Power antenna problem...

[runnahmike]

Anybody else have their power antenna die? Mine will not go up or down anymore, and makes a horrible noise when I shut the off the radio or kill the engine.
I looked at the fuses, but it looks like I cannot kill it without killing some other stuff.
And my mechanic said it would be a costly repair.
Crap!
:bash:

 

[cameo87]

I had this same problem. If you're able to get it up, just have your mechanic (or the dealership) disconnect the power when it's up. You can't go through carwashes, but it stops that annoying noise.

 

[spl4runner]

mine did the same thing i just had mine disconnected

 

[MonsterRunner]

If you are tech savvy at all its an easy fix.
that grinding noise is your blessing in disguise. it means the motor still works and the motor is the expensive piece.

to fix:
1. purchase a new antenna mast($20-$40)
2. Take off front passenger side wheel
3. Pull back the plastic in the wheel well(requires taking off some bolts and pins i believe)
4. unscrew the nut that the antenna comes out of(you know the one people can see)
5. Remove the motor from the wheel well
6. Remove the few bolts that hold the motor together
7. open up the motor(probably goopy as hell) and remove the white, probably broken, pieces of cord
8. put it all back together and in its place.
9. before putting the wheel well and wheel back on turn on the car/radio
10. after the motor stops whirring... put the end of the new antenna mast cord in the top of the motor(where that top nut was) and turn the radio off
11. it should grab the cord and pull it all back down into the motor
12. put everything back

sounds complicated but like i said if you know at all what you are doing its seriously no sweat.

Anyways, just tryin to help out. These things are huge money makers for dealers. The motor works perfectly fine...but the mast breaks. Owner brings it in saying its broken and the dealer says well...we'll have to replace the whole deal. rape i tell you...rape.

if anyone decides to do this and has questions feel free to pm me.

 

[runnahmike]

If you are tech savvy at all its an easy fix.
that grinding noise is your blessing in disguise. it means the motor still works and the motor is the expensive piece.

to fix:
1. purchase a new antenna mast($20-$40)
2. Take off front passenger side wheel
3. Pull back the plastic in the wheel well(requires taking off some bolts and pins i believe)
4. unscrew the nut that the antenna comes out of(you know the one people can see)
5. Remove the motor from the wheel well
6. Remove the few bolts that hold the motor together
7. open up the motor(probably goopy as hell) and remove the white, probably broken, pieces of cord
8. put it all back together and in its place.
9. before putting the wheel well and wheel back on turn on the car/radio
10. after the motor stops whirring... put the end of the new antenna mast cord in the top of the motor(where that top nut was) and turn the radio off
11. it should grab the cord and pull it all back down into the motor
12. put everything back

sounds complicated but like i said if you know at all what you are doing its seriously no sweat.

Anyways, just tryin to help out. These things are huge money makers for dealers. The motor works perfectly fine...but the mast breaks. Owner brings it in saying its broken and the dealer says well...we'll have to replace the whole deal. rape i tell you...rape.

if anyone decides to do this and has questions feel free to pm me.

Hey thanks MonsterRunner! Do you think you could post some pics?
I might try this myself.

 

[p nut]

So many people have gone through this problem (myself included). Do yourself a favor and do the Tacoma Whip mod and be done with it.

http://4runners.org/writeups/whip/index.html

 

[MonsterRunner]

wish i had some pics for you buddy but I didnt think of it at the time when i was doing it. If you look on pnut's link it shows you pretty much where you do the work...(like thats the fender) and the bolt thats under the fender liner is the bolt that holds the motor in place. The difference here rather than what is done on that link is you arent doing anything inside the cabin. Just unbolt that one holding the motor in place... unscrew the screws on the motor itself and there you go... a perfectly good motor.

 

[jamess]

I had the same thing happen on my T4R. I was stuck in the up position so it was no big deal, then out of the blue one day it went down and stayed put. I ended up taking to a local shop and had them install the whip style anttena. I think it was around $100 about 2 years ago. I think it was well worth the cost and not ahving to deal with pulling the fender liner and all that mess.

 

[n8buddy]

here is a writeup for a second gen, pretty much the same setup.

click

as a side note, my antenna did the same thing as yours does when i bought it, i replaced the mast but after about a month it started doing it again anyways. i figured the motor gears where probably stripped from grinding for so long.

 

[MonsterRunner]

here is a writeup for a second gen, pretty much the same setup.

click

as a side note, my antenna did the same thing as yours does when i bought it, i replaced the mast but after about a month it started doing it again anyways. i figured the motor gears where probably stripped from grinding for so long.

oo sorry about that.
happy to say mine was a success story and still works today. that link is pretty much the exact same procedure.
thank you!