I opened the antenna motor and found some broken mast pieces. Removed those and put in the new antenna mast. It went in like a charm and retracted all the way down. I don’t have anything to compare It to since the original was broken. Is this what it’s supposed to look like when it’s all the way down? Included a picture for reference, seems too low. Also a picture when it’s fully extended. The seal is there and seems to be in the right spot. Any help would be appreciated.

Attached Images

   

Well I was able to put a rubber spacer just under the rubber seal that came with my replacement antenna mast. Problem solved. I'm not sure why that was necessary but oh well.

I have the same issue. I've tried to losen the whole motor assembly & play with it by raising it and retorqueing the bolt holding the assembly, but I can't really take out all the movement from that little black grommet. I don't see this behaviour on youtube videos, so not sure what's the issue here. Maybe I should use some needle nose pliers and torque the big silver plastic nut more? Now it's "only" torqued by my nails.

2, While the antenna now goes up and down perfectly by switching the radio on/off (and the motor stops at both limits), the down button is not working on the dash. Nothing happens when I press it. The up button does work though. The antenna is obviously fully erect when I'm pressing the buttons, and the up button clicks the relay, but the down does not. Both buttons click the relay if I leave the antenna assembly disconnected, so it is not an issue with the buttons or the relay I believe.

Thanks for sharing, I guess I’m lucky original 1990 unit is still going.

So the needle nose pliers & tightening the nut solved the first issue, but the antenna still won't do anything when pushing the down button.

It goes up and down when the radio is turned on or off.

I wonder if it has to do something that I have an aftermarket radio.

Just FYI, this place has OEM antennas for fantastic prices!

For 84 and newer 4Runners and presumably trucks as well.

Just pick your year. I just got mine from them, installing it tonight.

4 Runner Antenna Year Selector

Played around a little with the connector in the wheel well trying to bend the pins in case they didn't make good contact, and now it seem to workish.. It doesn't really remember where the antenna was set at, so it is pretty random if it pops out 6 inches or all the way when starting the car, but at least the down button now works.

I'm having a bad time trying to replace the mast on my 1988 Gen 1 4Runner. I bought a new mast on antennamastsrus.com and followed the instructions they provided but to no avail.
The issue is that I can't figure out how to get the lower metal part of the old mast out - the nylon part that coils up is snapped so I removed the spool and retrieved that bit with no issues.
But I can't for the life of me work out how to get the base of the metal part of the old mast out of the feeder tube - it is really stuck in there and no amount of force will free it.
I tried putting a suitably sized drill bit down the last remaining metal antenna part, then gripped it with vise grips and hit it with a hammer in an upward direction but no joy. In fact I used so much force in the end that the metal feeder tube snapped off the assembly base, so it seems I've completely ruined it now.
Luckily I have a parts truck (with a broken mast also), but it's the same thing all over again - except I haven't completely ruined that one yet!

It's incredibly frustrating so if anyone with a Gen 1 has any tips for removing the lower portion of the protruding metal antenna mast I'd sure love to hear it......

Hi all. I’m new to the forum. Just bought a decent 94 4Runner (6cyl, 5 speed) as a rolling resto for me and my boy.
It has an after market stereo. The power antenna goes up when you turn the ignition key to accessory or on and goes down when you shut the truck down regardless of the radio being on/off. Is this normal? I thought the antenna was supposed to go up/down based on the radio being on/off… any help would be appreciated…thanks

Anyone know if I could hook my power antenna up to come on with the ignition, regardless if I'm listening to radio? I installed a new head unit a few years back, and didn't even bother to hookup the radio as I just bluetooth connect. I was wondering If i could just supply it with power via one of the other wires or somethin'

Has anyone replaced a malfunctioning retractable with a standard antenna and NOT had to take the dash apart to plug in? Is there some type of coupler that could make the cable portion of the job easier? Hoping…

I am in the same boat. The fancy factory radio picks up nothing with existing broken in the up position radio. Struggling to figure out what antenna I have in the rig. Antenna is JB welded in the up position (not my fault. The nefarious seller is a real bastard). From what I've seen, there are 3 variants of the retractable antenna.