I had that same problem. The rubber boots that keep the dirt out were ripped in half so water got in side the lines and froze. I took the rubber boots off and then made my own out of some freezer bags that I then zip tied on. Its been about a month and it's working great

 

Yah and my alternator is starting to die when I have the heater, rear defrost and the radio on.

 

Haha, I learned that lesson the hard way. I was lucky I had the vent and heater set on full and just remote started it and the hatch lock thawed in ~5 minutes and I crawled in that way. It was my dumb-*** fault for getting a car wash on the coldest day of the year, lol.

As far as the rust front goes, I'm fucked there. My chassis was neglected for awhile and I now have a good deal of fiberglass replacing the corroded body panels (rockers, and behind the rear tires mainly). The floor pans are in good shape though, and the frame seems ok. The rust is the reason that I haven't gone through the trouble of boosting it.

Have you guys ever used one of those self-wash places that you drive in, and pump quarters into the machines? I've never been to one and want to try it out. It says it's ~$1.00 for a wash.

 

The self washes are great in the winter since you can get the wand under the car and power wash the **** out from underneath. If it's your daily car, once every 2 weeks at the self wash is a good idea. BUT, don't use the power wash pressure setting on your paint, it will make swirl marks. Just use the standard pressure for the paint. Drive-thru car washes have such strong chemicals in them that they WILL strip wax and a quality wax is important for the rigors of winter driving. Although I don't like the finish of Zaino products, the durability is unbeatable so I use it for the winter.

As for locks, I carry a small pocket-sized can of WD-40 in my briefcase

 

Thanks for the wd-40 tip, my drivers side lock works like normal again!

 

MY wiper switch gets messed up when it's cold. IT just sticks on the high speed position, so I need to pull the fuse. Once it gets above 10 degrees, it functions normally though.,

 

umm. lest see here..... well first the magical disapperance of a cup of brake fluid, break light gound, and the clear coat near my finders. also a minnor rust spot in the door

 

well my drivers door lock dosent like to work when it's cold out, i almost broke the damn then then i said screw it and climbed thru the trunk

 

my oil pressure guage is acting up (the stock one) other than that, the cold has fixed my: Open door beep, lights on beep, and door light sensors.

 

WD-40 doesnt work to well at -50F below and colder.

wish my car would pass the emmisions test, its been under snow since september i can only legally drive it between april and september.

im stuck driving my 300ZX for the winter.

 

well time to add to the list, my alternator just took a ****, i watched as my volt meter got lower and lower on the way home. I think I drove like 10 miles with 8-10v I was told that it was replaced last year too... but hopefully autozone will give me another one becasue thats where he bought his

 

my heater work only part of the time it like to go on "breaks" i think i need a new logicon now, and my wipers only work on one speed and the rear wiper doesn't even bother moving at all i have a grounding problem and have been too lazy to fix it, had to buy a new battery . . . my power window switch comitted suicide and made my car smell of burning plastic for a day or two, cat peed on my drivers GXL seat and now i have really nice FB seats until i get Tii seats . . . god dammit

 

Hmmmm, well Power windows don't work....rear defroster dun work (Whoever installed the rear window is a dumbass doesn't seal properly and inside of car ices up constantly need to fix when temps go above -30.....until then BLOWDRYER) lol ummm and my front bumper but I got a summer one and a winter one

 

iono if this counts.....but i cant drive my FC because my windshield wipers dont work......hahhah

 

thats not so bad, my parking brake controls the fuel light, and the e brake light comes on at random

 

My fuel pump is dead. I took of the inspection cover and all the screws look like rusted rivets. I will be drilling them like rivets I guess lol.

 

fixed

 

i was at my schools under ground parkinglot ( has a steep hill ) . i went to class for an hour and a bit , come back out try to start my car and nothing . the auto teacher tells me i should bring my car into the shop ( its not very easy with two people and its very icy ) so i finnally managed to get it in . i went on my cruise the next day and he told me he will check it out and see if he can fix it for me for free , i said ok . over a week im wondering if my car is fixed yet or if somebody has stolen it or something, i get back and he tells me its getting no spark , no fuel , my battery is gone and my passenger tire is flat ..... so now im getting it towed out of the underground tommorow hopefully without problems , and its going to stay in my garage for the winter i geuss. but my rx7 will never see anymore winters again !

 

Has broken my ability to drive my car. Sorry, the cars that I care about do not see salt.

 

None of those problems have anything to do with winter, but whatever.

 

Wow this brings back some memories since it was one of the first few threads I read coming here. Anyways my 7 has been tucked in nice and tight in the garage for a few months now being stripped down for cancer removel.

 

think the alternator is going out on me. went for a drive the other night...err morning (3:30amish) was freezing my gauge bobbed about 12.5-13 the whole 40min drive only running heater and lights. has gotten me a little worried any how.

 

Why would you resurrect a 5 year old thread.....

 

its probably better than making 5 more new threads about this.

yea winter killed my engine. bleh. rebuild time.

 

battery was dead this morning, and probably the starter too, made some great screeching noises when i was turning it over