Hello ford people, forddave here. I'm a 50 year old fossil fuel burn'in, tire melting, bean oil burnin, global warming criminal who likes old fords(& others) and do not care what the import crowd thinks!! I came here to seek the infinite patience, knowledge, & wisdom of smarter than me ford friends. I apologize for not having a maverick at the present moment,(Have had a few) But I do have a current ford, a 1971 Ranchero, neither car nor truck?? and there in lies the problem... I recovered a identical maverick steering column ignition switch,(Ranchero's column was destroyed by meth head loser) but cannot get the tumbler out. I am now convinced i have to take column & tumbler to locksmith to get key made or remove tumbler for replacement as I have no keys. Shucks sold me a replacement tumbler that i'm pretty sure is a door lock & not ignition tumbler. Question; anyone know any tricks to remove tumbler? Anywho.. its great to be here, and I always loved my mavericks, wish I would have kept them all, well most of them anyways. I did keep a 1949Ford panel wagon that is a factory 4X4 Marmon Herrington, the first true full time 4X4.
OK, I have done this a "few" times in the past. I take a 3/8" drill bit and drill straight down the center of the lock cylinder. Move the drill bit in and out as you drill so the tumblers and springs will come out of the cylinder. If you have a new lock cylinder you can see on the bottom of it a T shaped piece that is attached to the cylinder by a much smaller piece. This is what you are after. Drill through the cylinder till you get to this piece. Be careful not to drill to far down and hit the retainer plate inside the column. All you want to do is cut that small round piece off of the T piece. Once you get it cut off you will be able to pull the center of the cylinder out of the column if you have all of the tumblers either cut off or removed. Sometimes they will not come out and you can turn it to where you can tap the retaining pin in. Then take a punch and tap the cylinder retaining pin in and remove the outside of the lock cylinder. Get a smaller bit like 1/8" and drill a hole in the T piece. Then get a 3" drywall screw and screw it into the T piece till it turns the ignition to the start position and tighten it a little more. Then turn it backwards to the on position and you will be able to pull the T piece out of the column. Hold the outside of the new cylinder pushing on the retaining pin and turn the new key to where the retaining pin will push in flush to the cylinder (on position). Then just slide the new cylinder in the column and turn the key to the off position and remove the key. All done. It takes me about 10 min to do this, no big deal.
Thanks for the welcome Wow, i feel at home here.. i also love 2 stroke internal combustion= animal tesosterone, primarily snowmobiles... infinite clutch ratios, 150 + hp in a 500 lb chassis, with 6' X 15" of pure traction, accelerating to top gear ratio until your arms hurt or eyes bleed....vertical if possible!! Just for fun of course. I always follow all laws & suggested speed limits....unless otherwise posted?? I dropped off the column collar & ignition keyway for locksmith to make a key.. Just as well, I'll break something else...soon.
Ford dave allways study the Ford shop manuals and google images untill you feel confident enough, then get her done. 50s something mechanic, Bob Nix-middle Georgia.
