So stupid over here removed his GMC emblem from his applique (the one above the license plate) and proceeded to press too hard with the 3M eraser wheel and peeled off his paint. 
Never mind, lesson learned, ordered and had pained new appliqué and went to swap it today.
The reason I write this is to indicate to those with Tahoes/Burbs who may be considering swapping to the holeless Yukon appliqué, what is involved. I have no pics but hopefully I'll describe it properly from memory.
First take a screw out that is in the handle cavity at the bottom of the liftgate, then pop the rear window and take out a couple of clips on the plastic bit where the bottom of the rear window attaches to. This will free the lower inside panel. With one of those fork like clip removers make your way around the two covers and eventually they just pop right off. I think you may need to unplug a harness on the bottom one. Removing the two panels take some time and go slow so as not to break any clips.
So that's the easy part ...
The hard part is removing the applique itself because GM has designed it unbelievably poorly. You have to get inside the two liftgate metal body panels and start removing bolts with a flat wrench ... small hands preferred. Some of them you can only get with a flat wrench, others there are holes in the metal where you can put a bit through to use a power tool. But here's the problem: the likelyhood of salvaging your old applique is very small. This is because GM has put threadlock on the screws. Two of mine came off, but the other two had to be broken off the applique to remove it. So my plan to sell it to someone who wanted a shaved ass on their Hoe is no more.
Anyway, once it's off, you have to fish out 3 harnesses from a hole in the gate and unplug, then transfer the somewhat complicated old applique harness and license plate bulb covers onto the new appliqué, and do everything back in reverse to get the appliqué back on, then covers, and done.
It took two body shop techs about 45min/1hr to get this done cause some of the stuff is awkward and goes faster with two people.
Honestly, unless one really knows what they're doing I wouldn't recommend it ... but I thought I'd share the experience in case it's useful to anyone.
If it were me and I wanted a shaved applique on my hoe, I'd just unglue the emblem, buy one of those cheap chrome covers from ebay, have it painted, and stick it over the existing one.
I may have missed a small thing or two, but this isn't really a 'how to' thread, more to give a general impression of the level of work involved. If someone has done this themselves and wants to add more detail, please do so.
Cheers!
Never mind, lesson learned, ordered and had pained new appliqué and went to swap it today.The reason I write this is to indicate to those with Tahoes/Burbs who may be considering swapping to the holeless Yukon appliqué, what is involved. I have no pics but hopefully I'll describe it properly from memory.
First take a screw out that is in the handle cavity at the bottom of the liftgate, then pop the rear window and take out a couple of clips on the plastic bit where the bottom of the rear window attaches to. This will free the lower inside panel. With one of those fork like clip removers make your way around the two covers and eventually they just pop right off. I think you may need to unplug a harness on the bottom one. Removing the two panels take some time and go slow so as not to break any clips.
So that's the easy part ...
The hard part is removing the applique itself because GM has designed it unbelievably poorly. You have to get inside the two liftgate metal body panels and start removing bolts with a flat wrench ... small hands preferred. Some of them you can only get with a flat wrench, others there are holes in the metal where you can put a bit through to use a power tool. But here's the problem: the likelyhood of salvaging your old applique is very small. This is because GM has put threadlock on the screws. Two of mine came off, but the other two had to be broken off the applique to remove it. So my plan to sell it to someone who wanted a shaved ass on their Hoe is no more.
Anyway, once it's off, you have to fish out 3 harnesses from a hole in the gate and unplug, then transfer the somewhat complicated old applique harness and license plate bulb covers onto the new appliqué, and do everything back in reverse to get the appliqué back on, then covers, and done.
It took two body shop techs about 45min/1hr to get this done cause some of the stuff is awkward and goes faster with two people.
Honestly, unless one really knows what they're doing I wouldn't recommend it ... but I thought I'd share the experience in case it's useful to anyone.
If it were me and I wanted a shaved applique on my hoe, I'd just unglue the emblem, buy one of those cheap chrome covers from ebay, have it painted, and stick it over the existing one.
I may have missed a small thing or two, but this isn't really a 'how to' thread, more to give a general impression of the level of work involved. If someone has done this themselves and wants to add more detail, please do so.
Cheers!
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