Power antenna fix with pic's

[ruinit3]

seems like you guys went threw a LOT of hassle to me ..

I hate to break this to ya .. BUT those antennas can be replaced way easier then that .



The 1 piece antenna , and cable ... can be wound in .. right at the source ...



you need to remove the top nut as pictured in the first post .. but then you simply turn on the radio .. the antenna will wind out .
Then simply push in the new cable , and turn OFF the radio .. making sure the teeth are facing the correct direction .. it will wind it back in .

put the top nut back on .. done deal .


geeezzzz.


.:bash:


nice post .

not if you have broken pieces of the mast still in the motor. The directions off of antennamastsrus.com say to remove the motor if the old mast isn't the same size as the new mast to get the broken pieces out.

I think i'll be removing the motor and taking a look since I know my mast broke off.

 

[slacker]

the many I have done were all broken ..

removing the top nut and turning it ON .. will push the old antenna out .

just try it .. if it dont work , you have to pull out the motor anyway . I'll lay MONEY on it .

 

[ruinit3]

haha i love laying MONEY on things. you sound very convincing, so I'll try it. I'll let you know if it worked. Thanks

 

[slacker]

absitivily .. post up your results .


just a little tip .. best to have someone sitting in the drivers seat .. to turn on the power , then once the nut is off , have them push the radio button to enguage the antenna . MAKE sure you see which way the teeth on the cable are facing (should be towards the windshield) ........ then push the new cable in till it stops , and have your friend turn off the radio .. you'll have to be carefull to follow the cable in and then the mast all in one motion , like threading a needle . but on the nut , and viola , your done ..


should take about 2 mins .

 

[kingbiscuit]

Im having them disconnect the power to my motor today. It is very irritating.

 

[Zinarac]

The other morning I started my 4runner to go to work and the antenna came up halfway and broke off. I called the local Toyota dealership and they wanted $190 to fix it.

I ended up buying the antenna and plastic teeth for $40 and had it fixed and working perfectly in 15 minutes. I saved $150 thanks to this thread.

BTW, I did not have to take the inner fender off or deal with the antenna motor at all. I just pulled the old pieces out and put the new ones in making sure that the teeth were facing in the same direction.

 

[hpctoy]

Hey Zinarac - i'm in Sac also. I'm trying to find the replacement mast for my 96 - none of the parts stores have the right one. Where did you get yours?

 

[atlcharm77]

I think my motor is busted!!!

Hi,

This thread has been so helpful, but I think I have more of a problem. My antenna unit has been on the fritz for along time and I just has an HD radio installed not thinking about the fact that it will have poor reception if my antenna is not working. Anyhow, I am trying to fix it but ran into a problem.

(1)I was able to easily remove the antenna by taking off the nut. The antenna came out but no long white plastic piece, just the antenna. Does it mean the plastic piece is stuck inside the antenna housing or the motor itself? I expected it to come out, am I wrong?

(2)
(a) Also, a few weeks ago I would always hear the antenna motor grinding when I turned on/off the car even though the antenna did not move. Now I do not even hear the motor does this mean the motor is dead? (b)If the motor is dead wouldn't it be worth it to just get different type antenna? Are there easier antennas to install instead of the toyota motorized antenna? (c) Wouldn't the motor be expensive anyway. If I install a different antenna it should work right? Would I have to remove any components of the old antenna?

(3) On another note, the motor and the plastic piece is not actually what affects the reception right? What if I just put my old antenna back on (no plastic piece to thread because I think it is broke in the motor). Will It get good reception if I leave it fully extended somehow?

Note - my cheapness is due to the fact that this is a 97 4 runner with 155k miles on it. Now maybe after I figure out how to fix my antenna, someone can help me to fix my broken cup holder.

 

[n8buddy]

the plastic piece is probably broken off inside the motor. Have you accessed the motor through the wheel well yet? I tried to fix mine by getting the new mast and gear strip, but it didnt last very long, so i just bought a stock non-retracting antenna through the dealership and put that on. it used the same bracket in the wheel well and was piece of cake to put in. Hardest part was fishing the cable inside.

