Antenna stopped.

[K2Runner]

The other day i got in my truck and turned it on and the antenna went up with no problem. Got to the store and pulled the key out and the antenna tried to go down but made a gawd awful grinding noise like the gears were slipping. Well good thing it's stuck up but every time i turn it on or shut it off i have to listen to the motor hum for like 53 seconds. Obviously somethings busted or slipping but were would i go from here? How do i get to the mechanism? Through the fender well or do i unscrew the thing right out? And is there anybody out there that has had success with the taco whip antenna? Thanks in advance.

 

[Elton H]

sounds like the teeth are stripped if you want you can take the radio out and there will be a little box for the antenna u can unplug it so the antenna wont go up or down .... i installed the tacoma whip a few weeks ago fits and works perfect

 

[pbcolt]

hey, I just had this problem. A new part from the dealer is 60 or so plus install. Ebay you can get them for cheap. I never use the radio so what i did is:
Unscrew the silver ring at the base of the antenna
Pull out the antenna
Cut off the strip with the plastic teeth (so the antenna could be all the way down and not have any parts being pulled into the motor)
Took out my cd deck
Cut the line to the power antenna (so my cd deck doesnt tell the motor to go up and down)

If you use the radio a lot, you can get an new one and do it yourself. I dont know if all years are the same but on my 02, you have to break 6 or so of the plastic pieces holding the fender well together. Once you break them you need new ones but they are like .50 from the dealer.

 

[K2Runner]

I'm thinking about just pulling the deck out and unplugging the antenna power plug. Would unplugging that disrupt the signal to the antenna? I do use the radio about half the time. Thanks

 

[Elton H]

just unplugging the little relay box or what ever it called will not effect the radio signal since all ur doing is cutting the power to the motor

 

[zcruiser]

Replace it with a Tacoma whip.

http://www.installer.com/item/display_item.php?it=44-UT91

 

[Polish Power]

I went through the same thing and replaced mine a few weeks ago. I had it disconnected for a while, but I got tired of looking at my antenna up all the time. Replacing it is definitely a *****. You have to remove the fender to get the antenna motor, and then disassemble the motor assembly to replace the plastic mast. It took me about 3.5 hours to finish. Its not really hard, just a pain in the ass to go through all of that for your antenna.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I believe he meant fender "liner". ;-)

I'll throw out my recent experience FWIW:

About a year ago the power antenna in my '02 Sport Edition croaked.

I spent $30 on a replacement mast and that worked fine for about two days and then it got eaten up (the white plastic gear whip thingy) so I pulled the fender liner and unplugged it.

Now, I don't like unfinished business but it was winter when this happened and I figured I'd fix it in the spring, which I just did a couple weeks back.

I found an "OEM Replacement" power assembly on Ebay for $69.99. Made specifically for the 2002 4Runner the ad said.

Bull. I get it and it some generic antenna that was 3" longer than the OEM and the power connectors totally different.

Okay. I'm good with electronics. After 2 hours of soldering and trying to make this generic POS fit, it ended up flying across my garage in a rare fit of frustration I usually don't exhibit.

The day after I ended up going to Toyota and getting the correct OEM replacement unit for $200.00 which is what I should have done in the first place.

The whole experience wasted about $100 (replacement mast that lasted a day and POS not-even-close-to-oem antenna).

The post above is correct, you'll need to get the replacement retainers for the fender liner (and in my case three rivets used on the fender flare because I took that off too).

Just my .02, but if you are _not_ going with the Tacoma whip and you _do_ want a power antenna, don't even waste your effort on the aftermarket crap you will find/waste money on. :bash:

 

[K2Runner]

We'll i just got back in from replacing the mast. Not too hard to do but the fender liner clips were a pain in the rear and I have to get some more tomorrow. Now i don't have to listen to the grinding noise anymore.

 

[thechamper]

aftermarket is crap!

I agree with Blitzkrieg, go ahead and buy the OEM parts. I bought a new mast and cable off of ebay for $20 and it has caused me a big headache. The cable is the wrong one for the 4Runner motor. I contacted the company and they sent me a new one that was the same thing.

Either go with the whip antenna or buy the OEM part! Just my .02.