freezer door gasket and lock

[ladywildcat3]

Our freezer blew up so a friend gave us a Crosley 20.3 CF upright. The door gasket at the bottom left does not touch the body of the freezer and has ice on the outside of the gasket. Is there any way to soften it so that it will expand? It does not have mildew seems to be in decent shape on all other areas of the door and is not hard, but is compressed for about 6 inches up and 4 inches along the bottom of the door.
Also, the key has been broken off in the lock. Any ideas on how to remove it? We have a replacement to go in, but can't move the current one at all. Husband used to repair vending equipment so is used to replacing ace locks, but this one has him baffled.

[biffebooya]

Hey lady, I replaced the gaskets in my refrigerator and a heat gun was suggested to help smooth out the wrinkles from shipping. I don't own a heat gun so I used a hair dryer on high and moved it all over concentrating on the most wrinkled areas, thats what worked for me hope you have some luck. :)

[ladywildcat3]

Thank you!! I don't know why I didn't think of that, but it worked perfectly! Wish I had asked about this a month ago as now I have to spend 2 days defrosting the darn thing.

[theripster]

[QUOTE=ladywildcat3]Thank you!! I don't know why I didn't think of that, but it worked perfectly! Wish I had asked about this a month ago as now I have to spend 2 days defrosting the darn thing.[/QUOTE]
If we could all think of everything there would be no need for chat boards like this one, and life would be oh so boring. :cool: