2003 z71 tahoe

Scott in AZ · May 6, 2023

Ncalvo’s rear corner vent louver appliqués showed up and he was true - they are in great shape. I cleaned them up with Meguiar’s cleaner wax and a toothbrush, buffed them out, and the result was great. I will end up using his on the other corner too.

You don’t have to remove the lift gate piston to do this job but I will probably replace the lift gate pistons when I do the other side. (Anybody got a recommendation for lift gate pistons? I’ll probably just use OEM Stabilus).

Turns out the rear corner vent appliqués are functional - they vent cabin air out the back. (Makes me wonder about half-blocking them to keep the conditioned air inside in the hot Arizona summer….). I used single-sided foam tape to supplement the existing foam gasket installed around the clips. Wire to wire time was under an hour and that included the toothbrush treatment and a deep clean on the normally-covered body panel under the functional vent appliqué! Good project, fixed a problem I’ve lived with for years, but this would be a good clean-up project even if replacing is not needed.

Marky Dissod · May 6, 2023

Scott in AZ said:
Turns out they are functional - they vent cabin air out the back.

Mind if I ask how you learned this?

Scott in AZ · May 6, 2023

After I removed the old rear corner vent louver I can actually see another rubber internal vent louver under it that passes into the cabin through the rear pillar and behind the trim panel. It seems like this is an air flow path through this speaker grill out to daylight that will flow pretty good when the truck is moving down the road. I should have taken a picture of the body panel under the rear corner vent louver to show the internal vent louver but I’m almost certain that is what the internal and external rear corner vent louver system is for.

Fless · May 6, 2023

Scott in AZ said:
You don’t have to remove the lift gate piston to do this job but I will probably replace the lift gate pistons when I do the other side. (Anybody got a recommendation for lift gate pistons? I’ll probably just use OEM Stabilus).

Strongarm brand. I used #4557 for the liftgate and #4185 for the glass struts. Now I have to be careful to be able to back up quickly when I pull the latch.

ncalvo · May 10, 2023

Scott in AZ said:
Ncalvo’s rear corner vent louver appliqués showed up and he was true - they are in great shape. I cleaned them up with Meguiar’s cleaner wax and a toothbrush, buffed them out, and the result was great. I will end up using his on the other corner too.

You don’t have to remove the lift gate piston to do this job but I will probably replace the lift gate pistons when I do the other side. (Anybody got a recommendation for lift gate pistons? I’ll probably just use OEM Stabilus).

Turns out the rear corner vent appliqués are functional - they vent cabin air out the back. (Makes me wonder about half-blocking them to keep the conditioned air inside in the hot Arizona summer….). I used single-sided foam tape to supplement the existing foam gasket installed around the clips. Wire to wire time was under an hour and that included the toothbrush treatment and a deep clean on the normally-covered body panel under the functional vent appliqué! Good project, fixed a problem I’ve lived with for years, but this would be a good clean-up project even if replacing is not needed.

I bought a cheap pair off amazon maybe $20 or 30 just look for some with good reviews, they won't last forever but mine are going on 5 yrs.
If you replace the lift gate struts and then want the same results for your hatch glass like I did... be cautious replacing the struts for your glass... I would recommend against it.
Inspect your hinges, as they are simply molded into the plastic and are weak, the new struts will add much more force to them. My hinges broke shortly after replacing them. My friend gave me his hatch glass that he repaired the hinges on, and at that point I took the struts out and stopped using the glass.
See earlier posts in this thread where I permanently fixed the weak point recently and put the upgraded hatch glass in.

Below is pic of the hinge my buddy repaired.

Sam Harris · May 10, 2023

ncalvo said:
I bought a cheap pair off amazon maybe $20 or 30 just look for some with good reviews, they won't last forever but mine are going on 5 yrs.
If you replace the lift gate struts and then want the same results for your hatch glass like I did... be cautious replacing the struts for your glass... I would recommend against it.
Inspect your hinges, as they are simply molded into the plastic and are weak, the new struts will add much more force to them. My hinges broke shortly after replacing them. My friend gave me his hatch glass that he repaired the hinges on, and at that point I took the struts out and stopped using the glass.
See earlier posts in this thread where I permanently fixed the weak point recently and put the upgraded hatch glass in.

Below is pic of the hinge my buddy repaired.View attachment 398915

Actually, as @Rocket Man pointed out in another thread, the hinges are indeed glued onto the glass (I was under the same assumption as you). With that said, I have decided not to replace my glass struts (did the lift gate yesterday), as I rarely use the glass, and would rather not take the chance of detaching them from the glass..

Post in thread 'What did you do to your NBS GMT800 Tahoe/Yukon Today?'
https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/thr...s-gmt800-tahoe-yukon-today.12502/post-1779257

ncalvo · May 20, 2023

She's mounted, only the top brackets are bolted in.
I have to drill new holes on the outside brackets 1.5" higher and get two nuts to throw in there. Also need to make a 1.5" spacer and grab two longer bolts for the inside then all 6 mounting points are good to go.
New black led foglights on the way.

ncalvo · May 20, 2023

Marky Dissod · May 20, 2023

I think I see a different grille & front bumper, and a very nice paint job?
But I don't think I'm seeing everything ...

ncalvo · May 25, 2023

Pics of the finished conversion. All bolts are in, I could have done something different than spacers in the center but they are acceptable to me like they are. Foglights are in.
Next up having a shop replace my exhaust manifolds and engine mounts next week with my parts, I have two broken bolts.

2003 z71 tahoe

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