20120119 - Snap!

[plonq]

Moving to a cold climate was a real learning experience for me. There are a lot of things that happen in extreme cold that just don't occur to you when you grow up in a comparatively warm climate. When drive a car with a standard transmission, trying to change gears when it's -35 can be like trying to stir chilled molasses with a wooden spoon. There were times with my old Probe where I actually feared I might bend, or break something in the transmission because It needed so much force to shift.

The cold can be hard on your house and garage keys too. Locks become very stiff when they are cold, and if you're not careful you can end up twisting, cracking or even breaking your keys off in the lock. This key had been weakened by years of winters, and has been slightly twisted and cracked for years. When we got home the other night and I locked the garage, the key just kept turning. My first thought was, "Uh oh..." Sure enough, this was all I had left in my hands.

Fortunately there was enough left sticking out of the lock that I could remove it easily with pliers - though when say "easily" I really mean "with more effort than you would expect" because the tumblers and pins in the lock were also stiff reluctant to move in the cold.

Fortunately I have a spare set of keys. Getting some new copies made has been on my do to list for quite some time. I think I might actually have enough time to sneak away from work today to get them cut... unless I get another project or surprise meeting dropped on me at the last second again.

Comments

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

Surely there's an additive you can add to your Tranny oil to improve viscosity. I seems to recall the army adding diesel to keep oil from hardening in extreme cold. No risk of fire; no ignition source or compression of the vapor. See what the local auto part stores suggest, and a nearby shadetree mechanic. You cannot be the only one with this problem.

[atara.livejournal.com]

The solution is to let the car warm up a bit before driving it. :)

[amarafox.livejournal.com]

now THAT is cold.

[plonq.livejournal.com]

I learned about grabbing doorknobs on really cold days my first winter here. It's a little disconcerting to have your hand instantly freeze to the doorknob when you go to open an outside door.

[orleans.livejournal.com]

That's my least favorite part of driving a manual (well, that and stop-and-go traffic). Below about -15, it gets tough. It needs about 5 minutes to warm up enough to not be a pain.

[plonq.livejournal.com]

Shifting aside, we've discovered that our Subaru does not coast very well on really cold days either until the fluids in the differential and such have a chance to warm up. I guess that's one of the down sides of your 4WD being based on the semi-viscous fluid model.