PROBLEM SOLVED - -To my surprise, I came home last night to the kids throwing me a birthday party. But my birthday wasn't for another week! The kids gave me cards, and there was a small box. I open it, and whala keys!!!!!!! At first she didn't tell me how she got the keys, but I told her that I had to post something.
So what did she do????
Wouldn't you know it, my wife (who is awesome) got a locksmith to install a new cylinder for the cost of the part. It turns out she had a favor coming from a contact she had while working at BMW.
Sorry I can't share any pictures, stories, or elaborate diagrams on how to fix this problem, but I can tell you what I learned. This applies to first Gen Explorers. Mine is an 1993 Eddie Bauer Sport 5spd.
- Ford CANNOT look up your key code off the VIN on 1993 explorers. I contacted a few dealerships and Corporate headquarters and they don't archive back that far. Why? I have no idea. Do they know we are still driving them? I did however forget to ask them what years the do have. Thanks to Charlie's 93EB for that idea.
- Shop around for your locksmiths. There are those that will try to overcharge you for a simple job because you have no other option. It gives the legitimate guys a bad name so shop around for a good locksmith and then tell all your friends. (However, they may not all owe your wife a favor so don't expect to get it for free) Thanks retiredsparky and Lost216 for the advice.
- If you know the original dealer who sold the car, contact them. They usually record the original key codes in their records and can look up the code for you. In my case the dealer had just recently closed. I did find someone to look for records, but they only had them back to 1993. Mine was purchased in 1992. (bummer).
- You can drill the lock to get the cylinder out, but it can be risky. So do your homework and be carefull. I found a locksmith who makes tools that make it easier to accomplish this, but I am not sure that he can sell them to the general public, I called once but didn't get in touch. You can check it out at his website
www.aablelocksmiths.com.
- Master key sets are out there for most older cars that don't have chips. Check the salvage yards and some locksmiths. Then again salvage yard have the huge electric magnet and fork lifts. Thanks to Ruff94 for the tip. I still can't believe that they let you copy that key. Maybe it could have started mine.
- Ignition vs. Door cylinders. The key is broken up into two sections the bottom section is for the ignition and the top section is for the doors. So, if you rekey the doors and leave the ignition or vice versa, you should be able to take the keys to a locksmith and have them cut you a single key that works both. I was told this would work by our locksmith, but have yet to have it done.
- LAST AND MOST IMPORTANT - My personal learning experience is don't put all your keys on one ring, Make copies and stash one or two because they cost only about $1 if you have the key, and finally get a good guard dog, my lab probably licked the burglers to death.
Thanks again.
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