Does anyone know the trick for replacing the lock cylinder on a 97 without a key?
So far I've heard drill out with a 5/16 bit,a 1/2" bit, a 5/8" bit, well I've tried all of those and a few a whole lot bigger and I STILL can't get the stinking thing to budge. Its to the point now where the center is almost nothing but a shell . I can't believe its still holding on. I have the steering column out of the vehicle loose where it's easy to work on and I have it clamped up on the drill press, but still , it's to the point now where if I try to take any more off, I'm going to have to use a die grinder.
Any help here would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks--------Robert

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-cylinder.html Have a read through this link for ideas.

 

A new steering column. $30 at the scrap yard,if you cant find one get the drill out and have at it.

 

THanks. I guess I need to keep drilling.

 

THe one I'm working on is from the boneyard. Mine has the bearings in the steering head shot on it. If I can ever get teh blamed lock cylinder out of this one, I can put my old one into it and swap out the columns and no more floppy steering wheel

 

yOU BOUGHT A COLUMN WITHOUT A KEY? You've got to visit more yards.
Alright, keep drilling,but be careful

 

That's all that you'll find around here.
Doesn't matter now, even though I stopped every mm and checked and was still in solid metal, somehow I went through to the gears. I thiink I nailed on through with the screwdriver. I never was able to turn the blamed thing but I finally wedged teh screwdriver in and beat the lock cylinder out by whacking on teh screwdriver handle/ I probably would have had better luck by starting out with a slide hammer in teh first place.

 

Only boneyards that have any with keys around here , nearest ones are a good hundred miles away and cheapest price I've seen yet is about $150
The only affordable ones are at the upullit and they don't have any keys,
Although after dissecting the wreckage from this adventure, I can see that everyone does it wrong. All you need to do is drill out the lock pin that holds the thing in on the side and the blamed thing will come right out. That's what I ended up busting out when i popped teh thing out and it was all that was holding it. Just never could get the cylinder to turn to be able to push it in. If I'd have just drilled it out the cylinder would have fell out in my hand