I know I know a lot of you little squirrels thought I was gone as though your pathetic flames or admonishments to ignore the 'troll', as though most of you have a clue what a troll is anyway, could get rid of me. One more time: Please please please ignore me if my posts disturb you I couldnt care less what you think anyway and like I said I dont want to be blamed if you have a massive f****ng MI or something over what I write. Anyway Im back and here to stay get use to it.
OK the 8 cut. This lock it used 96 or on some models 97 up on most Ford models. I shouldve included this with cracking the Ford 10 cut because this piece of junk forces exactly the same way. Why? Because the friendly Ford people could care less if your car gets jacked they just want you to buy the damn thing to keep the service dept in business and made it as weak as the 10 cut since it wasnt possible to make the damn thing weaker unless they used paper mache which is too expensive for use in Ford products. Some of you probably missed cracking the 10 cut since you hate Fords and would never own or even steal one, which is smart since it sucks to break down in the middle of a high speed chase or because you never lose your damn keys, well good for you arent you special it saves you time to work on your Ford LOL. So I have reposted cracking the ford 10 cut below. Just apply the knowledge learned to the 8 cut except that the commercially available tool is an 8 cut force tool or bypass key or whatever depending on which supplier sells it and who manufactures it not a 10 cut bypass key. I know. You are saying: DUH. Well Evan the freaking maintenance man is still reading this, that is if he hasnt fallen off a ladder or stuck his finger in a light socket or some other stupid damn thing at his job at the tampon factory and he would be confused if I didnt point that out. Keep those Tampon machines humming Evan. Some people will undoubtably complain that its a waste of bandwidth etc and that I should have just linked to it. I have anticipated your complaints and I just dont care.
One quick word on transponders: many models that use the 8 cut are equipped with transponders many others arent. For a comprehensive list get autosmart or another autolocksmithing publication or call your local locksmith and bug him or her about whether a model is or isnt transponder equipped. Dont feel bad if you dont know what transponders are or how they work most of the damn locksmiths dont either. Dont believe me? Just ask most of them to make a key for one.
From: somesmartass ( snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com) Subject: Cracking the Ford 10 Cut. View: Complete Thread (4 articles) Original Format Newsgroups: alt.locksmithing Date: 2004-04-02 12:47:30 PST
This post is for everybody who has ever had a problem with getting a Key for the 10 cut ford ignition. This lock has 6 wafers and a sidebar but is called a 10 cut because thats how many cuts are on the key. 4 operate the door only and two are shared by door and ignition + 4 unique to the ignition. Wala, or however you spell that exclamation,
10 cuts. This lock was used 1984.5 - 1996 on most Ford models.Many pickups were a notable exception and retained the older and better 5 pin ignition. Do not use this technique on that ignition. You may crack it, usually to a bunch of pieces before you get it to turn, but will likely do damage to the column in the process. It can be picked in the usual manner for pin tumbler locks since there is no side bar. There is a hardened insert to protect from drilling which will have you scratching your head or perhaps cursing depending on your temperment, and wishing you had extra drill bits if you dont know its there. If you want to drill it use a masonry i.e. carbide bit at high speed on it till you break through the hardened insert.
Some Escort/Tracer use a modified version of the ten cut where only seven cuts on the key are relevant, none the less the good people at FORD have cut the other three on the factory keys, perhaps in an attempt to weaken it and thus increase the odds that it will break off in the ignition. That lock should also theoretically succumb to this technique but I havent had occassion to try it on one so dont hold me to it. The 10 cut lock can easily be identified by its offset keyway, which you may have to remove the wings or ears to see. It also has 6 wafers, actually a combination of a pin and a wafer as I recall with the wafer portion of each tumbler interacting with the sidebar. No matter though for this discussion. I'm not getting into how to make a key for the damn thing just how to break the blasted thing and replace it. Some may not consider this locksmithing. As you may have figured out by now I dont care what you think so dont bother telling me. Just mutter to yourself or something, you will waste less of your time. Better yet if you are an uptight secret squirrel dont read my posts at all they will just piss you off. I dont want to be responsible for you having a coronary or some damn thing.
Ok to the business at hand. This 10 cut lock like most Ford ignitions that I know of cant be removed without being in the on position. Thats a problem when you dont have the key. Starting the damn car is a problem too without the key but thats about to change.
