Tailgate

[SuperKal]

Hi All, I am new to the forums and have a dilemma. I currently have an 03 Yukon and am considering a used 08 Tahoe hybrid but have a major problem. I use the rear tailgate a lot and have realised that there is no power lift tailgate. That I could live with however I have also realised that the liftgate glass is fixed. This will create a huge problem for me since I use it for work and quite frequently have long items sticking out the back with the glass open. So here's my question... can the rear liftgate be exchanged with one from a regular (non-hybrid) Tahoe. Secondly, if so, could it be converted to a power liftgate? Any and all comments appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Green Machine]

I can't help you but I'm dying to know the answer as well. I can live without a power liftgate but I'd love to be able to pop open the rear glass.

Maybe soulsea will add this to his extensive mod list.

 

[ghoster]

interesting! I wasn't aware that they did away with the opening glass on the hybrids. I think installing the power liftgate stuff may be too much to get into, The regular liftgate would probably be an option. An expensive option, but doable.

 

[SuperKal]

An interesting sidenote: I have spoken to my 2 local dealerships and they both said no. Not even a maybe or we will look into it, just no. One salesperson actually tried to talk me out of it saying that driving with the glass open is dangerous so it's better to have a fixed one. Duh !

The Escalade comes with a power tailgate with glass that opens. I wonder if that one would fit... you can probably tell I'm getting desperate now

Kal.

 

[ghoster]

I am confused now? In theory YOU could swap in a gate with opening glass. The dealer is never going to do this for you. The issues you would face are that the wire harness to open the glass isn't there. It would require a great deal of modification to do. Putting a gate on with the power opener would require even more effort. I just can't see that adding a power gate to a Tahoe would be cost effective. This was actually a consideration when I was shopping for my hoe. While I liked some of the things the hybrid has, it loses so many little options that it just wasn't worth it for me. Thats why I have an LTZ.

Remember, the gate (and many other things) were changed on the hybrid to conserve weight. If you put all that weight back on you lose the advantage of it being a hybrid!

 

[Green Machine]

Probably need to see a hybrid and non-hybrid side by side to figure out the liftgate possibility. I know the rear corner applique's (plastic trim) are different but I don't know if they are different enough to mean different tailgate dimensions.

Hybrids got eliminated the glass and tailgate options to save weight. The tailgate is also made of aluminum to shave some weight as well.

 

[Mr Ghostrider]

I thought about doing this also after I bought my Hybrid and just looked through a parts catalog comparing liftgate parts between LTZ and Hybrid.

I assumed I would swap like parts like weatherstrip and wiper. But because of the different weights of the door, all the bracketry needs to be swapped also.

Here are my notes on the parts cost if you bought new stuff. I suppose you could take the parts off a wrecked one but you would need a pretty good list to know you picked all the right parts!

Total: $2,940.39
Hinge (Right) $21.66
Hinge (Left) $21.66
Gate $787.80
Support Cylinder (Right) $49.60
Support Cylinder (Left) $48.65
Ball Stud (Right) $6.20
Ball Stud (Left) $4.14
Glass $565.06
Glass Cylinder (Right) $23.61
Glass Cylinder (Left) $23.61
Weather Strip $35.56
Control Switch $13.51
Lower Trim Panel $136.03
Pull Handle $25.18
Pull Strap $32.19
Actuator Rod $43.32
Actuator Rod Bracket $16.67
Control Module $462.98
Harness $141.91
Door Latch $177.09
Window Latch $100.44
Motor $143.88
Mount Bracket $38.56
Release Switch $21.08

After all this, I realized too that you would need a new remote also (~$300) that would have to be programmed by the dealer (~$150) to match the truck and you wouldnt have the cockpit controls..those were another couple hundred.

Also, installation means probably removing the entire interior because you have to change the wire harness... a job like that would probably be best done by a professional custom shop and I would bet you would spend over $5,000 really quick by the time you added parts to labor...

...I decided that I could live with an unpowered lift gate.