Lockable Gas Cap %&$#@*
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Freshman User
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 43
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From: Atlanta, GA
Lockable Gas Cap %&$#@*
My 1978 Ford F 250 came with two gas tanks (which is great) but each of the tanks has a lockable cap. This must be leftover from the days of 1978 when we had a gas crisis and people were siphoning gas from cars. Believe it or not, one of the caps has gone into the "locked" position, and I have lost my key (like a dummy). Does anyone know the best way to get a replacement key for these caps. Were all the keys completely unique? The key that I lost worked for both caps. Thank God the other cap is not in locked position. Also - is there a way to get a cap that does not lock? I don't want to risk losing the key again.....thanks for any advice you guys can give.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,628
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From: NE Texas
You could also go to a locksmith who could make a key to unlock it using the removable one as a guide. Cost is pretty nominal and you keep the locking caps... which as gas prices go up, is not a bad thing. I figure a full load in the 38 gallon tank is about 91 bucks... I don't want to gratuitously lose $90, and use a locking cap.
More Turbo
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 644
Likes: 28
From: Hobart, WA
I have locking gas caps on my '97 Dodge Ram. Years ago, I was at a gas station, and a guy pulled up in an older, beat-up import car. He asked me if I had a locking gas cap, and I said I did. He said, "Can I borrow your key? My wife has the regular keys that we use for this car, so I'm using a spare key, but I don't have a gas key." I said, "Will my key work?" He said, "Oh, yeah, they're all the same, any key will work." Sure enough, he put my key in his locked gas cap and it unlocked without any effort. So, if you know anyone who has a locking gas cap, try borrowing their key and seeing if it will unlock your cap.
More Turbo
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 547
Likes: 11
My 1978 Ford F 250 came with two gas tanks (which is great) but each of the tanks has a lockable cap. This must be leftover from the days of 1978 when we had a gas crisis and people were siphoning gas from cars. Believe it or not, one of the caps has gone into the "locked" position, and I have lost my key (like a dummy). Does anyone know the best way to get a replacement key for these caps. Were all the keys completely unique? The key that I lost worked for both caps. Thank God the other cap is not in locked position. Also - is there a way to get a cap that does not lock? I don't want to risk losing the key again.....thanks for any advice you guys can give.
Ask someone you know who has a locking cap if you can try their key in your cap. I could not believe I got 2 replacements that quick...you may to.
Dennis
More Turbo
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 547
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I have locking gas caps on my '97 Dodge Ram. Years ago, I was at a gas station, and a guy pulled up in an older, beat-up import car. He asked me if I had a locking gas cap, and I said I did. He said, "Can I borrow your key? My wife has the regular keys that we use for this car, so I'm using a spare key, but I don't have a gas key." I said, "Will my key work?" He said, "Oh, yeah, they're all the same, any key will work." Sure enough, he put my key in his locked gas cap and it unlocked without any effort. So, if you know anyone who has a locking gas cap, try borrowing their key and seeing if it will unlock your cap.
.
Ford Parts Specialist
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 88,826
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From: Simi Valley, CA
Some older Japanese cars had a locking gas cap door. My gal pal bought a used a Honda, but had no key for the door. She said there's almost no gas, what do I do?
I called a guy who was a retired locksmith, he said any gas cap key will work. So I used the key from my '65 F100 locking cap (C4RZ-9030-C) and the door popped open.
I called a guy who was a retired locksmith, he said any gas cap key will work. So I used the key from my '65 F100 locking cap (C4RZ-9030-C) and the door popped open.
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Lead Driver
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 9,618
Likes: 1,186
From: San Jose, CA
Well all of your experiences have been different than mine then. While I too have experienced two different keys working in one cap, I have way more often than not had to find the correct key, because the others did not work.
Did it just a few months ago again in fact. Thought the key was on the ring I was using, but it was not. I found six different Stant keys and not one came even close to working. I finally found the pair of keys that came with the cap and got it off with an easy flick. But the others most definitely did not work.
This was also my experience back in the seventies and eighties, with six different caps for Broncos. Two sets of individually keyed caps, and one set of a pair of keyed-alike caps. None of the keys would work in the other caps.
Now, my experiences with ignition switches have been the opposite. By the time they had a lot of mileage on them, you didn't even need a key anymore. A handy screwdriver would do the job nicely.
Hope your experience is more like the others' darmento.
Good luck!
Paul
Did it just a few months ago again in fact. Thought the key was on the ring I was using, but it was not. I found six different Stant keys and not one came even close to working. I finally found the pair of keys that came with the cap and got it off with an easy flick. But the others most definitely did not work.
This was also my experience back in the seventies and eighties, with six different caps for Broncos. Two sets of individually keyed caps, and one set of a pair of keyed-alike caps. None of the keys would work in the other caps.
Now, my experiences with ignition switches have been the opposite. By the time they had a lot of mileage on them, you didn't even need a key anymore. A handy screwdriver would do the job nicely.
Hope your experience is more like the others' darmento.
Good luck!
Paul
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Joined: Jul 2005
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Years ago I was riding in an elevator in an office building, and noticed that the locks to control the elevator modes looked a lot like the T-top locks in the '84 Capri RS 5.0 I had at the time. No one else was in the elevator so I tried the T-top key, and brought that elevator to a stop between floors!
I turned it right back on...
I turned it right back on...
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