Power antenna fix with pic's

[ricoman]

Found one

Thanks, I found a place. For anyone that needs one:
http://www.antennamastsrus.com/Toyota/4 Runner/4 Runner 1990-1995.htm

 

[Culpeper]

That's a good price!

 

[ricoman]

Got that $17.50 mast and it took me no more that 3 min., alone, to install it using the simple method described here. Peeked in between the open door and the fender to see which way the round part of the motor was facing; removed the antenna nut; stuck the toothed, plastic cable in the hole, teeth facing away from the window and turned off the radio; the motor pulled the cable right down first shot. Put the nut back on and turned the radio on and off and ...Voila! great reception. I can throw my coat hanger antenna away now. Thanks for a great thread.:cheers:

 

[nuphan]

Anyone know what happen to the pictures on here? Thanks.

 

[Culpeper]

Anyone know what happen to the pictures on here? Thanks.

Thread is so old they are no longer hosted. It's an easy job though. Just be careful with the plastic clip(s) near the running board.

 

[ashategis]

Now get your new antenna and I put some silicone lube on the new strip of the antenna and this is where you need a helper.

 

[DesertDune]

This is what mine is doing. Retract is fine and it shuts off right away. Extending it keeps going after the antenna is fully extended and GRINDS GRINDS GRINDS as the teeth are slipping over each other. Sounds horrible. Does it for about 10 seconds.

My first thought was the plastic tooth line was too long but I remember it being exactly the same length as the stock one I took out (wasn't broken inside...just the mast got bent/broken from a branch). If I trim it and it then the motor can't grab it to retract it then I have to buy another antenna and still don't have the problem fixed.

Anyone figured out how to deal with this?

I also can hear the clicks from relays? down by my left foot...

I'm gonna go disconnect the power to the antenna tomorrow morning (wait...it is morning so I'll do it in about 9 hours when I get up )

Don't mean to resurrect an old thread, but...
I had the exact same problem as you. The relay is fine. It and the motor sound like they're doing what they're supposed to be doing. The motor is designed to stop when encountering enough physical resistance. When it doesn't, it will time-out about 10 seconds later.
The problem may be your antenna mast. Is it OEM? Most of the cheap ebay ones have shallow teeth and the tail is slightly narrower and more flexible than OEM. This is fine when the tail winds around the spool when retracting the antenna, but when the antenna goes up, the spool "pushes" on the teeth and because of the combination of shallow teeth and narrow tail, it may strip near the end of it's travel. I went through 2 ebay masts before I finally tried the Toyota one. Trust me, spend the extra $$ and get the mast from the dealer, it makes a difference.

 

[suzbiz]

This site is great & the info given here outstanding!! I'm visiting my 88 year old dad; I've never picked up a wrench or know what one was-my husband doesn't 'allow' me in the garage. But with this info my dad & I went the whole 9 yards-removing broken pieces from motor & putting in new antenna. EXCEPT... the new antenna seems to grab & go down just fine. BUT when you turn the radio on, the antenna comes up & all the way out-every time. I have a '98 so put threads in facing forward, not back-as suggested & it takes it fine. When I try to reverse thread direction it grinds. So what the hey?? Its the simple stuff, right? arrggghh! THANKS-its become my Mt Everest to fix before I go back home.

 

[rtjones]

I seem to be having somewhat more trouble gaining access to my antenna motor than most of you that have successfully fixed your antennas.

I have a 2002 SR5 with the previously mentioned flares around the edge of the fender and a running board. I have removed the five 10mm bolts that attach the flare to the fender but it still won't budge, as someone else mentioned. I can't push back the splash guard inside the wheel well because the out edge of it is underneath the lip of the flare, and I can't seem to pry out those plastic fasteners from the inside edge that are holding it in place either. There seems to be some interlocking between the fender, splash guard and running board too at the point where they all come together.

Has anybody replaced the antenna on a 4Runner with a similar configuration to mine? Photos with arrows pointing to stuff to be removed would be a great help, as I am not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination. After many months of listening to the thing grind every time I turn the iginition on or off it's driving me nuts. And no, the broken end won't feed itself out of the hole with the mast removed. Tried that repeatedly; also with one of those long spring-loaded grabbers.

 

[harpo-rider]

Need help, ... Please!!!!!!!

