Yeah, I wish I could be given just a minute with the guy that stole it.

Yeah, it is in GD so that's why I'm not offended.

In any case, I'm not sure how long I'll be holding onto the truck once I get it back. Who knows what they did with it.

 

Not knowing all the circumstance of where it was stolen from or where it was found or anything, if it was stolen from your drive and found in a shop, then I'd assume it was slim jim and a tow truck. In which case they pay not have had time to start cutting it up. Which means if it's still in one pice then it didn;t do anything but take a ride. Check the mileage, and look for clues, about all you can do.

I had a Jeep that got stolen 3 different times prior to me, atleast twice was a rough ride for it, but I drove it for 5 years with 2 kids.

 

I apologize Pitbul, wasn't trying to step on anybody's toes. I definately wasn't trying to make light of the situation. Maybe I should think a little longer from now on before I type. No hard feelings.....right?:o

 

When I bought my 97 new it came with a plastic key to keep in your wallet for emergencies.

 

Here it is. It came with it new and I don't think it was a dealer installed option. The truck is a XL model and besides being a 4x4 with a automatic tranny it only came with A/C and a cass. player

 

I dont belive thats what his looked like, may have been, I cant remember, it's been over a year since I rode in that truck. I think his was a yellow key.

 

Don't worry about it Jammer. After I read it a few times, I smiled a little bit.

It just pisses me off that some guy can steal my vehicle and Autopac is going to try ramming me up the poop shoot with trying to get it back in proper condition.

But, hopefully some of the things are still in the vehicle.

Here's a laugher though, and almost a cryer. My father had bought some nice booster cables from Petro Canada with his points back a few years ago, those were in the truck the first time it got stolen 2 years ago. Now, I'm the owner and I just got enough points to buy the same set and bam, a few weeks later they're probably gone. I'll know more when I see it tomorrow. They weren't even out of the box yet.

 

And not to mention if you are towing with rear axle off the ground (since you cant get it out of park) there is no need to take the parking brake off

 

There are at least three different way I can think of to break into an F-150 without any obvious physical damage. (None of which I'm going to discuss here) I can also think of four different ways to haul the thing off without even breaking a sweat.

Without seriously consulting the schematics, off the top of my head, and without the PATS system in place on the 97 and 98s, I can see how it would be possible to make the engine run without the key. On older carbeurated engines, a screwdriver and a single jumper wire is all it took. Our trucks are a bit more difficult, but with some proper planning, I think even I could do it (although I have never tried and have no intention of doing so).

Now, that being said, once the motor was running, driving it would be a whole other issue. The brake-shift interlock still needs a switched input from the ignition switch to get it out of park, and the ignition lock still needs to be turned to unlock the steering wheel to turn the truck. Without those two things, a running motor isn't very useful to start with.

So, that all leaves two possibilities I can think of: First is a duplicate key. It's not impossible to do. There are a finite number of possible key combinations out there.... In a city that has 30,000 Ford trucks, it's not impossible to find another vehicle that has the same key cut. It's also *possible* to get one cut from the VIN, but only if that particular dealership maintained a record of the key codes when they sold you the vehicle. I always insist on getting (and have) the key code ID tags (both the metal and the bar codes) when I purchase my vehicles. Ford corporate does not maintain a central database of the key codes in their vehicles.

The other method is, as already mentioned, a tow truck. If you've ever seen a repo-truck in action, they can scoop it and run in under 30 seconds without leaving a trace on the pavement. Flat-beds are a bit more work and take a bit longer, but a 5000 lb truck is no match for a 12,000 lb winch and a flat-bed.

The bottom line is that if a thief wants your truck, they're gonna get it one way or another.

-Joe

 

The theif could have a big set of try out keys, like these
http://www.lockpicks.com/index.asp?P...ROD&ProdID=304

or he could have a jiggler key set, like this:
http://www.lockpicks.com/index.asp?P...ROD&ProdID=403

 

The guy that owns my local NAPA/Oil Change/Tire Shop/Repair shop was the first person to ever bypass the PATS system on a Ford. He was putting a late model Cobra motor out of a wrecked Cobra into an early model Mustang and reusing the stock computer and wiring harness. There was a nice writeup about it in one of the Mustang magazines. It was not easy. In fact, his contacts at FoMoCo engineering told him it couldn't be done!

My point is--it isn't easy to bypass PATS.

Grim

 

That's why PATS is so effective, but we're not talking about a PATS-equipped truck, we're talking about a 98 which is NON-PATS equipped, but still has a significant amount of electronic hurdles to overcome to make the engine run without the key....

Off the top of my head, PCM and fuel pump would need to be powered, plus any circuits that needed to be powered for any of the engine sensors to run. With some prep time (i.e. if I wanted to become a hardened thief) I'd have a harness made-up for under the hood... Break into the truck by whatever illicit means necessary to gain entry, pop the hood, open the fuse and relay block, yank a hand full of strategic fuses and relays, pop in a series of fuses and relays tied to my 'harness' and snap two battery clips onto the battery, thereby bypassing all the ignition-controlled circuits. Do the same thing with one inside the truck powered by the cigarette lighter, and viola! I'm off and running! (Once I'm able to turn the ignition lock to steer the truck of course, but if I could turn the ignition, I could just start the truck normally!)

Looking back on it, I'm too smart to be a thief... I think too surgically...

-Joe