PSA: A quick trick for stubborn door lock rollers on older Otis units

I had a 1987 Otis unit in a downtown office building where the door lock rollers were seized solid, and the usual penetrating oil soak for a day did nothing. Out of ideas, I tried a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF fluid in a spray bottle, letting it sit for about 20 minutes before applying heat from a small butane torch (carefully, away from cables). The rollers broke free on the first try after that. Has anyone else found a better mix or method for this specific problem?

2 comments

2 Comments

kelly.dylan1mo ago

Man, I feel that struggle lol. Those old Otis rollers can be a real pain.

sageallen1mo ago

Oh wow, that's a solid trick. My buddy had the same issue on a '92 model and ended up using a mix of Kroil and a heat gun, but it took him like three tries. Sounds like your method might be the faster way to go.