I have a "new to me" '92 Blazer that I brought home a few days ago for a project. I'm starting to clean it up and make basic repairs and have found that the tailgate/glass hatch will not open with the handle. From what I can tell, the lock/release assembly is shot and needs to be replaced. The former owner said he couldn't fix it either, so I'm not sure if maybe he lost parts. Anyway, I cannot find a part number for it, no parts catalog that I can find online has the part listed, etc. LMC is the only site that I have found that's even close, but as you can see from the pic below, the part is not identified (link here https://www.lmctruck.com/1992-99-che...ate-components). Anyone have any ideas? The service manual simply refers to it as "lock assembly". Anyone know if I might be able to retrofit a newer model piece with this one?

 

Have you taken the exterior handle off so you get a good look at the latch? It’s very common for the handle and related linkages to break - the latch is more likely to seize than to wear out.

I don’t have a part# but you may want to start calling local scrap yards to locate one.

 

I have taken everything off and here is a pic of the part in question. Nothing *looks* like it's broken or worn out, but I also know the previous owner had tried fixing it, so maybe parts are missing? I even tried looking up the number stamped on the piece and cannot find anything for it. What's weird to me is that you can order brand new handles, bezels, latch rods, and all of the other assorted hardware, but this piece is not included and seems to be the elusive one Salvage yard is a possibility too, but I would rather just get new pieces. I'm going to take the schematic to a Chevy dealer to see if they can track down a part number, etc. I'm also still wondering if I could use a newer latch system on this??

 

Good news - I found the part number via a local Chevrolet dealership (thank you Huffines Plano).
Bad news - It's been discontinued and there isn't a single dealership in the U.S. who has it

The search continues......

 

On a related note, I figured out why the wipers don't work. I don't know what the previous owner was thinking and/or doing with this poor truck, but......

 

yeah that looks butchered

 

As far as I can tell, this was owned by a younger person before the guy I got it from took delivery of it. I have found heavy gauge speaker wire run all over the inside, disconnected factory radio bits, etc. I'm not sure what the person was trying to do with this - the power wire was spliced and ran to the other side of the engine bay, but I have no idea what they would have been trying to power. I'm wondering if they had just directly connected it to the battery or something since the guy I got it from said it was run to the battery, etc. I'm going to a local salvage yard this week to look for some parts, so we'll see what happens.

 

So here is an update to the truck. Since my last post, it has received:

New front brakes & rotors
New rear shocks
New master cylinder
New brake booster
Oil change
Some front end work (Pitman, etc.)
Oil lines replaced
Driver's side door fixed (pin & roller)
Scrubbed the living snot out of the inside (pics later)
Also have new struts for rear glass which I will put in this weekend

The body has some issues with paint and dents. I'm going to try and salvage as much of the original paint as possible since most of it seems to be the clear coat peeling off. The exception is the hood and the roof (pics later). As you can see from the "before" pictures, the hood is a mess. Faded, rusted, surface contaminants, etc. I have finished the first round of sanding to see what I have to work with. Overall it's OK, but there are two large dents in the upper right and left of the hood and one at the front (will tackle later). I'm going to do another round of sanding on it tomorrow and then begin surface prep. There is quite a bit of pitting and rust spots, but rust has been removed and will fill in the pits.


Hood before

Hood before close up

Hood close up before

First round of sanding & rust removal complete

 

So my original plan was to simply replace the carpet inside the truck, but I'm trying to salvage it if at all possible to keep the costs down. I'm going to end up re-doing the front seats (unless I can find replacements) with new foam & upholstery. Rear seat isn't as bad, but it's not great. I don't know what the previous owner(s) did to this poor thing, but there is grease, rust, hay, mud, dirt, etc. and I swear something akin to tobacco juice embedded in the carpets. I've done a bit of work on the dash, wheel, and console - but not much. The entire top of the dash is basically history and previous owner(s) just threw a carpet pad on it - so that will need to be addressed. Oh yeah - the cut you see in the rear is where one of the previous owners decided to cut through the metal to access the fuel tank (sigh).



Driver's side before

Driver's side after

I was able to extract two of these just from the rear carpet along.

Rear carpet after - still bad, but better than it was

Rear carpet - the top is where I began cleaning and the bottom shows you how bad it was. Almost literal night and day difference.