Firstoneman
Member
Hello:
Bittersweet post here...just got a 2003 Suburban that belonged to my father because he passed away. I’ve considered doing the following repair for him for a while now, but it was something I put off because he built a box with drawers and it is in the way of getting to the inside panel of the rear hatch. I now need the rear cargo space for hauling stuff from house, etc... I got the seats out of the way and managed to pull the box back away from the hatch far enough for access. Now for the problem. I tried several different search strings on the forum search but couldn’t find it with my ideas.
The rear hatch lock actuator mechanism must be bad because the window button won’t work to open it and the door handle for the complete hatch to lift doesn’t work either. So I need to get a new one. My questions are: 1) can I get that interior panel off without the hatch open and not destroy the panel? (I have to work from the inside with hatch closed) 2) I see prices all over the map for the actuator... $15 to $150. The local junk yard wants $75. What to buy? Rock shows a part from Shee-Mar for $20 - can I trust it? Comes with 2 yr warranty. Otherwise the local shop has one for $125. 3) Is there a way to open the lift gate without that actuator working?
Thanks for your thoughts.
Dave
Bittersweet post here...just got a 2003 Suburban that belonged to my father because he passed away. I’ve considered doing the following repair for him for a while now, but it was something I put off because he built a box with drawers and it is in the way of getting to the inside panel of the rear hatch. I now need the rear cargo space for hauling stuff from house, etc... I got the seats out of the way and managed to pull the box back away from the hatch far enough for access. Now for the problem. I tried several different search strings on the forum search but couldn’t find it with my ideas.
The rear hatch lock actuator mechanism must be bad because the window button won’t work to open it and the door handle for the complete hatch to lift doesn’t work either. So I need to get a new one. My questions are: 1) can I get that interior panel off without the hatch open and not destroy the panel? (I have to work from the inside with hatch closed) 2) I see prices all over the map for the actuator... $15 to $150. The local junk yard wants $75. What to buy? Rock shows a part from Shee-Mar for $20 - can I trust it? Comes with 2 yr warranty. Otherwise the local shop has one for $125. 3) Is there a way to open the lift gate without that actuator working?
Thanks for your thoughts.
Dave
