Power Antenna Motor?

I was at toyota this AM for an oil change and asked about the one-time push pins for the wheel well cover. I guess it was good news for me that on my 2002 4Runner, it uses hex head screws.

Maybe try toyotaparts4u.com for those push pins or your toyota dealer's service dept. He said that they go for about $1.50 per.
Don't think they would be that much cheaper if you call toyotaparts4U since it's a small part. The antenna mast cost the same from them as they do at the dealer ($56+), but the entire motor assembly is only $142 vs $300 (motor only) at the dealer.

Go to the web site and get the number to call them mon-fri. They only list the accessories on the site, but they have pretty much everything in inventory as far as OEM parts.

BTW, do you have to remove the wheel to take of the well cover and get to the motor unit inside?

How many screws did you take out to get to the motor unit.

I had toyota take out the mast to verify that the sawtooth part was broke and mine broke off in the motor, so I'll have to clean it out before I replace the mast.
 
Jerold said:
I was at toyota this AM for an oil change and asked about the one-time push pins for the wheel well cover. I guess it was good news for me that on my 2002 4Runner, it uses hex head screws.
Click to expand...

I have a 2002 SR5 Sport Edition. It has the hex head 10mm screws holding to the outside/fender flare side and on the inside in the wheel well it uses the push clips.
 
I have a '99... anybody know where the fuse/relay/power wire is located? I just want to stop the grinding until I can fix it or have it fixed.
By the way, I have had 3 Toyota pick-ups and numerous American cars and this is my 1st 4runner and it is the best car I have owned. 176K miles, paid off and I don't want to drive anything else. :)
 
124,000+ on mine, and the antenna will go up without any problems, but it doesn't retract, and the motor makes a lot of noise. Dealer says it's the gears on the mast, and to replace the entire thing is $180.

I told him I don't listen to the radio often enough to afford that; however, the idea presented in some of the responses in this thread to simply putting a standard mast in place of the electric antenna is intriguing...and at most car washes you go through today, the attendant will unscrew the mast and hand it to you, saving bent/broken masts.
 
I got the same story from the toyota service this weekend. I'd been posting here and reading a lot on the antenna problem, so I pretty much knew what to expect as far as easy problem to worst case scenario. Easy being a broken mast and worst case being a totally new motor assembly replacement.

That being said, I spelled it out to the service rep that I wanted the mast taken out and the saw toothed cable compared to a new one to see if the cable had broken off in the motor unit. If it didn't, I could easily replace the mast. If not and the cable broke off in the unit, then I needed to decide if I wanted to spend the $200 and have them fix it or roll up my sleeves and try it myself.
The rep typed out everything I instructed for them to do in the computer for the tech to do.

I had to go out and talk to the tech about another issue and he says that I need a totally NEW motor assembly and mast (now get this...) because the motor is really noisy when the antenna goes up. I said, "the entire motor assembly?". "Yes, it makes a lot of noise". I said, "did you remove the antenna mast like I asked?". "No, I just turned on the radio and listened".
I asked him to please do as I instructed...

He came back and said that the mast broke off and there is some in the motor unit, but the motor is still good.

He wanted me to spend $300 + labor + mast + tax because his professional diagnosis was that it was noisy.

I found a new OEM Toyota Antenna Mast on ebay for $16.50 ($23 w/ shipping) and I printed out the instructions to clean out the motor unit.
 
I've got the mast out of the car, but even with the radio OFF, I still hear a noise that sounds like the motor is cycling thru - not just once though. It sounds like the motor is raising and lowering the antenna throughout my drive. I'm thinking that maybe it's 'cause there is still a bit of toothed cable in the motor unit that is causing it??

Anyway, I have the mast on order. Will this constant activation of the motor burn it out?
 
Getting the Fender Flares off?

I can't figure out how to get the fender fares off to get to the wheel liner plugs under it.

I undid all the hex nut screws for the flare and the running board end cap. I opened the door and in the crack by the hinge, i can see thru into the antenna motor area and past that are the tabs that hold the fender flare into the body of the car.

i haven't got any idea on how to get past this to get to the motor. There is on or more liner plugs under the edge of the fender flare that needs to get removed.

Another thing, what if is the best way to pull the plugs out? I tried prying it out, but they are in there pretty securely. The tops got a little mangled and I tried pulling at it with pliers and just ended up tearing part of the plug off. I tugged at the liner and the liner pulled free of the plug (since the top of it was sheared off).

Are there instructions for this? all instructions for fixing the motor just says to remove the flare screws and remove the plugs. I don't want to just pull at it and tear anything.
 
Thanks to Jerold, I have an antennae on the way for $25 beans. Currently my ant goes up, but not down and I have been told I need the entire assembly. I have XM, but it has always bugged me that the ant was borked.
 
I just had to replace the motor as well. I'm not mechanically savy to do it myself so I had my mechanic fix it for about $130 total. He said to switch to the whip MOD it would cost more so I just went the route of replacing the motor. Honestly, if I had my choice I would have done the whip MOD.
 
Jerold said:
I've got the mast out of the car, but even with the radio OFF, I still hear a noise that sounds like the motor is cycling thru - not just once though. It sounds like the motor is raising and lowering the antenna throughout my drive. I'm thinking that maybe it's 'cause there is still a bit of toothed cable in the motor unit that is causing it??