 

[atlcharm77]

No, I didn't go into the wheel well yet because I don't hear my motor anymore. I am beginning to think the motor may not be working which defeats the purpose of replacing the power antenna if the motor does not work. I should hear the motor if it is working right? I heard it up until a couple of weeks ago.

 

[atlcharm77]

hmmm... Also, what if i just get a rubber antenna according to one website the antenna simply replaces the original antenna with not wiring, etc required. I don't quite understand that, will my car automatically pick up a signal with out having a mast connected to the motor? Also, the antenna doesn't seem to have to be connected to the radio either. This is the site and the antenna is the Eurostyle antenna. Site: antennax.com

 

[n8buddy]

1) what do you mean by "HD radio"? the power antenna motor kicks in when the stock head unit tells it to. did the motor stop working when the radio was installed? if so this "HD radio" may not have been installed correctly and wont tell the motor to turn on. The head unit controls a relay that turns on the motor. listen for a 'click' when the antenna should go up. if you dont hear anything, the 'antenna remote wire' (usually blue) is hooked up wrong, the relay is unplugged or the relay is toast. if you hear a click but the motor doesnt run, the motor is probably burnt out.

2)if you find out the motor is still ok, take the wheel well apart, take out the antenna motor, take the cover off, remove the broken gear strip, put it back together and back in the wheel well, then feed in the new antenna/gear strip as described in the writeup.

3)if the motor is no good or you ditch the stupid thing anyway, buy a toyota OEM whip antenna assembly, remove the motor assembly, cut the wire off the motor, install the new whip antenna base, TAPE THE WHIP ANTENNA WIRE TO THE CUT END OF THE OLD WIRE TO PULL IT THROUGH THE FIREWALL, then plug the new wire into the head unit and screw in the mast.

4)no, the plastic piece does not affect the reception, but you will not get very good reception by just pushing the busted mast back in. the whip antennas get way better reception anyway.

5)as for that antenna from antennax.com, it says right on the website:
"PLEASE NOTE: This antenna DOES NOT replace power antennas OR roof / windshield mounted antennas."
the one on that website that does replace the power antenna has the signal wire that has to be hooked up to the head unit. it is better to just get the standard whip antenna from the dealership, because it includes the rubber seat and it bolts right to the same bracket the power unit does. then if you still want a rubber one you can unscrew the metal mast and screw in the rubber one.

also, i am just going by what i know from my 2nd gen so i am assuming yours is similar. this writeup was performed on a second gen as well. anybody feel free to correct me.

 

[atlcharm77]

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! I replied in red below.

1) what do you mean by "HD radio"? the power antenna motor kicks in when the stock head unit tells it to. did the motor stop working when the radio was installed? if so this "HD radio" may not have been installed correctly and wont tell the motor to turn on. The head unit controls a relay that turns on the motor. listen for a 'click' when the antenna should go up. if you dont hear anything, the 'antenna remote wire' (usually blue) is hooked up wrong, the relay is unplugged or the relay is toast. if you hear a click but the motor doesnt run, the motor is probably burnt

had a JVC High Def radio installed at circuit city. If I remember correctly, I stopped hearing the motor before having the radio installed.

2)if you find out the motor is still ok, take the wheel well apart, take out the antenna motor, take the cover off, remove the broken gear strip, put it back together and back in the wheel well, then feed in the new antenna/gear strip as described in the writeup.

3)if the motor is no good or you ditch the stupid thing anyway, buy a toyota OEM whip antenna assembly, remove the motor assembly, cut the wire off the motor, install the new whip antenna base, TAPE THE WHIP ANTENNA WIRE TO THE CUT END OF THE OLD WIRE TO PULL IT THROUGH THE FIREWALL, then plug the new wire into the head unit and screw in the mast.

I'll listen again, but I don't think I hear anything. I may go ahead and try what you suggested in number 3



4)no, the plastic piece does not affect the reception, but you will not get very good reception by just pushing the busted mast back in. the whip antennas get way better reception anyway.

