Rear Glass Actuator

Had my rear glass release on my blazer quit working a couple years ago but never bothered to do anything with it other than get an estimate from a dealer to fix it. They quoted over $450. One of the filaments on a tail light burnt out and barely passed inspection last year(2 bulbs each side parking/stop) so I figured I'd better try to fix it before its due again. The geniuses at Chevy really pulled a boner on it. The actuator has a piece of plastic on it connecting the actuator itself to an arm that pulls over to release the glass and once that breaks you're screwed. The tailgate has to be down to take the cover off and the glass has to be up in order to get the tailgate down and the cover screws are on the side of the rear panel. And the tailgate has to be down to get the tail light off to change a bulb. Technically(even in the owners manual) your suppose to be able to use a screw driver and put through a slot behind the carpet in the tailgate cover to push the lock release but it doesn't work. Ended up taking a sawzall and cutting the tailgate cover on both sides of the hump that covers the lock mechanism and was able to push the lever with a finger to get it open ... I'll take a pic of that tomorrow ... but this is a pic of the actuator itself and the little $2.50 part that when it breaks your up the creek. What a pain in the arse.

Try to lube lock mechanism because the stick or frozen lock mechanism causes the actuator pulls or push the lever hard due to water from car wash or rainy weather may have entered the latch(lock mechanism), causing the detent to move slowly. Hope that help....
PS. I don't sawzall the panel. Use ur common sense to remove the interior panel from the tailgate with special tools like putty or flat wide blade of driverscrew.

The actuator itself works fine ... the little plastic piece between the actuator and arm is what is broken ... I tried everything possible to get it to unlatch without cutting and it didn't work so cut the panel and pulled back and of course the panel ripped more than intended but JB Weld is about the same color as the panel so I'll fill in the cracks lol post a pic of that later.

Makes me glad Florida doesn't have inspections! I mean, my car is newer so it would pass, but inspections are such a pain!

This piece reminds me of a piece I worry about though... I have a hatch back and it's held up by the hydraulic window supports... I remember when those went bad in my old Camaro hatch... OMGERD... SMASH.... headache... Just got me thinking about that and how paranoid I am to get under my hatch every time I open it even though it is new... :Ohno:

ANYWAYS! A-D-D!!!!

That does sound like a pain in the arse.... It's always the tiny pieces that seem to do virtually nothing that are the biggest pains in the arse!

I used to have a Camaro hatchback those things are heavy but never had a support cylinder fail on anything except a camper top I had on an old truck ... my blazer has those cylinders but isn't as bad it stays up once I push it up .... this isn't my truck but in this pic you get the idea window handle is on the bottom center of the glass and the tailgate handle is inside. And I'm gonna upload that pic I took yesterday before I forget again :roll:

Inside tailgate panel after I got the window up and gate down to take it off ...

The most annoying thing about the parts is the plastic... it easily breaks and having a expensive to get it fixed. Many vehicles have plastic blend door for a/c and heating that can break and become inoperable.

Maybe if there is luck, ebay or local salvage yard may have a cheaper replacement than the dealer.

Good luck.

Calvin said:

The most annoying thing about the parts is the plastic... it easily breaks and having a expensive to get it fixed. Many vehicles have plastic blend door for a/c and heating that can break and become inoperable.

Maybe if there is luck, ebay or local salvage yard may have a cheaper replacement than the dealer.

Good luck.

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Depend how good design and depend how skill repair are you. I have no problem with plastic at all. I prefer plastic over steel due rust. RUST IS AWFUL AWFUL and kill vehicles value. Metals are more expensive than plastic.

Plus gasoline and diesel are not cheap. Everything become plastic to get fuel efficient. Did you know most newer semi-truck use plastic hood and much easy for me to open over steel. Sometime, skinny mechanic can't open the steel hood and asked another mechanic to open it. Also most new all semi trucks body are plastic now and no worry about rust and lightweight.

That's probably true about the rust and weight.

The Highlander said:

Depend how good design and depend how skill repair are you. I have no problem with plastic at all. I prefer plastic over steel due rust. RUST IS AWFUL AWFUL and kill vehicles value. Metals are more expensive than plastic.

Plus gasoline and diesel are not cheap. Everything become plastic to get fuel efficient. Did you know most newer semi-truck use plastic hood and much easy for me to open over steel. Sometime, skinny mechanic can't open the steel hood and asked another mechanic to open it. Also most new all semi trucks body are plastic now and no worry about rust and lightweight.

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It crossed my mind to check the junkyards and I know the owner of a body repair shop he would get me one at cost but the more I thought about it the more I lean toward repairing the one I cut. Bought JB Weld tubes today so I'll put a thin coat on where it tore and duct tape the back to hold it in place then just fill in the cracks from the saw blade with JB weld ... it'll match the color too and the thing will break again eventually. Actuator rod and other parts should be here Friday.

Ncff07, It was you?

That was me back in my racing days lol I'd love to cut a Festiva up those things are ugly!

ncff07 said:

The actuator itself works fine ... the little plastic piece between the actuator and arm is what is broken ... I tried everything possible to get it to unlatch without cutting and it didn't work so cut the panel and pulled back and of course the panel ripped more than intended but JB Weld is about the same color as the panel so I'll fill in the cracks lol post a pic of that later.

Click to expand...