Anyway, I have the mast on order. Will this constant activation of the motor burn it out?
Click to expand...

There are two that you can pop the hood and cut them out from the top of the fender. The bottom one you need to cut the top off of from the inside.

I replaced the ones I cut with GM push rivets from Lowe's hardware and then put a rubber washer (to protect the metal) over it inside the hood and then a metal washer over that. It has a wider head and holds better than the Toyota ones and it can be removed without cutting.

I gave up on the whole mess and disconnected the power from the antenna with it down to seal up the hole. The side antenna works okay for me and I'm wiring in a active through glass antenna sometime soon.

Here is a link:
http://www.installer.com/item/display_item.php?it=44-ua200

I think I'm going to pull an amateur radio antenna through the hole and modify the gromet/lock nut thing so that it all fits nicely.
 
My antenna is halfway up and will not budge. Unlike all other posts I have seen online, my motor does NOT make noise. I think the relay is clicking - if it's an orange box with a black tab directly behind the center console but below the stereo, near the heat vent. Is there a common problem that causes this? Would the next step be to check the motor itself? Not interested in a whip or mod.
 
One reason I ask is because I started to tear into the fender liner and there are several opinions as to how best to do this. But, it did NOT just flex backwards, it started to tear and was too stiff to reach in there. Since it's going to be a bigger job than I expected, I need better info (and since I don't want to invest in the wrong part).
 
Sure enough, it didn't take long. Because it was stuck in the up position, I snagged a tree branch and snapped the antenna off. This helped expose the white plastic gear strip but I still can't tell what part is bad, or how much needs replaced.
 
temp fix

OK...finally. Thanx to steernit I located the relay exactly where indicated. After trying to unplug the relay itself I discovered a wire going into the bottom of the relay. This wire has a connector that plugs into a receptacle in the bottom of relay box. By pushing the release lever located on the inside of this connector, it will unplug and the power to the antennea motor is disconnected and no more grinding.

I also have a cracked windsheild besides the antennea problem but not enough money to fix both. Now at least I can listen to radio with out the grinding. Hope this helps someone else.
 
going to the Tacoma mast myself when it hit me...

peter78 said:
The secondary antenna is built into the glass on the passenger rear side window, done at the factory (3rd generation model). It is the side window that is for the trunk. If you look at the window you will see the lines. Some people think that is a side window defroster, but it is another antenna. I was responding to members that don't get the power antenna fixed and they say the radio still works, that is why. The secondary antenna is being used.

Some people put a whip antenna in instead of the getting another power antenna. Another option is, if your motor does not work, leave the antenna retracted and see if the secondary antenna does the job. I tend to listen to CD 90% of the time, so getting a good reception is not that important.

The way the two antennas work is the radio uses the strongest signal. Sometimes it is the main power antenna, sometimes it is the antenna built into the window. Which I think is a nice touch. Too bad our power antennas tend to crap out.
Click to expand...

peter78

I was re-reading this thread and I appreciate your input here. The problem most folks would have is once they have gone to an aftermarket head unit-the rear glass antenna is no longer plugged into anything.It is just laying back behind the dash not plugged into anything. It requires a $5.00 or less adapter to plug in like the main antenna does. To combine the 2 with a Y adapter is another little add on to gain some alternate choice in which or both to use.

I like the idea of not even replacing my mast(doh of course I just bought a Tacoma mast) and just leaving the power disconnected to the main antenna and in the retracted position.

So by combining your input with that over on Yota Tech-I will find the link and insert it here-ok here it is by that nice guy Rock Slide:

http://www.yotatech.com/f2/guide-ho...-antennas-into-one-aftermarket-stereo-193751/

this offers the combination of combining the antenna signals with the adapters mentioned and I just purchased them as well.

The light bulb just exploded over my head. Thanks very much.

and it was easier getting here from google than search. I will update once I disconnect the power antenna and combine the signals to see how the reception is.
 
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Well just make sure you replace it if it is the antenna. I let it go and I cut the truck on one day and the antenna pretty much shot out of the hole and landed on my hood. Quite funny actually but i had to get a new motor and antenna.
 
i broke my antenna mast along time ago wheeling at a friend's ranch by hitting a huge tree branch. So i changed it out with one i got on ebay and it worked great until my friend who owns a carwash gave me a free $70 wash forgot to turn off the radio and well let's just say that i decided it would be smarter and cheaper just to go with the tacoma whip. I have had the tacoma whip (non-motorized antenna) now for over 2 years and its still working strong.

Well the ebay antenna i bought looks just like the one in the link and well u should just go for it if ur for sure that u dont wanna do the tacoma whip.
 
rbdhd said:
I need to fix my antenna but the motor sounds like it works fine so I figure I only need to replace the antenna mast. I found this link and wanted to know if anyone have purchased from here and if it's what I need.

Toyota 4 Runner Power Antenna Mast - Power Antenna


Thanks
dhd
Click to expand...

I just replaced mine with a factory OEM mask this weekend. I wouldn't do anything other than OEM, but that is because I only live 1 mile away from a toyota dealership. People were having too many problems with aftermarket antenna mask, saying that it didn't last as long or the grooves on the white mask were not as sturdy or strong so it would tend to skip grooves, so on so forth. But if it's only 20 bucks, then give it a go, OEM was 60+ bucks. It's fairly easy to replace, it took me about 20 mins and I was done.
 
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