OK, so my problem is this. I changed antennas and I can't seem to figure out how to get the antenna cable through routed the hole on the fender well up anyplace high enough inside the truck so I can even grab it. I have almost the whole dash ripped apart and the glove box completely removed but there is just such a huge mess of stuff back there the the cable just wont route itself up. Heeeeeeeeeeelllllllppppp!!

Oh, and if it matters my truck is a 98 4runner SR5.

Thanx,
Joe

 

[2oldtoys]

thank you for this

its a needed fix on our 95 and the fuel filter how-to also

top shelf pics btw , thanks again kind sir ...

 

[95 4Rnr 4 Grace]

I just want to add that this thread was what lead me to join this site and it helped me change out the antenna in my 95 4 Runner. That link by ricoman put me in touch with a new antenna for a very reasonable price - It even came with directions. Naturally, I had to go through the fenderwell for my repair, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It works like a charm now !

 

[2oldtoys]

I just want to add that this thread was what lead me to join this site and it helped me change out the antenna in my 95 4 Runner. That link by ricoman put me in touch with a new antenna for a very reasonable price - It even came with directions. Naturally, I had to go through the fenderwell for my repair, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It works like a charm now !

pretty much same here except it was the fuel filter thread for me. my antenna still receives fine except you must get out and extend it and then it will not stay all the way up. its just wore out from use. once i get our new old gen2 running better i fully intend
to replace the antenna

im very happy to be here in this forum community. when some T4R kinsman finds bargain and shares it or links, thats good stuff and much appreciated , :nicethread:

 

[cadolfan]

So I'm driving the other day and notice my antenna mast is hanging. I pull off to the side of the road and sure enough it's dangling there. So I turn the radio on and take off the mast. It was weird because the black guide was still there and the chrome nut was still screwed on. I didn't have time to take a further look at it because I was on my way to work. So I just put the mast in the car and drove off. Well when I got home I reinstalled the mast no problem but noticed that the black guide had fallen off sometime between the drive back home. No problem called the dealer and went down to pick up another black guide ($7). I unscrew the chrome nut pop the guide in and screw the chrome nut back on. So I'm wondering how did the mast come off in the first place. Well as I was tightening the chrome nut on I noticed that it won't tighten all the way so the threads on the power antenna must be stripped that's the only thing I can think of and must be why the antenna came off in the first place.

Anybody have any I ideas on how to secure the antenna. I guess I should examine it a little further to determine if the threads from the power antenna assembly are stripped or the chrome nut.

 

[Culpeper]

It was probably cracked and held in place and eventually just fell down inside. Put some permatex on the threads and tighten down lightly and let dry. Other wise you will have to replace the hold thing.

 

[Brian32]

I have a 02 does anyone know which way the teeth face?

 

[bosmob]

I have a question that pertains to all power antennas.

Where so I put the silicone lube? On the plastic teeth or the actual metal mast?

 

[hoglard1]

In response to Brian32, I just replaced the antenna mast on my 02 4Runner and the teeth on the gear strip faced forward. Used an OEM mast from dealer and it worked perfectly, had it seated properly with only 2 antenna up/down cycles.

Per one of the Toyota mechanics (he's been doing this 40 years), he recommended not to use any grease at all on the gear strip or inside the motor.

Had to take my motor apart. Thanks for the pix early in this thread!! The only problem was that my rRunner has flared fenders making it difficult to peel back the fender liner. Could only remove a few of the grommet pegs, but got enough out (broke only one!) to get my hand up to where the antenna motor is mounted. Removing that bolt was a challenge too (thank God for CRC 5-56 and Liquid Wrench)--be careful not to bend the spot-welded bracket mount when removing the bolt.

Finally, in disassembling the motor, there was some sort of black sealer along the seam between the two halves of the housing, no doubt to keep moisture out. After I cleaned the housing all out, I used a 3M black strip caulk along the edges to renew the seal. Good luck!

 

[jsulen]

Thanks for sharing this very detailed tip on how to fix a power antenna bracket. Good job on this one dude.

 

[Patfish]

Doc, your last post was the goods! I was freaking out trying to get the wheel well out to get to the motor. Stuck the new plastic strip in and turned the radio off, fed itself in and done in less that 5. Thanks everybody for making this job a piece of cake. ROCKIN!