'97 BLAZER Rear Hatch problem

I also have a '97 Blazer rear hatch problem.
Without warning, the dash mounted button nor the rear glass button will not release the hatch window. I hear the solenoid moving, but will not release the window in order to open the tail gate. I think it might be the cable broke or some other piece that connects the solenoid to the latch mechanism. I'm thinking I can climb inside the back and remove the carpet panel and should be able to see the problem. Has anyone done this before?
Do I just pry the carpet panel loose, like a door panel?
Always something!
"97 Blazer 101,565 miles.
Thanks in advance for your help!
gm
:banghead:

I searched Goggle today and found a string-Craig from October 29, 2002.
CRAIG:"Oh yeah, this is another Chevy engineering master piece. It is your actuator. This is the mechanism which, when you push in on the lock, fires a small hook that pulls an arm that pops the hatch open. The flaw in GM's plan though is that the hook is made of PLASTIC and the arm is made of METAL. My dealer wanted $65 to replace the actuator! The broken plastic hook is a $0.03 part. Remove the tailgate door panel, just clips and a couple of screws. Then remove the metal skin over the mechanism; several small bolts. The piece you need is blue plastic with a rubber boot. I simply used cable ties with enough slack. Very easy."
Craig was right on.
The hardest part was loosing the tailgate door panel enough to push the arm that pops the hatch. Note, my hatch was closed so I had to climb in the back. I took a small hook and pulled the tailgate door panel in the middle enough to push the arm against the latch. Note there are four clips in the top portion, two on the sides, and two screws on each end near the top of the tailgate. I was able to pop the hatch; lower the tailgate to get access to the panel screws on the side from there it was easy. Just remember to pop the two white plastic retainers for the tailgate actuator rods and the one rod for the tailgate latch just slides out. Once the screws on the black metal panel are removed you can see the blue plastic piece. Mine was broken so I don’t really know what it looked like before. Just pull the rubber boot back a little and slide a cable tie through the slot and through the hole in the metal arm. You have now connected the moving solenoid portion to the piece that actually presses on the latch arm that actually does the work. I have pictures, if anyone wants them. It was amazingly easy fix. Not that high tech, but it works and it didn't cost me anything but a cable tie and about an hour. I cycled everything several times with no problems. The question is how long the plastic tie wrap will last.
Hope someone is able to use the information.
gm

I searched Goggle today and found a string-Craig from October 29, 2002.
CRAIG:"Oh yeah, this is another Chevy engineering master piece. It is your actuator. This is the mechanism which, when you push in on the lock, fires a small hook that pulls an arm that pops the hatch open. The flaw in GM's plan though is that the hook is made of PLASTIC and the arm is made of METAL. My dealer wanted $65 to replace the actuator! The broken plastic hook is a $0.03 part. Remove the tailgate door panel, just clips and a couple of screws. Then remove the metal skin over the mechanism; several small bolts. The piece you need is blue plastic with a rubber boot. I simply used cable ties with enough slack. Very easy."
Craig was right on.
The hardest part was loosing the tailgate door panel enough to push the arm that pops the hatch. Note, my hatch was closed so I had to climb in the back. I took a small hook and pulled the tailgate door panel in the middle enough to push the arm against the latch. Note there are four clips in the top portion, two on the sides, and two screws on each end near the top of the tailgate. I was able to pop the hatch; lower the tailgate to get access to the panel screws on the side from there it was easy. Just remember to pop the two white plastic retainers for the tailgate actuator rods and the one rod for the tailgate latch just slides out. Once the screws on the black metal panel are removed you can see the blue plastic piece. Mine was broken so I don’t really know what it looked like before. Just pull the rubber boot back a little and slide a cable tie through the slot and through the hole in the metal arm. You have now connected the moving solenoid portion to the piece that actually presses on the latch arm that actually does the work. I have pictures, if anyone wants them. It was amazingly easy fix. Not that high tech, but it works and it didn't cost me anything but a cable tie and about an hour. I cycled everything several times with no problems. The question is how long the plastic tie wrap will last.
Hope someone is able to use the information.
gmHow did you get the hatch open?