:-o if I am in your shoes, there is no problem but for customer's vehicle, I won't do any stupid.. If there is complicated and can't get a tailgate or glass lid open then notify a customer to have to authorize to the tear down procedure like what you did it..... I never touch the actuator or latch mechanism in the tailgate of Blazer because there is no snow or rain in So Calif.

deafsmogtech said:

:-o if I am in your shoes, there is no problem but for customer's vehicle, I won't do any stupid.. If there is complicated and can't get a tailgate or glass lid open then notify a customer to have to authorize to the tear down procedure like what you did it..... I never touch the actuator or latch mechanism in the tailgate of Blazer because there is no snow or rain in So Calif.

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The dealer quoted me over $450 to fix it ... with me buying the replacement part and JB Weld it's gonna cost me $10 ... I'll take more pics later showing the actuators position in the tailgate when I get the part to put in. It's a bad problem with blazers and that plastic rod breaking like ... I found a bunch of pages and forums of others having the same problem. I didn't mind cutting the panel even if I replaced it I'd come out cheaper than the dealer was just leery using a sawzall within an inch of the glass

ncff07 said:

The dealer quoted me over $450 to fix it ... with me buying the replacement part and JB Weld it's gonna cost me $10 ... I'll take more pics later showing the actuators position in the tailgate when I get the part to put in. It's a bad problem with blazers and that plastic rod breaking like ... I found a bunch of pages and forums of others having the same problem. I didn't mind cutting the panel even if I replaced it I'd come out cheaper than the dealer was just leery using a sawzall within an inch of the glass

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Wow, if you have hobby lathe/milling machines in ur shop, you are good to make a new metal rod instead of crap plastic rod. Nothing wrong with JB weld to fix a big scar on the panel. I like it.

Calvin said:

The most annoying thing about the parts is the plastic... it easily breaks and having a expensive to get it fixed. Many vehicles have plastic blend door for a/c and heating that can break and become inoperable.

Maybe if there is luck, ebay or local salvage yard may have a cheaper replacement than the dealer.

Good luck.

Click to expand...

Jeep Grand Cherokees are famous for broken blend doors and heater cores than any domestic vehicles. Expensive repair.
You know that most dealership will phase 10 years old parts (most interior/body parts) out from the shelves (stockroom), sold to 2nd hand firms such as independent auto part store or auto restoration. That means I can not get a new door panel for my 1995 Chevy Astro van. Some dealer still have NOS parts in the stock. Maybe they phase 5 years old parts out because they have incoming new body/interior parts in the stockroom.

deafsmogtech said:

Jeep Grand Cherokees are famous for broken blend doors and heater cores than any domestic vehicles. Expensive repair.
You know that most dealership will phase 10 years old parts (most interior/body parts) out from the shelves (stockroom), sold to 2nd hand firms such as independent auto part store or auto restoration. That means I can not get a new door panel for my 1995 Chevy Astro van. Some dealer still have NOS parts in the stock. Maybe they phase 5 years old parts out because they have incoming new body/interior parts in the stockroom.

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Well, Your van is almost 20 years old and No one want spends alot $$$ to repair on low value of vehicle. 70's or older vehicles are different story.

Like your 1995 Chevy Astro's value is around $2,000. I checked on kbb.com


My 2002 mazda protege5's value was around $900 due 180,000 miles, rust, and manual transmission. The water pump just failed and it was loose then chewed both of belts. Whole parts cost around $300 to replace the new water pump, timing belt(Must remove timing belt to allow remove the water pump), two belts, gasket, idler pulley, etc plus probably took more than 4 hours (I guess). So scraped it for $300 today and plan to get a new Mazda 3 2014 5 doors with 6 speeds manual. I don't want to deal with problem again when drive to a new job at long distance.

Explorers have the similar issues as well with the plastic blend door. You can get through the glove compartment and manually switch doors for a/c for summer or heat for winter. I have the issue with that but it doesn't bother me much because I work nights and I rarely use a/c and let the windows open for the breeze. The heater works perfect and it stays where it is.

deafsmogtech said:

Jeep Grand Cherokees are famous for broken blend doors and heater cores than any domestic vehicles. Expensive repair.
You know that most dealership will phase 10 years old parts (most interior/body parts) out from the shelves (stockroom), sold to 2nd hand firms such as independent auto part store or auto restoration. That means I can not get a new door panel for my 1995 Chevy Astro van. Some dealer still have NOS parts in the stock. Maybe they phase 5 years old parts out because they have incoming new body/interior parts in the stockroom.

Click to expand...

deafsmogtech said:

Jeep Grand Cherokees are famous for broken blend doors and heater cores than any domestic vehicles. Expensive repair.
You know that most dealership will phase 10 years old parts (most interior/body parts) out from the shelves (stockroom), sold to 2nd hand firms such as independent auto part store or auto restoration. That means I can not get a new door panel for my 1995 Chevy Astro van. Some dealer still have NOS parts in the stock. Maybe they phase 5 years old parts out because they have incoming new body/interior parts in the stockroom.

Click to expand...

I just remember. I believe Chrysler/Dodge have issue with design too. Mechanic from my old job and he apart whole dashboard out to repair/replace the blend doors from RAM 1500, RAM 2500, and town and country.

The Highlander said:

Depend how good design and depend how skill repair are you. I have no problem with plastic at all. I prefer plastic over steel due rust. RUST IS AWFUL AWFUL and kill vehicles value. Metals are more expensive than plastic.

Plus gasoline and diesel are not cheap. Everything become plastic to get fuel efficient. Did you know most newer semi-truck use plastic hood and much easy for me to open over steel. Sometime, skinny mechanic can't open the steel hood and asked another mechanic to open it. Also most new all semi trucks body are plastic now and no worry about rust and lightweight.

Click to expand...

Offend me because I'm a skinny mechanic. Thank lot. Good thing that I don't work on semi-trucks.