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Building the Ford Ignition Lock:

After having trouble turning the ignition lock on my 2.0L 16V, I consulted the List on the best possible course of action. It came to light that the sensible thing to do is replace the ignition lock before it gets to the stage that it won’t turn at all. This is because it is necessary to turn the ignition lock to position 1 in order to remove it. If you wait until it won’t turn, the process is much more complicated.

As a result, I decided to write this guide to lock repair. The basic principle is the same for any of the locks on the Scorpio.

You will require a set of internal circlip pliers, a set of external circlip pliers, fine nosed pliers and some tweezers – don’t try to do the job without them because it’s too hard and you will probably break something!

 Get your key 'read'

When you purchase the lock repair kit (finis 1022184 at £12.41 including VAT), have the parts guy read your key code. It will be something like 241121 for example. This describes the depth of cut at each position on the key. You will need to know which direction the code has been read – normally, this is from the end of the key in towards the key handle.

Ignition lock removal

Very straightforward. Remove the 2 screws holding the upper steering column shroud and remove the shroud. Insert the ignition key and turn to position 1. Push detent on the top of the lock barrel with a small screwdriver and withdraw the lock from the steering column. If you cannot access the detent, it may be necessary to remove the lower steering column shroud and wiper multi-plug – I did not need to do this, however.

Build the lock mechanism

Empty the contents of the lock repair kit onto a nice clean table, or sheet of paper. It should look something like this:

Now, arrange the numbered discs (wafers) and spacers in order according to the key number. You need to assemble the lock from the key handle end to the key tip, so that will probably mean reversing the key code.

Insert the wafers and spacers into the internal barrel in the order described above, starting with a wafer, so for the example key code give, you would insert wafer 1, spacer, wafer 2, spacer, wafer 1, spacer, wafer 1, spacer, wafer 4, spacer and finally, wafer 2. You get 3 of each wafer in the repair kit, hence the unused wafers in the picture above.

Your lock should now look like the picture below:

Now, place the barrel end onto the castellated end of the internal barrel, and hold it there with your fingers.

Take the key and insert through the barrel end. The key should turn in the lock and cause a gap to form along the slot down the side of the internal barrel into which the locking pin should sit neatly. If this is the case, then you have correctly assembled the wafers and can now fix the lock together by folding over the castellated tabs onto the barrel end to hold it in place. Do not attempt to lubricate the wafers as this will encourage the collection of debris by the lock and may cause premature failure. 

Check once again that the lock operates correctly with your key.

Assemble the lock 

Place the lock cover into the barrel end so that it appears almost flat when looking directly at the end.

Apply a little grease around the outside of the internal barrel and the locking pin. Insert the locking pin along the slot cut into the internal barrel and insert the internal up into the external barrel ensuring that the locking pin is in line with the cut-out on the external barrel and the lock cover is in place. The end with the lock cover should end up nearest the key entry hole on the external barrel. 

Now, invert the lock so that the key entry hole is pointing down and insert the internal circlip. It should seat into the slot cut in the external barrel. Now, place the external circlip on the end of the internal lock barrel – reference to the old lock may help here.

Install new lock

Place your key into the new lock mechanism and verify that it operates satisfactorily. Turn to position 1, then push the new lock barrel into the hole left by the old one. Refit the steering column shrouding and multiplug if removed. Start the car and congratulate yourself on having fixed it for a little over £12! I believe that it is possible to buy a readily assembled lock to match your key for about £35 if the procedure to build your own is too daunting.

Thanks to Simon C for words and pix