Door won't latch shut during winter. Any tricks to force the latch?

Scallywag

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Hey guys(& gal)!! Happy Holidays!!

Has anyone else had problems shutting the door/s only during winter??

Both my BA & K4 Marks have exhibited this problem for the past 3 winters where the door won't latch itself shut until about 20-30 mins into the warm-up/drive.

What is the explanation behind this?

&

Are there any tricks/solutions to this besides waiting the 20-30 mins?
 
It's happened to me every year up until this year (So far), it usually only happens 6~ times each winter. I used a combination of clear silicone spray and wd-40 this time around and it has yet to give me any troubles.

When it did happen, repeatedly opening and closing it for a couple minutes did the trick.
 
Possibly the same reason my door does it. The mechanism/cable is covered in grease that isn't good to low temperatures and starts making everything catch when it turns into a gel. When the heat from the cabin eventually gets the grease into a workable temperature it stops being a problem. Until it gets cold again.
 
Have you tried just kicking the door shut?

I had a buddy in NY who's door would freeze shut all the time in winter, he took his latch out and dipped it in antifreeze.. oddly, it did the trick
 
I've had this problem a few times, it's the lock not unlocking all the way. Run the power lock up and down a few times while manually pulling the lock knob up. Make sure the lock is fully unlocked and the door should latch then.
 
Ford deffinetly failed with designing the mark viii door seals, handles and lock mechanisms..I had more problems with this car in the winter with freezing door seals, locks, lock actuators etc. than anything I've ever driven. I never once had a problem with my 97 thunderbird and I drove that in the winter way more than I ever did my mark viii.
 
I just moved to Florida to solve my door closing issues. Have not had the problem since. And I don't have to shovel sunshine. LOL
 

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