Dear Tom and Ray:

I read your article about the lady with car doors that were freezing shut. One
answer I found was in my GM owner's manual under the maintenance schedule in the
back. For weatherstrips, it says to use Dielectric Silicone Grease (GM Part
Number 12345579 or equivalent), basically the same as the packet of grease you
get with new spark-plug wires. I found that if you wash the weatherstrips and the
inside metal of the door, let them dry and then apply a coat of silicone grease
to the weatherstripping and car wax to the inside metal, it will stop the doors
from freezing shut for two or three years. -- Arne

TOM: Thanks, Arne. Waxing the inside metal is a good suggestion. In a previous
article, we recommended using something like silicone spray or "Armor All" on the
weatherstrip. Grease probably would do a better job, but there is one significant
disadvantage to smearing grease on the inside of your doors.

RAY: The dry-cleaning bill.

TOM: Right. Every time you (or your passengers) brush up against the inside of
your door and get a nice black smudge on your $1,500 Joseph Abboud suit, you're
going to think back fondly to the days of having your doors freeze shut.

RAY: So for that reason, we'd only recommend the grease solution for farmers and
mechanics, whose clothes are already dirty. And perhaps lawyers, whom we don't
really care for anyway.

Wait! Before you buy your next car, make sure you read Tom and Ray's guide How to
Buy a Great Used Car: Things Detroit and Tokyo Don't Want You to Know. Send $3
and a stamped (55 cents), self-addressed, No. 10 envelope to Used Car, PO Box
6420, Riverton, NJ 08077-6420.

?(C) 1999 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.