An uplifting moment, tonu wise...

cruzned said:

My tonu has always lifted all the way up without assistance until this week. I have read many posts about others having probs. with that. Well....today I put silicone spray on a rag, rubbed down the rubber all around the bed, and voilla, the top pops up without assistance! Problem solved. You have to do it on a rag because the spray may damage the paint.

Click to expand...

Thank you. I shall do that now.
Don

cruzned said:

My tonu has always lifted all the way up without assistance until this week. I have read many posts about others having probs. with that. Well....today I put silicone spray on a rag, rubbed down the rubber all around the bed, and voilla, the top pops up without assistance! Problem solved. You have to do it on a rag because the spray may damage the paint.

Click to expand...

I'm under the impression that the biggest issue with silicon spray are the problems it creates, if an area that has been doused needs to be repainted.

Any one have a better read on this?

me too

beer,

Same here. I know spraying most coatings when silicone is present causes "fish eyes", but I have not seen it damage surfaces that have cured.

What are you guys using? Will Armorall do the trick??

cruzned said:

My tonu has always lifted all the way up without assistance until this week. I have read many posts about others having probs. with that. Well....today I put silicone spray on a rag, rubbed down the rubber all around the bed, and voilla, the top pops up without assistance! Problem solved. You have to do it on a rag because the spray may damage the paint.

Click to expand...

THE ACTUAL PROBLEM IS NOT SILICONE,WD40, OR ANY LUBE. IT IS PLAIN AND SIMPLE THAT THE STRUTS ARE NOT STRONG ENOUGH, ESPECIALLY ON TONU WITH THE CARPET KIT. I HAVE BEEN AT ODDS WITH GM SINCE DAY ONE AND I GET THE SAME RUN AROUND ABOUT THE RUBBER NEEDING SILICONE. IT LASTS ABOUT THREE DAYS AND THE DUST COLLECTING ON IT IS WORSE THAN EVER.

Well, so much for a solution...the tonu did not lift this afternoon in spite of my application of silicone. Later this week when I am at the body shop I will ask some of the techies for a solution. It ain't rocket science and there is sure to be a simple fix says the die hard optimist! :jester

Where there's a will, there is a way! I know that many of us would love a fix. But I can live with it too.!

Since this is the only "problem" I have had with my ride...i am not going to complain. I am sure that there are struts on the market that have a higher lifting power than these if one truly wanted change them. I am still thinking of converting the cover to a side hinge with an electronic linear actuator to open and close. I want to do it to the hood as well. Possibly a split open on the hood. Oh...these cold New England winters leave me with too much time to think.

I Agree

fiftiesnut said:

THE ACTUAL PROBLEM IS NOT SILICONE,WD40, OR ANY LUBE. IT IS PLAIN AND SIMPLE THAT THE STRUTS ARE NOT STRONG ENOUGH, ESPECIALLY ON TONU WITH THE CARPET KIT. I HAVE BEEN AT ODDS WITH GM SINCE DAY ONE AND I GET THE SAME RUN AROUND ABOUT THE RUBBER NEEDING SILICONE. IT LASTS ABOUT THREE DAYS AND THE DUST COLLECTING ON IT IS WORSE THAN EVER.

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I have to say I am inclined to agree with fiftiesnut. A few weeks ago I had mine replaced and the same problem still occurs. I remembered a '04 that came in and I tried the remote release and the tonu cover popped all the way up. So I then asked my dealer if they would have mine replaced. After they changed my struts my tonu cover still did not pop up. I started to think why the other one worked ok... when I then realized the difference was mine had a carpeted trunk and the newer 04 did not.

We should ask for Freezer's input here to see if he knows anything more about this issue. Just a thought here, perhaps the struts may of have been designed early on (in the proto-type stages) where the lift requirements back then where much less without the carpeted trunk?

What's all the fuss?

Mine never lifted more than an inch(carpeted of course). But this never bother me once.
What bothers me is that I have to open the tailgate in order to close the top. When I am fully loaded and close the tail gate first by mistake sometimes its nearly impossible to reach in to reopen the tail gate( they should relocate the tail gate handle!!!)

Is there anyone who can develop an actuator that will close shut the top automatically like the old cadillac trunks or the newer minivans. I'll be the first on line to buy!!

saharajohn said:

Mine never lifted more than an inch(carpeted of course). But this never bother me once.
What bothers me is that I have to open the tailgate in order to close the top. When I am fully loaded and close the tail gate first by mistake sometimes its nearly impossible to reach in to reopen the tail gate( they should relocate the tail gate handle!!!)