Method 1:
Obtain the correct tool, dont scream, Im going to cover an alternate method for those of you to cheap or lazy or whatever else to buy the damn thing. The correct tool is called a sure shot or 10 cut bypass key or similar depending on who makes it. It is available from most automotive locksmith suppliers on the web. Some of them will only sell to locksmiths, or people with locksmith stationary or a locksmith email address anyway, others will sell to just about anybody even though they may claim they only sell to locksmiths to protect themselves from liability. I could post the names of the lax ones but it wouldnt do you any good because no sooner than I post it some damn secret squirrel will be calling them and trying to convince them to check credentials or get fingerprints or some such nonsense to protect the sanctity and secret squirelness of the locksmith profession. Anyway I digress. The tool incorporates a tempered steel blade similar to a 10 cut key i.e. H67 or similar blank. Thats on the end which goes in the lock, youre probably saying "no really I never would have guessed", well I have to be thorough here for people like Evan the maintenance man who will swear that my instructions are bogus because I didn't say which end goes in the damn lock. It must take this guy at least an hour and and a dozen read throughs of the procedure to change a damn light bulb. Anyway on the back of the tool is a large hex 3/4 or 7/8" as I recall. Insert the tool in the lock. Ok Evan insert the part that looks like a damn key blank in the lock, happy now? Push it all the way in. Apply the appropriate socket or wrench to the hex and give it a sharp twist in the clockwise direction. You will here a crack which is the sound of the sidebar breaking the lock cylinder and the ignition will turn. This works because 10 cut ignitions are shoddy built crap with cylinder material only slightly more durable than an ice cream cone. If it doesn't work you are doing something wrong or you are using it on the wrong type of lock. I have never seen it fail on the true 10 cut ignition, like I say I havnt tried it on the Escort/Tracer versions so dont bitch at me if you buy it and try it on one and it doesnt work. You can always sell the damn thing on ebay for twice what you paid for it. I will probably cover drilling these things at a later time anyway.
Method 2:
OK here it is, the one for you cheap bastards who probably just skipped over everything else I just wrote anyway. Get a screwdriver approximately 3/8" wide at the blade. And still thin enough to go in the lock. Craftsman ones about 2 sizes or so down from the largest work good. They also have a square shank which is helpful for the next step. Obtain a large adjustable wrench or vise grips, pliers may work but are marginal in holding power. It is helpful to first break the wings off if they are on your ignition, just pop them off with a screwdriver, remember this for when we start talking about the GM 6 cut. Tap the screwdriver, yes Evan, the blade end, into the lock. Tap it in good and tight. It must fit very snug. Now torque the screwdriver hard and fast with the wrench etc in a clockwise direction. If all has gone well you will hear the CRACK of yet another Ford defect failing under the slightest stress and the ignition will turn. Now you can either start the car and drive away assuming there is no transponder, PATS, etc system which on most of these there isn't. To find out which models are theft protected and which arent as well as just about everything you ever wanted to know about auto locking systems get autosmart or a similar publication from your friendly supplier whom of course you write to on your locksmith letterhead or email from your locksmith email address. At this point some secret squirrel will likely chime in that there is a lot more to locksmithing than reading some damn book. That might well be true but most of them would be lost without that damn book so just ignore that noise. Alternatively if you are, as I suspect, too cheap to buy the damn book you can call your local locksmith for a price on making a key for the car in question, wait while he looks in his book to find out what the hell to do, then if he quotes you a price that sounds like the days spot price for an ounce or two of gold it is a transponder system. To confirm you can ask him: "is that because it uses a transponder or something" at which point he may do the rational thing and tell you or he may get very quiet since he is wondering just what the hell business of yours transponders and the like are anyway, you being just a lowly consumer and all. He may even say something like "Just why the hell do you want to know about transponders" or something like that, this might seem strange to you but it is pretty much normal locksmith behavior, dont hold it against him, thank him and hang up. Or you could tell him that you read some article on Usenet by some smartass SOB about forcing the ignition on your car and you want to know if the damn thing is further protected from theft or if the friendly F O R D people have jammed you yet again.
If you are changing the lock at this point turn it to the on position and depress the retainer and pull it out. If the lock hasnt turned look to see if the screwdriver has slipped. If so try again except jam it in tighter and exert some force on the end while turning or use a tighter fitting screwdriver. This method works very reliably but is not quite as good as method 1 which is why I told you cheapskates to buy the damn tool.
Note that none of this is a secret. Locksmith type secret squirrels pay special attention here. Car thieves and others who frequently need to start cars with no keys have known this for years. Ford has also known about it since day one and like most of their deffects they simply dont give a damn unless the car is exploding for no apparant reason or something like that and they are being sued over it. Even then they dont care unless the cost of correcting the defect is less than the losses in court. This is in no way slander or libel, the truth being the best defense against that, just ask anyone who has owned a Fixed Or Repaired Daily. Besides Im posting from several proxies away from where you header crunchers think I am so it doesnt make a damn anyway. Also note that if you are a locksmith and this is pissing you off you are taking things way too seriously and you need to lighten up before you have the BIG ONE as Fred Sanford or what was his name......Red Foxx??? use to say