Hey,

Okay, I have a 1996 Blazer, and no, the rear hatch won't open. I see that others have had this same problem and it's an easy fix -- once you get the hatch open.

So, again it's a '96 so the glass goes up and the tailgate goes down... With this in mind, does anyone have a DETAILED DESCRIPTION as to how to get this fixed?

Where do you pull back the interior panel, and how far can it go before the thing breaks and causes even more problems? Once you have it pulled back a little what are you looking for inside to release the glass? What do you push or pull on to get the glass to release? How much pressure will I need to get the latch to release? These are just some of the questions that I need answered.

Any pictures would be great as well.

Thank you very much for any help.

Z

Hey,

I managed to get the hatch open!!!

I used an allan key -- the "L" shape was exactly what I needed to pop the latch. If you're sitting in the back of the Blazer facing the locked hatch, just turn the allan key sideways so you can slide it between the glass and the plastic panel. Once you have it in there, turn it so that the bottom of the "L" shape poits towards the front of the vehicle and, just press down... It only took a couple of tries and the hatch popped open for me.

Then it's easy to get the interior panel off to get to the problem.

Now, I don't want to pay the dealer $60-$65 to replace the whole accuator assembly just to fix the tiny plastic piece since it's the only thing broken, so I am looking for other solutions.

CCCD, I like your solution, and I would like to see the pictures of your repair (I have given you a PM). If anyone else has a solution, I am looking for any ideas that will work to fix this problem.

This seems to be a common issue, so there should be many people with great solutions to fix this -- I want to hear them all.

Thanks,

Z

Well, it's almost two months since this post was last replied to, but I'm now having the same issue as those above did (still are?).

Does anyone have any pics of the process of this fix? I see the idea of a twist tie to replace the o.e.m. part, but now that it's been a few months, I'm curious as to how it's held up since. Has anyone used other parts with much success (and for how long)? Or has anyone just gone out and paid the dealer for the actual part--if so, what's the average cost out there?

I have a 95 Chevy Blazer LT 4-door, if that makes a difference. I also have the two part rear entry (metal tail gate for bottom half with glass liftgate for top half) with the keyed entry on the tail gate on the outside, and the handle on the inside of the tailgate (of course both aren't working, though I can hear the solenoid, also).

I'm about to head out this weekend and take care of it, so any help anyone can give on the matter would be taken gratefully.

Thanks to all in advance.

Hey noah'dib,

I used a zip tie or cable tie or whatever they're called... you know, the little plastic straps that can only be tightened once you get them started.

So far so good too! I've had no problems since I fixed it, and I use the rear hatch at least a couple of times everyday.

Sorry, no pictures though -- I don't have a digital camera. Once you get the interior panels off it's actually really easy to see what needs to be done.

Good luck.

Z

There are others :eek: with this problem ,please continue thread on this topic at this site.
click here for additional threads on same topic (http://www.automotivehelper.com/topic233416.htm)
seems like there would be a recall for this problem since it says in the manual for emergency release 1)cut hole in carpet 2)stick screwdriver in hole to pop hatch . and that does not work . How else will they stop making important parts out of cheap plastic if we dont tell the industry.
I will (like everybody else) go into the back hatch and find a fix for this because I cant afford to have the dealership first to pop the hatch and then to fix it. I will take photos of this as I dig into the problem.
Thank you AF for this web site!
PHOTOS TO FOLLOW SOON!

Just wanted to thank everyone for this thread.
Simple as 1, 2, 3.
1. Hardest part was figuring out how to push the release lever to open the window from the inside as described above.
2. Remove the inner door panels.
3. I had to use two Tie Straps to attach the actuator to the lever(because of the way the little plastic piece had broken). Seems to be holding up fine.

Thanks for the helpful post however Im still having issues finding exactly where to push down on. Not being able to see anything im just fishing around. Also not knowing what side or what to feel for. Any help you can offer.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=295997&highlight=tailgate

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=356816&highlight=500

Thanks for the helpful post however Im still having issues finding exactly where to push down on. Not being able to see anything im just fishing around. Also not knowing what side or what to feel for. Any help you can offer.

