Sticky door locks - 2001 Explorer 4 door

[AJMBLAZER]

Hey guys, long time...so long my account was gone. Had to reregister. No RBV's in the stable anymore but have some in the family. BIL and SIL have a 2001 Explorer 4 door. When they got it the only way you could open the doors was to use the key fob. The keys wouldn't even turn in the locks and pushing the unlock side of the buttons on both front doors did nothing. Push lock made them lock just fine.

Suspecting they were just corroded/gummed up I sprayed a bunch of graphite lock lube in them. Passenger side front freed up very quickly and now works as it should. Drivers' side now turns but doesn't want to go all the way to unlock (twisting towards the rear) but the lock indicator thingy does jiggle a bit as you turn it now.
Interestingly the rear gate lock is the same way...frozen solid. I've hosed them all with graphite lube and am letting them sit over night. WTF is up with these things? Some sort of Ford screw up or did the previous owner just park this thing under a salty drift too often?

I just find it odd that all 3 keyed locks are this gummed up on a 7-8 year old vehicle. The locks on my '86 Chevy K30 weren't this bad and the military NEVER locked the doors.

 

[rangerbum]

Use some graphite or some All-in-1 oil. DO NOT USE WD-40! It will gum up and be even worse over time with WD40.

 

[johnsislandranger]

Use some graphite or some All-in-1 oil. DO NOT USE WD-40! It will gum up and be even worse over time with WD40.

you gotta love it

 

[AJMBLAZER]

I'll pick up some more graphite lube tomorrow. I know not to use anything else.


Is there anything intrinsically wrong with these lock mechanisms? I've found a few mentions online about folks having similar issues and all just replaced them...but most posts left me with the feeling these folks didn't have a full set of tools let alone graphite lube.

 

[rangerbum]

I dont think theres really anything wrong at all, as much as age affects them. I'm sure that just like in any mechanism, there are very small shavings that could be to blame. Replacing them is a good long term repair, but in my mind unnecessary since the new one will eventually begin the same problem after years of use. If you could get one cleaned out from the inside somehow it would probably be like brand new afterwards.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

From looking at it I think it's mainly just the previous owner probably didn't take super great care of it and only used the key fob. The locks never turn + road salt every winter for 6-7 years + lack of basic care = stuck locks.


Guess I'll just keep at it with the graphite and turning the key tomorrow. Looked up how to take the interior door panels off earlier...oy...power windows and door locks make it all a PITA.