Is there anyone who can develop an actuator that will close shut the top automatically like the old cadillac trunks or the newer minivans. I'll be the first on line to buy!!

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I'll buy the second one in a heartbeat, "get it ?" "HEARTBEAT"

COME ON GM TECHS READING THIS, GIVE US SOME HEADS UP ON THE REAL EFFORT TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM. MAYBE $40.00 OR LESS ON SOME STRUTS FOR SOME HAPPIER SSR OWNERS? SURELY IT ISN'T THE COST FOR SUCH A LOW PRODUCTION TO RECALL THIS PROBLEM.

lift

SSR290 said:

Two factors will affect the opening of the cover. The first is the weight. I did not get the carpet in the bed for this reason. I did my own detail in light weight material. Total weight added 11 ounces.

Second factor is the temperature. Fluid dynamics will vary with a small change in the temp. The warmer the fluid the easier the movement. Keeping the seal area clean will also help with the initial release of the cover.

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You hit the nail on the head - I don't have the carpet trim package either and my cover pops right up. Only time it won't pop up is when it's cold. Got the same situation with back window on my Blazer

SSR290 said:

Two factors will affect the opening of the cover. The first is the weight. I did not get the carpet in the bed for this reason. I did my own detail in light weight material. Total weight added 11 ounces.

Second factor is the temperature. Fluid dynamics will vary with a small change in the temp. The warmer the fluid the easier the movement. Keeping the seal area clean will also help with the initial release of the cover.

Click to expand...

sitting in my 75 degree garage with all the silicone that will not drip off has not produced a Tonu that comes up by itself. I just keep prying it up by the corners until enough of us put the heat on GM to recitify it. Lets face it, the dealer is only at the mercy of their support. When an AVM shows up and puts an entire day in at the dealer and leaves with the SSR having the same problems, you can imagine how the dealer tryed to explain that. Tonu will still not come up and the windows still jump on the outside of the weather strip when rolled up.

window

Many threads on the window problem. Have your dealer call Mac Haik in Houston - ask for Brad Belota and let him tell them how to fix it. It's a really simple fix and has nothing to do with the seals. Tell them it's from John Auths black SSR.

Just a thought......

As some of you know, I came from the street rodding community and for street rods with shaved door & trunk handles, they had to go with remote entry systems. Now, that would unlatch the latch, but (like the SSR rear lid) the trunk or door wouldn't "pop" open. So, viola! The door popper was invented! It's nothing more than a spring inside of a stainless tube that appies pressure to a door or trunk to "pop" it open when the remote is activated.

I am going to take a look and see if I can apply it to the rear lid...... (Film at 11:00)

But in the meantime........ TAKE A LOOK

Bed cover struts not popping up fast enough

Hey ladies and gents, we did try to put stronger struts on the bed cover, believe it or not GM does look at this site and we at the plant try to go after the big hitters. The new struts that were applied were too strong and presented a concern of injuring people standing directly over (it popped up really fast)and the pressure needed to shut the lid. There was a good point made on one of the threads(heat and cold does affect the speed at which the struts opperate) if you want to buy after market struts for your trucks you can. When we get back to work up here I will try and find the best way to locate the manufacturer and relay the information to you guys on here.
Any other questions drop me a message jimjacks7

Buffy said:

As some of you know, I came from the street rodding community and for street rods with shaved door & trunk handles, they had to go with remote entry systems. Now, that would unlatch the latch, but (like the SSR rear lid) the trunk or door wouldn't "pop" open. So, viola! The door popper was invented! It's nothing more than a spring inside of a stainless tube that appies pressure to a door or trunk to "pop" it open when the remote is activated.

I am going to take a look and see if I can apply it to the rear lid...... (Film at 11:00)

But in the meantime........ TAKE A LOOK

Click to expand...

BY ADDING A SPRING LOADED RELEASE MECHANISM YOU'LL FIND THAT ONE IS NOT GOING TO RELEASE THE TAILGATE LOCKS. I RECENTLY INSTALLED REMOTE RELEASES ON A 71 EL CAMINO (DOORS, TAILGATE ETC.) IN ORDER TO GET THE TAILGATE SPRINGS TO BE OVERRIDEN BY THE RELAESE I HAD TO INSTALL TWO RELEASES, ONE ON EACH SIDE OF THE TAILGATE RELEASE HANDLE. THIS WAS ENOUGH TO RELEASE MECHANISMS.