I bought a Ranger from a guy, but it doesnt have any keys. It starts because he made sure he never locked the ignition. Its a 96 and its in good condition other than some slight body damage. It was a real cheap buy due to the fact that it had no keys. I plan on fixing the damage and selling it, but it will be kinda hard since it has no keys. Does anyone know if i can get a key made for it or if i have to buy all new locks and ignition. If i do have to buy all new locks how much would it cost. Also can i get the locks at a salvage yard.

thanks for any help!!

 

should be able to go to ford and they will make you one by reading the vin # but its going to prob. cost a bit.

 

Not to sure if the 96's have the PATS system.....but if not, any "good" auto parts store will sell replacement ignition sets........or better and cheaper, the junk yard. I had a key break off in my old Shadows ignition, and I just sent to the junk yard and yanked out another one.....mind you, make sure you grab one that has the keys for it....lol.

 

go to a junk yard, get a steering column from a truck with the same transmission as yours(manual or auto) and also get the door tumblers along with the keys......then swap them out......going to Ford is an option, but it will cost you much more than getting it out of a junk yard.......

 

yea i didnt know for sure when they started the PATS system.

 

call a locksmith... they should be able to make a key for you

 

I wanna say either `99 or `01

 

i think it was in 2000.....Bob prolly will know....

if you call a locksmith, be prepared to show alot of proof of ownership....

 

Im pretty sure the PATS came in the ranger in 2001.

 

yea, a title is best but bank statement insurance and registration info, is what we needed for my buddies truck, his keys ended up in the bottom of a lake.

 

Go to Ford or a locksmith, replacing the steering column and door locks is a pain and I can't imagine it would cost less in money and time than a qualified lock smith could handle.


~HJ

 

You purchased a vehicle from someone you don't know that did not have keys and that's not raising any red-flags for you?

 

lol...im gonna have to agree with him on that

 

My 2000 has PATS..

 

???

 

my 99 has PATS and my brothers 98 exploder has it...as long as you have the registration in your name and VI number then they should be able to make you some.. prob like 100 each though if it is infact PATS

 

i own another 96 and it has no PAT key for it so im sure they started in about 98.

 

pull the lock cylinder ou tof the door (its quite easy to do) and bring just the cylinder down to a locksmith and ask to have a couple keys made for it, shouldnt run more than 20 bucks.

 

going to a junk yard and getting a new one isnt goign to help...you still dont have any keys for that either.

you are going to have to go to a dealer, and its prob not going to be easy to get.
i dont think i would buy a truck without a key.

even if you do have 1 key, it still cost $20 each key just to get it cut with a chip. then you have to take it in the shop and have someone program it through the computer, unless you know someone with a star tester that you can access the computer through.

 

but its thats correct, then scratch my other post..

hopefully it doesn have PATS

 

PATS came out in 1995, but it wasn't an option in the Ranger until later, I don't think it showed up until 1998 or so, and even then it was rare.
Getting the keys from Ford will require knowing the original selling dealer, only they would have that information handy for that vehicle, providing that someone recorded it when it was sold. Ford may have had it on record and there's a slight chance that it may have been entered in the system, but don't count on it. I just went through that with a 1999 Contour that the original owner lost the keys after not driving the car for 4 years. The selling dealer couldn't come up with the keycode, and it hadn't been recorded anywhere with Ford. I ended up picking the tumbler to both move the car and to to get it out of the collum. I swapped in a new ignition tumbler from Ford, as well as three new locks. All said and done it was under $80 for all four pieces from Ford, in this case, an ignition tumbler, two door lock cylinders, and a trunk cylinder. I would guess that it would be around the same price or less for a Ranger lock set. The ignition set is available at the local parts store, but I'm not sure about the door locks. If your ignition tumbler isn't locked, and it's able to move to the run position, you've got it made, just pull the cylinder and swap out the two door locks and you should be good to go.

A locksmith may be able to make a set of keys, but that will most likely cost far more than a new set of locks. I would only consider that option if the collum is locked, but a good set of lock sliders will solve that. The key cut for the ignition is not the same for the door, Ford keys are actually two keys in one, there are ten cuts on each key, the 5 near the tip work the ignition, and the 5 nearest the top of the key work the door, so if you buy only an ignition tumbler, you still need to know the door code to make the key match, and not all ignition key codes will work with all door key codes, they have to match, the middle cuts have to be compatible. Without the original key or key code, there's really no way to get the code for one or the other off the locks. Opening a lock without a key is no problem, but making a key for a lock with nothing to start with is another story.
I would expect a locksmith to charge at least $150 or more for the job, more if they need to make a house call. Labor is expensive, and the parts are fairly cheap. Changing the locks itself is pretty easy, almost no tools required, just a screwdriver and a straight pick or smaller screwdriver.

As far as buying a truck with no keys, it sounds like you bought a damaged vehicle that needs repair? If so it's not uncommon for a salvage yard, repo yard, or insurance facility to either never have or lose a set of keys, they often deal with hundreds of vehicles daily, and a missing set of keys or two is no big deal. Especially if the vehicle isn't drivable or is destined for a salvage auction.