Winter observations

[CrazyOldMan]

No major brilliant insights, but first snow/sleet of the year this afternoon. Door handle DEFINITELY sticking now (I “fixed” it a few weeks ago with graphite powder)- like 3 times today. So I think temp is a factor - I thought so before, but this seemed pretty obvious. Also, the OEM side runners SUUUUUUCK in sleet/freezing rain. I was wearing Salomon hiking boots - might as well have been ice skating. Shockingly bad. Drier snow and slush might be better, but frozen sleet - fail. The ones looking best to me for ice traction would probably be Buzz or Blacksheep. It’s gotta be something “spiky.” Surface texture won’t do squat with sleet. I’m going to need to figure this out if I don’t want to lose some teeth.

 

[bikesandguitars]

No major brilliant insights, but first snow/sleet of the year this afternoon. Door handle DEFINITELY sticking now (I “fixed” it a few weeks ago with graphite powder)- like 3 times today. So I think temp is a factor - I thought so before, but this seemed pretty obvious. Also, the OEM side runners SUUUUUUCK in sleet/freezing rain. I was wearing Salomon hiking boots - might as well have been ice skating. Shockingly bad. Drier snow and slush might be better, but frozen sleet - fail. The ones looking best to me for ice traction would probably be Buzz or Blacksheep. It’s gotta be something “spiky.” Surface texture won’t do squat with sleet. I’m going to need to figure this out if I don’t want to lose some teeth.

Graphite powder in the presence of moisture is highly corrosive to aluminum. Your doors and many of your door parts are aluminum.

 

[CrazyOldMan]

Graphite powder in the presence of moisture is highly corrosive to aluminum. Your doors and many of your door parts are aluminum.

At this point my fix is banging on the door under the handle

 

[anand]

At this point my fix is banging on the door under the handle

Have you tried to adjust the "surround" around the button?

 

[CrazyOldMan]

Have you tried to adjust the "surround" around the button?

No - what do you mean?

 

[anand]

No - what do you mean?

Look at the button when it gets stuck (like, get on its level and look at it in plane); you can then see which side of the hole it is stuck on/tight to.

Take your palm, or a mallet and block, or any similar tool and give the surround a whack in which ever direction it needs to go to increase the clearance; almost always this is fore or aft on the vehicle. If you need to move it forward, open the door and you can hit the surround/trim; if you need to move it backwards, use the "hoop" of the exterior handle as the striking location. Usually one good hit is all it takes, but, as with all things, your mileage may vary, and use progressive aggression.

This was part of my morning walk around nearly every day on the PTO2 tour (we switched vehicles daily) to ensure no button sticks. By the end of the tour all 20 of the vehicles were free of stuck buttons... Well, until they were sent to the crusher

 

[255/85]

Temps here dropped and we got the sticking buttons but only on the passenger side. A little LPS2 lubricant eliminated the issue. We'll see if the fix holds. if not the the soft faced hammer will come out.

I would add here that the cooling system on the petrol models must be pretty robust. Running unloaded at freezing temps the HVAC system takes a while to start really putting out good heat. Grenadiers are capable of hauling a trailer across the Outback in summer so it makes sense. I may jerry-rig a winter front of some sort to see if that helps. Baby steps of course. We're too far from a dealer to have the blend door function inspected easily.

 

[Quartermaster]

Look at the button when it gets stuck (like, get on its level and look at it in plane); you can then see which side of the hole it is stuck on/tight to.

Take your palm, or a mallet and block, or any similar tool and give the surround a whack in which ever direction it needs to go to increase the clearance; almost always this is fore or aft on the vehicle. If you need to move it forward, open the door and you can hit the surround/trim; if you need to move it backwards, use the "hoop" of the exterior handle as the striking location. Usually one good hit is all it takes, but, as with all things, your mileage may vary, and use progressive aggression.

This was part of my morning walk around nearly every day on the PTO2 tour (we switched vehicles daily) to ensure no button sticks. By the end of the tour all 20 of the vehicles were free of stuck buttons... Well, until they were sent to the crusher

Brilliant! Seems to work, WD-40-like grease did not.