help bypassing steering lock

[nolan maley]

Hi, i have a 1995 4.0 4x4 ford ranger, i have lost my keys. the ignition is broken and has always worked without a key UNLESS the steering wheel is locked ( by turning the steering wheel while the keys are out ) wich dosent really matter to me as i only really use the truck off road for camping and exploring and such and up until now i have always had the key to unlock it if needed. i lost my keys and the wheel and ignition are locked, any ideas on how to preferably unlock it or to remove the whole lock. thanks

 

[19Walt93]

I used to pull and replace lock cylinders when the salesmen lost the keys. I'd run a screw into the key slot, attach a slide hammer and thrash on it until the cylinder pulled out. You could also drill the lock cylinder out. Make a divot in the center of the key slot with a punch, then start by drilling a small hole in the center and working up a few drill sizes at a time. Once you get the tumblers out, rotate the cylinder- usually counter clockwise- to retract the locking pin and pull the cylinder out. There's nothing to be gained by disabling the steering lock, unless you just want it disabled.
>>Once you can rotate the cylinder there's a pin you have to push in to release it. Take the platic covers off the column and you'll be able to see the hole the pin fits into on the bottom of the column.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

If the cylinder turns without a key, turn it to run, depress the retainer, and replace the key cylinder.

If that doesn’t fix it, then maybe the plastic slider piece in the column is broken. That requires either a lot of tearing stuff apart or another steering column. I’ve changed out columns in about an hour and two beers.

We are not going to discuss ways to steal a vehicle on the open forums. That should have been clear in the other thread you dug up. Sure, you may be honest about your situation, but it’s unfortunately close to how to steal a vehicle, so there’s going to be limits to what gets discussed. Anything beyond that will be removed and the thread closed.

Also, inquiring minds want to know just what TRS event you attended… that doesn’t help your case that you “just need to quickly disable the steering lock so you can go camping” when you’re new here and likely have never been to an event… just saying…

 

[RonD]

Without the correct key there is no simple answer

Steering wheel lock and key cylinder lock use the same gear inside the column which can't be accessed until ignition key cylinder is removed, which can't be done easily without the correct key or drilling

Ford has Master key codes based on VIN, so can make you a key from that code, but they may not have these after 20 years, but FREE to ask
Locksmiths some times have these key codes also free to ask
You do need to bring ID and proof of Ownership to get keys this way, just FYI

You can have a locksmith come out and make you a couple of keys that work
Its a 1995 so no PATS to worry about

You can pull out a door lock cylinder and take it to a locksmith to have a key made but.............door locks have 1 or 2 less pins/wafers(valleys and hills) than ignition lock cylinder, so might not work to turn ignition cylinder, but may if its worn down enough, lol
With 4 of the pin/wafers out of the way with partially correct key it might be possible force turn the cylinder breaking the last 1 or 2 pins/wafers


As said, drill the ignition lock cylinder to get it to release and pull it out
Then you can manually turn the gear with a screwdriver to unlock steering wheel and start engine
Drilling the cylinder causes the pins/wafers to break and so release the locking mechanism, so try to turn the cylinder after each larger drill bit is tried
If you can turn it to RUN/ON, then use the Release pin under the housing to pull it out
Buy a new lock set, ignition and 2 door locks


Pretty much most key locks work the same way
In an ignition lock the housing has a slot the runs from the base up to the end
The cylinder has pins/wafers that are locked(pushed up) into that slot when cylinder is in the LOCK position and key is out
When the correct key is inserted into the cylinder it pulls/pushes all the pins/wafers down and flush with the cylinder, cylinder can now be turned, inside the housing, out of the LOCK position
Pretty simple, but effective

Pic here of ignition lock cylinder: https://broadwaylockandkey.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/ignition-before.jpg
This one has 5 "locks", pins/wafers

Most vehicle keys have both sides Cut, but only use one edge to move the pins/wafers, its cut the same on both sides so it can be inserted into the cylinder either way and work, no up or down, most house keys can only go in one way