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OT: drilling out an ignition lock

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I still miss my 01, last year they made them (in the USDM), had the factory aftermarket option for the sunroof and all the fixings.

I bought it for 400$ off a couple that bought it new. It had around 80k miles on the odometer and was super clean. The cylinder head cracked in between the rockers for cylinder 3/4, coolant leaked onto the oil (still running fine) and burned up the camshaft main bearings, then it cut the bottoms of 2 lifters open.

It had less then 3psi oil pressure at idle.

One day it got hot and 2 lifters jammed in the bores and BAM went 2 push rods.

Cylinder 2/3 were dead on arrival.

That’s when I got it. The fella selling it said “you might be able to drive it but don’t go far!”

It fired up on 4 cylinders sounding like a kenworth 3 cylinder high idle and chugged around the block.

I swapped the head (and lifters/pushrods) with a TUPY head from a 2004 grand Cherokee.
The donor head came off a 4.0 with a broken piston skirt for 20$!

Less then 750$ and I had a sweet ride but I never repaired the cam bearings

Oil pressure was so low the gauge would peg on 0 and the “check gauges” light with turn on along with a “bing bing bing”.

If you let it idle too long it would overheat and start venting steam like a 1880’s locomotive!

I had it for 3 years like that!

Never blew up, you can’t kill a 4.0

Unless your 80 years old and cross the double yellow hit one head on.

Her insurance paid me 3600$ For the jeep and let me keep it lmfao! Kbb was like 4500$ so I still technically got screwed but hey! I was far in the green
 
Never blew up, you can’t kill a 4.0

Unless your 80 years old and cross the double yellow hit one head on.

My WJ had 398,000 km on it before it was totalled by rear-ending a Civic that swerved after being cut-off by a Sprinter.

Piston skirt shattered at 393k. Freshly rebuilt and ready for another 400k.:bawling:
 
Watch a couple videos by the lock picking lawyer and then make your self a set of tools . A piece of steel banding for crates and a grinder can be used to make a simple hook. Should be fairly easy to pick because this is a relatively low security lock and it is missing several of its wafers. The other day I lost my keys to my 94 Ford F350 after looking for a 1/2 hour I was going to be really late so I decided to pick the ignition lock . I have very little experience but had the truck running in about 3 minutes and was. When making your tool be careful not to overheat the steel when grinding the steel banding is not the perfect steel for the job but should be more then adequate for a one time emergency use. A piece of band saw blade would also be a good candidate to make a emergency pick from
 
A wafer lock is anything but low security, you can get lucky and that’s what a jiggler is best at. But an ignition wafer lock has wafers on both sides (double sided key) and a lot of cars/trucks only use wafers on one side. (That’s why sometimes you can flip your ignition key if the lock is jammed to get it to work again)

Wafers also have a “gate” on the opposite side of the keyway so when you lift a wafer too high it’ll block you from getting to the next wafer,

Half the wafers are spring loaded up and the other half are spring loaded down VS a standard pin lock with all the pins spring loaded down from the top (or sprung up from the bottom if your across the drink)

I can single pin pick and have pride in my ability, I go right to a rake first every time because it’s simple yet effective, I avoid wafer locks like the plague, I ONLY have luck jiggling them.

In a standard pin lock I use my king and queen rake 10 fold more then any other, the city rake is also a winner.

Single pin picking is anything but easy and wafer locks are a completely different animal.

Defiant locks have security pins (usually spools) kwikset NEVER has security pins unless your buying a high end model (not from the orange giant), I’ll take a defiant anyday over a kwikset.

But if your worried about someone picking/raking/or bumpkeying a lock open then get a kwikset smart key, they are almost impossible to pick/rake/bump BUT BEWARE you can use a hardened blank key to force/shear a smart key lock right open so it’s mainly for interior applications (apartment) where your not worried about a brute force attack to the lock(after all burglars usually break a window or kick a door)

I bet your ford only used wafers on one side.

My 2010 e250 door lock only has wafers on one side.
I locked my keys in and used a residential interior door handle with the flat bar poking out the end (half the knob) and it unlocked my door instantly, I shit a brick.

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The green picks in this picture are garbage, they are like 30$ on China-zon but not worth 5$ don’t waste your money, they are thick as heck, poor quality metal and break easily. It was the first set I owned and it almost put me off picking forever, terrible quality.

I would rather have a tuxedo kit from sparrows or even

1 rake (triple peak)
1 hook (short hook)
1 top keyway tension bar
1 bottom keyway tension bar

This set would get you in 99% of residential locks (kwikset/defiant/Schlage)

Vs that stupid green pick kit, it’s sooooooo bad
 
Isn't there a way to remove the lock cylinder by disassembling the column? I've had a few jeeps including the XJ and now a YJ, and that is what I would try first. If I *had* to drill a lock, I would use an old CNC spotting drill. Say 10mm dia. Usually you can get the ignition lock cylinder and new key with it for around $30 in the US. So you would still have your old door key and locks. I've been tempted to grind off those old steering wheel locks more than once, and simply revert to the old-fashioned push-button start. It's less aggravation in the long run.
 
