I have alittle problem

EJ1208 said:

guys I have alittle problem with my Hitchlock... it's a master lock brand Hitchlock and its been on throughout the whole winter and yesterday I went to switch my hitch ball because I bought a new one and the damn lock won't turn... I got the key in but it just won't budge... I picked up some lock de-icer and still nothing also tried WD40 and still nothing... any tricks I can do to maybe get the lock to turn and unlock? my last resort would be to cut it off but I rather not and try to get it to unlock


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I had the same thing happen last year after a long cold winter. I had just moved to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and did'nt take into consideration that they used sand on the roads. The sand took it's toll on my hitch lock! I was about to have it cut off but I tried one more time by spraying the lock on top and the key entry (doused it). After a few minutes I hit the lock with a hammer (not to hard) repeatedly and then used channel locks to wiggle the key back and forth being careful not to break the key. After a few minutes the key turned enough to release the lock. The sand was the culprit! I learned a valuable lesson and remove my lock each year before winter (sand) hits. I still pull my trailer in the winter...but I remove the lock pin and clean it after each time.

How cold is it????? Try heat gun, hair dryer, or propane torch (Be CAREFUL!).
Also, if you are tapping with a hammer, use a small tack hammer together with your Liquid Wrench (or whatever product you have). Tap, tap, tap away! The smaller hammer sets up higher frequency vibrations that work better to 'unseize' stuck things.

I had the same problem last year. sprayed with WD40 and let it sit overnight, no luck. Sprayed it again and let it sit overnight, no luck. Finally , the 3rd time was a charm!

Dnick said:

How cold is it????? Try heat gun, hair dryer, or propane torch (Be CAREFUL!).
Also, if you are tapping with a hammer, use a small tack hammer together with your Liquid Wrench (or whatever product you have). Tap, tap, tap away! The smaller hammer sets up higher frequency vibrations that work better to 'unseize' stuck things.

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It's not always about the cold - like the guy from Michigan said, the culprit for him was sand. That sounds like much more of a bugger to deal with...