Greetings All...

I recently acquired a 1997 Chevrolet Blazer and now, the rear liftgate will not open from the dash switch nor by the rear handle, is there a manual door lock on the rear liftgate that I can release of how do I get the gate to manually release ?

Thanks,

 

I don't know about 97 blazer,but my 96 has a fuse that control the rear gate

 

Sounds like your lift gate motor went out. That's about $60-$70 to replace. Mine went out in my 2001 Xtreme blazer. In the panel there is a small rectangular hole in the center top behind the carpet that you cannot see (at least minie was). There is an emergency latch inside there but you have to use something small like a really stiff coat hanger or screwdriver. Move it side to side until you hear a click. When you hear a click your lift gate will open up then you can drop your tail gate, take off the panel and un-screw the metal panel careful not to damage the rods behind it. The motor should look like a square box.
Does your manual that came with your blazer not tell you? Mine did, took me forever to figure the emergency open latch.