Isn't there a way to remove the lock cylinder by disassembling the column? I've had a few jeeps including the XJ and now a YJ, and that is what I would try first. If I *had* to drill a lock, I would use an old CNC spotting drill. Say 10mm dia. Usually you can get the ignition lock cylinder and new key with it for around $30 in the US. So you would still have your old door key and locks. I've been tempted to grind off those old steering wheel locks more than once, and simply revert to the old-fashioned push-button start. It's less aggravation in the long run.

Ignition is not removable unless you can turn it over.

There is a pin (hardened beyond belief) riding on a cam inside the cylinder that protrudes into the column body, only way to retract that pin is to turn the cylinder over to run and push the pin back into its pocket.

When the cylinder is turned to the off position the cam is jammed against the pin preventing any possibility of removal.

The pin has a collar and will not pull out of the lock cylinder either.

Drill it, gut it, retract the pin and pull the cylinder body out.

To install the new lock you just push the lock into the column in the run position and turn to the off position to extend the pin.

But the newer xj with the immobilizer key had some cut backs in physical security and the pin is a square pin that is not even hardened a bit, more like pot metal.

It drills like butter.

But beware if your drilling opens up the hole in the column any your lock will not sit flush in the column and will trigger the key reminder “bell” and even cause the immobilizer to trip out.
 
Probably expensive, but what about the dealer?



i was actually hoping to only have to drill half way though, to make the rectangular latch relax. another idea (i never heard of) is to drill out the "hook type latch" that engages the outside body from beneath. that seems easy. it would destroy the square hole, but that could be fixed with some steel filled epoxy, i guess. thoughts?

as to locksmiths, its hilarious but there are none that will toutch a vehicle. i phoned around for half an hour. front wheels are locked of course, gearbox too, but i can put the tranfer case into neutral.
 
A wafer lock is anything but low security,

I bet your ford only used wafers on one side.
Not all wafer locks are created equal and while many are very good the ones used by Ford in the 90’s are definitely very low security and I am betting that Chrysler ones are no better .

The Ford definitely only uses wafers on one side only, which significantly reduces the talent required to pick the the lock. A double sided key was simply a convenance so the driver didn’t have to remember which way up to put the key in. I used to have two early 90’s Fords, a car and a truck and I cut a key that was the car on one side and the truck on the other so I could reduce the size of my key ring. A further convenance was that the wafers were on top on one and the bottom on the other so the key went in the same way up for both vehicles
 
plenty of dealers. as i mentioned, nobody can supply even a simple cylinder. stupid country.

a few years back the imobiliser on another cherokee gave up the ghost. i believe the bill was $2'500.-. they replaced the ecu among other stuff.
 
Not all wafer locks are created equal and while many are very good the ones used by Ford in the 90’s are definitely very low security and I am betting that Chrysler ones are no better .

The Ford definitely only uses wafers on one side only, which significantly reduces the talent required to pick the the lock. A double sided key was simply a convenance so the driver didn’t have to remember which way up to put the key in. I used to have two early 90’s Fords, a car and a truck and I cut a key that was the car on one side and the truck on the other so I could reduce the size of my key ring. A further convenance was that the wafers were on top on one and the bottom on the other so the key went in the same way up for both vehicles

The late 90 to 2000s Chrysler wafer locks are no joke, loaded on both sides and rather tight tolerances. Nothing like the Ford locks.
 
I still say worth a try especially since he has had the lock apart and has an old one for reference so he should have a very good ideal of what is inside that he needs to target.

That’s why I suggested his best chance for success a jiggler, second would be drilling.

The later era locks were not hardened In anyway, they relied on the immobilizer more then the lock itself. The older Jeep’s relied on the lock only.

I get the feeling you have not tried to pick a wafer before, sounds like you got lucky once with a old hacksaw(?) blade.

Wafers are fragile, they are not like pin locks and your suggestion could easily cause one to permanently damage their own lock.

Your truck had a very cheap low security wafer lock (possibly aftermarket) and nearly EVERY other car company used fully loaded wafers in the ignition and some in the doors.

It’s apples to oranges. I talk from DIRECT experience.

The op said he already modified his lock and now it’s jammed, so the point is moot really. His lock as already failed.

I’m not saying he shouldn’t try, just saying others who lock keys in the car or misplaced keys my find your suggestion and end up causing ALOT of damage, pain and Money.

I have broken and jammed wafer locks plenty of times and usually end up drilling them out, and that’s using the proper tools with lack of skill/Technique

Wafers are hard man, disk detainers are my nee thing, they require flag picks.
 








 
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