltaches even .
>> 'almost' every where things move.  Hatch strut pivot points.  Rear hatch
>> hinges ....I have never seen any of those ever lubed , or apparently not.
>> Sliding door ...
>> you almost can't lube those too much.  Inside and out. And where they
slide
>> in the tracks.
>>
>> if you hear a squeak in a metal -on-metal mechaism....like a screen door
>> hinge...that is the sound of metal molecules shearing off on each other.
>> Funny thing too..........a 1/2 second shot of lube last years.
>>
>> here's a trick too.....
>> this works on some door lock mechanims.
>> the hard part is getting the lube into a lot of good.
>> 'Sometimes' ....removing one mounting screw for the latch mechansim will
>> allow a nice shot into the inner workings.
>>
>> here's a really important one ...
>> just cheap design by VW.  On the clutch pedal ....where the clevis and
pin
>> for the clutch master cylinderpush rod meets a  hole drilled in the
clutch
>> pedal...
>> they greased it during assembly, but that was in Germany 20+ years ago.
>>  You can't even see the spot unless you jam your head up in there ...but
>> that is one spot that needs lubing for sure.
>> It's basically metal on metal unless someome lubes it.
>>
>> so fun to lube the squeaky stuff.
>> easy too.
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Dave Mcneely" <mcneely4@COX.NET>
>> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>> Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 5:11 PM
>> Subject: Re: Holy cow: rear hatch latch
>>
>>
>>
>>> Sometimes when I depress the lock cylinder to open the rear hatch on my
>>> camper, the cylinder sticks in the depressed position.  It will pop back
>>> out when I close the hatch, usually.  Occasionally I have to bump the
>>> hatch adjacent to the lock.  Is this due to a need for lubrication, and
if
>>> so, what lubricant do I use?  I have had locksmiths tell me not to lube
a
>>> lock with anything, including graphite, claiming any lubricant would
cause
>>> the lock to hold dirt.   On the other hand, I have used graphite to
great
>>> advantage so far as I could tell.  Suggestions?  Thanks, David McNeely
>>>
>>> ---- jon <jon@KENNEKE.COM> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I'm sharing this experience, so maybe someone can benefit:
>>>>
>>>> I went to open the rear hatch on my project westy today. It would not
>>>> open. No big deal, I thought, I'll just pop it from the inside.
>>>> Installing
>>>> a new interior panel with the original project at hand, so there was no
>>>> interior
>>>> panel.
>>>>
>>>> I could not get the "cam" to budge! I finally had to soak the mechanism
>>>> in
>>>> oil, and then use a screwdriver and small hammer to pound the latch cam
>>>> from the inside to release. Wow, that took some doing, with scratched
>>>> arms
>>>> and hands!
>>>>
>>>> When it finally popped, I pulled the whole corroded assembly out,
cleaned
>>>> it, and oiled it. Since I had it out I also fixed the worn lock
cylinder
>>>> (which is a whole 'nother subject/story).
>>>>
>>>> So, the moral of this story is to make sure that latch assembly is well
>>>> lubricated if you have the chance!
>>>>
>>>> Jon
>>>>
>
>
>