Whats the best tool/device to pull locks out of junk cars?

[Eric Maypother CLC #15104]

Hi all,
Ive been selling taillights on eBay for a friend that has a junk yard and was wondering if anybody knows of a good tool or device to pull locks or unlock trunks with out a key, it doesnt matter if I ruing lock or trunk, I think some people have used dent puller slide hammers, my friend bought a kit of master keys but say thier mostly useless, I see on the web a device called AABLE GM Persuader, its suppose to open all GM locks with no drilling required, but Id hate to spend $50 on something I dont know how good it will work. Even when my friend uses a front end loader to rip trunks open it can be a project, youd be surprised how much you have to wrestle the car with the loader before the trunk latch comes un-done, even stabbing trunk and bouncing car the weight on trunk still wont break latch, the other day trying to open the hatch on a Cavalier wagon he ended up just bending up the corners so I could un-screw taillights.
Thanks in advance, Ill let yall know when I get good Caddy parts on eBay again.
The 2 Caddy I couldnt sell I already made more just selling parts off them than what I could have got for them complete.
Eric

[Lou 19058]

Slide hammer works best and not the cheap little 3 pounders either.. Get a SGT81000 10 lbs slugger or a #9 Morgan knocker. Screw the screw in as far as you can and with one slap,out comes the lock cylinder. Now all you need to do stick a screwdriver in the slot to release the latch.  Good luck..

[Porter 21919]

Eric,

If you dont want to ruin the trunk if you remove the rear seat you can use a long extension and unbolt the lock mechanism with a socket.

Lynn Nicholls turned me on to that method.

For the doors why not use a drill bit and just drill it out ?

I would think the slide hammer method would do a lot of damage to the surrounding sheetmetal.

Porter

[Ivan Zanatta]

If your friend owns a junkyard, have a look through his old key collection. An old guy 30 years ago told me never throw away old keys and I have a big collection now. If you jiggle through similar keys (most of the locks will have some wear in them by now) youll usually find one that will open a trunk, etc. You can salvage the tumbler and get a new key cut. Ive never met one I couldnt persuade open, it just takes a lot of keys and a little practice.

[JIM CLC # 15000]

01-10-06
Eric, There is no good reason I can think-of to ruin doors and trunks to get-in. As Porter said, remove the rear-seat and useing a looong extention, remove the nuts holding the trunk latch. As for the doors, use either a wire or slim-jims. You can make Slim-Jims from binding-straps.
Good Luck, Jim

[Fred Garfield 22310]

Before starting in on the lock/latch, you might want to place something like a spare tire on top of the trunk lid, unless you dont care about the hinge hardware. Good luck!