I spent some time looking for my photos, but can not find them.
I look again tomorrow.
I remember you get inside the back so you can remove the plastic cover around the handle and then have someone cycle the latch and you can see it move, then use an L shaped tool to release the tailgate latch.
Sorry this is not clear, I'll try to find the pictures or take some more.
I put the ty-wrap in May '04 and it still is working.
gm

The little blue plastic piece broke on my '96 Blazer. Followed the above instructions, and fixed it. Instead of removing the metal cover to gain access to all the inner workings, I just drilled a hole in the blue plastic piece that is attached to the solenoid. Then I threaded a cable-tie through the plastic piece and the metal arm that pushes the bar. It works. Thanks to all above who's posts helped me fix this GM engineering disaster!

I searched Goggle today and found a string-Craig from October 29, 2002.
CRAIG:"Oh yeah, this is another Chevy engineering master piece. It is your actuator. This is the mechanism which, when you push in on the lock, fires a small hook that pulls an arm that pops the hatch open. The flaw in GM's plan though is that the hook is made of PLASTIC and the arm is made of METAL. My dealer wanted $65 to replace the actuator! The broken plastic hook is a $0.03 part. Remove the tailgate door panel, just clips and a couple of screws. Then remove the metal skin over the mechanism; several small bolts. The piece you need is blue plastic with a rubber boot. I simply used cable ties with enough slack. Very easy."
Craig was right on.
The hardest part was loosing the tailgate door panel enough to push the arm that pops the hatch. Note, my hatch was closed so I had to climb in the back. I took a small hook and pulled the tailgate door panel in the middle enough to push the arm against the latch. Note there are four clips in the top portion, two on the sides, and two screws on each end near the top of the tailgate. I was able to pop the hatch; lower the tailgate to get access to the panel screws on the side from there it was easy. Just remember to pop the two white plastic retainers for the tailgate actuator rods and the one rod for the tailgate latch just slides out. Once the screws on the black metal panel are removed you can see the blue plastic piece. Mine was broken so I don’t really know what it looked like before. Just pull the rubber boot back a little and slide a cable tie through the slot and through the hole in the metal arm. You have now connected the moving solenoid portion to the piece that actually presses on the latch arm that actually does the work. I have pictures, if anyone wants them. It was amazingly easy fix. Not that high tech, but it works and it didn't cost me anything but a cable tie and about an hour. I cycled everything several times with no problems. The question is how long the plastic tie wrap will last.
Hope someone is able to use the information.
gm

Can you email me the pictures? I am having the rear hatch problem on my 94 S10. Thanks in advance for your help.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=295997&highlight=tailgate

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=356816&highlight=500

Visiting my son in Colorado and he asked if I could take a look at his 99 Blazer because the rear glass wouldn't open. Tried the handbook emergency action but it didn't work. Found this thread with its execellent explanation and photos. Followed the suggestions and now problem fixed.

Thanks guys for all the help

H.

Thanks for the great info on this repair for rear window that won't open. Had the same problem with the rear window latch and actuator, with the broken arm. Arm piece is not available for sale, need to replace the whole actuator. At todays rate at my local chevy dealer $110.00 hr labor, actuator motor $130.00. Total cost would probably have been 1.5 hrs labor plus parts and shop rags, plus disposal of bad parts= labor $165.00 parts $130.00 +misc $25.00= $320.00. I repaired with 2 small zip ties and 1 hr labor. GM has no bulletin or recall for this part.
This was for a 2003 xtreme 42,000 miles.

Thanks for the great info on this repair for rear window that won't open. Had the same problem with the rear window latch and actuator, with the broken arm. Arm piece is not available for sale, need to replace the whole actuator. At todays rate at my local chevy dealer $110.00 hr labor, actuator motor $130.00. Total cost would probably have been 1.5 hrs labor plus parts and shop rags, plus disposal of bad parts= labor $165.00 parts $130.00 +misc $25.00= $320.00. I repaired with 2 small zip ties and 1 hr labor. GM has no bulletin or recall for this part.
This was for a 2003 xtreme 42,000 miles.
welcome to af. glad you were able to fix the problem but this thread is over 3 years old. please refrain from posting in old threads :nono: .