5)as for that antenna from antennax.com, it says right on the website:
"PLEASE NOTE: This antenna DOES NOT replace power antennas OR roof / windshield mounted antennas."
the one on that website that does replace the power antenna has the signal wire that has to be hooked up to the head unit. it is better to just get the standard whip antenna from the dealership, because it includes the rubber seat and it bolts right to the same bracket the power unit does. then if you still want a rubber one you can unscrew the metal mast and screw in the rubber one.

also, i am just going by what i know from my 2nd gen so i am assuming yours is similar. this writeup was performed on a second gen as well. anybody feel free to correct me.

 

[mspa]

Maybe I missed it, but how is the first generation fix different? My motor works, but the previous owner has the antenna jammed in place in the upright position. I don't know why, so I have to assume something is broken . . . but I would love to get it fixed.

 

[4runnintexan]

I've been procrastanating this for so long b/c I thought I had to remove the fender to access motor and such also on the fuel filter(procrastanating) but now that my head gasket blew I want to get those things done thanks for the detailed info.

 

[jmssr5v6]

just finished this job

I did some homework about this job but was still hesitating to pull the antenna assembly out from under to remove the broken cable, until I found and read this post.

The 1st section of my power antenna got stuck in its housing and it took me half an hour to remove it. Everything else went smooth as I followed the illustrations here, which are truly great!

More than happy to have the power antenna working again.

Many thanks!

James, SR5V6 1999

P.S. Teeth-to-the-front for putting in new antenna cable on 4Runenr SR5 1999.

 

[K_Labs]

Y won't mine go up? It just makes noise

 

[n8buddy]

Y won't mine go up? It just makes noise

read the beginning and follow the instructions.

 

[exc4RLE]

4Runner 2000 LE.

this forum helped a bunch, so i feel i should give back by showing you guys--step by step--how i did it. i'm also proud that a super amateur do-it-yourselfer like me actually pulled it off. that being said, you can too. now i won't give the extreme details, so use your common sense and actually try and understand the instructions (and look up the words if you have to!)

first, remove the antenna. see antenna removal instructions in the original post. i took out everything by hand: the screw, the antenna, and that black rubber thing. the teeth faced the rear of the car. i bought my antenna mast off ebay for 25 dollars.

now open your front passenger side door and you can actually see the antenna motor at the side of the fender. this will give you an idea of where it is. above the wheel is a mudflap that is attached to the fender. the mudflap is what you want to peel back (not detach) to get access to the motor. pull off the plastic tacks that hold the flap in place. remove as many tacks as necessary. now peel the flap back using the distal end from the fender. don't be shy when peeling the flap because it's actually pretty durable.

you now have access to the motor. put a flash light on the wheel so you can see the motor. the motor is secured by a bolt at the base. unscrew the bolt. now removing the motor requires some imagination. pretend the motor is a standing beer bottle. if you are facing the fender, rotate the bottle to the left as you guide it down, then up, and toward the wheel so the bottle is now tangent to the wheel. lay the motor on the wheel.

you might need more slack to put the motor on the wheel. you can get it by unplugging the motor. there is a plug that is directly on the motor. i unplugged it from there.

put on some disposable gloves. undue the electric tape and unsleave the the motor housing (see original post). remember all positions of the screws before you open the housing. make sure you not to drop and lose that center nut (like i did). when you open the housing, there will be this black, sticky, and gooey bullshit that i think acts as an insulating filler (hence the gloves). take care that none of this goes in the center of the housing. remove the leftover antenna chain, close/rescrew the housing, and sleave the motor with some new electric tape. screw the motor back in place as it was after you took the antenna out.

now put the rubber thing back on. turn the radio on. bother someone to turn the radio off so you can guide the new antenna in (remember where your teeth were facing). after the antenna retracts all the way, put the metal thing over the antenna and screw it in place. you're done!

this first time took me about 2 hours, but i imagine the next time will take me 15-30 minutes.

 

[ricoman]

Great thread! Anyone know where I can get an antenna (mast, I guess) with the teeth for a '95 4runner. Searched some part places online but they only seem to have it with the motor and I can hear my motor working so I want to try the quick fix described here. A part no. would help too. Thanks.