Slick 60's

Hello All,
I have a 1985 F150 that my brother in law gave me. I keep it out at the deer camp. Someone broke into the truck and our cabin. The thing is I guess they found the keys to the truck in the cabin after they had smashed the window out on the truck. I keep the battery disconnected so they didn't steal the truck, but they took the keys. Does anyone know how to get the key cylinder out without having the keys? Everything I read says you need to insert the key to remove the cylinder.

The bad thing is I just replaced the steering column because the old ignition switch broke about two months ago. I found a tilt column with keys. I hate thieves.

Thanks for any info. Sorry if this post should be somewhere else.

I just went through this.
You will need to drill the lock cylinder out to get the switch to turn so you can remove it. I recommend using a 3/8ths drill bit.
Only go so deep as to remove the little tumbler pins, but not so deep as to ruin the actuator behind it.
You will probably need to break off the ears of the switch to drill it properly, but you may not have to. Try it without breaking it first.
You will most likely need to remove any plastic shrouds around the steering column.
Go slow, check often as you drill in, and it will free it up to rotate it.
I would get the replacement cylinder first to use as a guide as to how deep to go.
Once you drill out the lock and can get the cylinder to turn with a screwdriver, you can rotate the switch to the RUN or ON position, which is necessary to remove the lock in the normal fashion, as though you had the key.
Good luck, this is about a 15 - 30 minute job.

As an alternative, you may be able to get the truck to start and run without the key, if you need to move it to a work location.
Lower the steering column, and look for the master ignition electrical switch. This is mounted on the steering column, and is actuated by a rod up above, from the keyed ignition cylinder.
Remove the rod (don't bend it) and then you can move the switch by hand.
Not easy to do if you have a clutch pedal interrupt lock-out switch, though!

Thanks for the info, Banjopicker.

Are you saying to drill out where the key is supposed to insert into the cylinder? That should be fairly easy.

Thanks

That is correct!
Drill out the locking portion to free up the cylinder. Once it can be turned, you can use a screwdriver to rotate it to RUN or ON to replace it, or even start the truck.
Best of luck!