Correct Door Lock Actuators - 2000 round body Tahoe/Yukon

[NC-Tahoe]

Hi Guys:

I just purchased a 2000 Tahoe 4WD from a gov't seizure auction and am fixing all of the little odds and ends (got a steal of a deal). The front door lock mechanisms were not functioning, so I went about purchasing new power lock actuators and followed the Youtube videos on how to remove and replace. Then the problem hit..... The set of actuators (for 2000-2006 models) were wrong.

I first purchased a cheap china pair from Ebay (a pair for $20.00 delivered). These were wron (even though their parts look-up said they were correct). My old actuators have a 3rd plug on the one face with a set of contacts that make contact when the door opens - the new ones do not have the plug, or the contacts - otherwise it is a perfect fit).

Soooooooo - I pick up a set of Dorman (Dor 746-011 and DOR 746-017) from Oreilly Auto Parts ($85.00 for the pair) and get them home --- guess what? -- still the wrong part.

Soooooooooo - I call Chevy dealer and give my vin code - he tells me the GM part number is 16637780 - so I give this code to Advance Auto Parts and they sell me a Dorman 931-318 and 931-319 for a total of $175 for the pair. I get them shipped to my home ---- guess what? still the wrong part (just a more expensive part of the exact same quality. I am 0 for 3 tries.

 

[NC-Tahoe]

Soooooo...... I call every auto recycler in the area and they have none.

I check again with chevy dealer and parts department said they will sell me the correct item for $200.00ish each ($400.00). He gets the party in and guess what --- still the wrong part (no extra plug or contacts (same exact as the pair I got for $20.00 from China).

Finally, after searching thru parts inventories and catalogs and anything I could find online, I did a door lock actuator search on ebay for 2000 GM and looked at every listing that came up. After long searching I find one with GM Part number 16637320. I look up this obscure part and find that starting late 99 production thru Fall of 2000, GM used a special lock actuator only for cars with keyless entry and alarm - and the image has the extra plug. Item is lock actuator for Right front door). Once I find this I figure that the mate for the Left front door is GM item 16637319. These parts are lited as complete with latch assembly for almost $200.00 each.

I cross reference the item number to Dorman and find that production is stopped for their interchange items (DOR 931-208 left and DOR 931-209 right). I find 2 availavle NOS stock on Ebay for $92.00 each with free shipping. Hooray! These are the correct ones (with the complete latch assembly as well) ready to bolt in.

So here is my question. WHY DID EVEN THE DEALER KNOW THIS PART NUMBER (ot the fact that there was a limited production run in 2000 with a special 1 year only part? No auto parts outlet has it even listed as a possibility. Hopefully you guys with a 2000 Tahoe / YUKON / sUBURBAN with the round body will find this helpful. I spent several days figuring out what should have taken minutes.

Dorman stopped production of the part "because there is no money to be made on a short production run part". Cannot fix it without this part (car will thin the door is ajar if the sensor (that only this special actuator has) is not connected - so cannot bypass.

Have any of you gone thru this hell trying to fix your locks? By the way - the Aution Price I paid was $1,600.00 for a 2000 Tahoe with 144,000 miles. LT model with Leather interior. Only fixes I had to do:

Front door lock actuators
O2 Sensor
Re-cover bottom of leather driver seat
replace rear subwoofer speaker

As it was a government drug seizure, I am still looking for the contraban hidden in there somewhere...... lol.