power antena

[newshofan]

Mine doesnt work the mast is broke. I already know i have two options i think. I can buy just the mast or i can get a whole new unit. whats the best and easiest thing to do. and cheapest. I work at best buy and we do sell some there i would get them a little bit cheaper i just dont know what my best option is?

 

[Jh8990]

I would like to know this info as well as I am in the same boat you are.

 

[newshofan]

ok if you find something out before me i would like to know. i have done a lilte research but not much. im just curious as to what the best route would be. one of our installers in the audio dept said just replacing the mast is a pain and sometimes that the teeth are already wore down. what is other peoples take on this?

 

[xshoel93x]

the red sho sitting in my driveway needs a whole new unit cuz everything is so worn and broken, would be easier to just pull it all out n replace the whole thing. but i may end up converting it to a regular antenna like my silver sho, that was even easier for us here

 

[newshofan]

yea would any aftermarket replacement power antenna work? i guess that would be easier. i would like to keep it stock

 

[Eric VerValin]

$10 on ebay guys... take the old motor out if the old one dosent come out as long as the new one... if its short, its probally broke inside and that broken peice needs to come out. Takes all of 5 minuites to do it if it isn't broken in there.

 

[sperold]

The E-bay thing is kind of complicated. Sometimes 86 - 89 Antenna are grouped together and 90 through 95 are in the same group. Other times the groupings are different, like 94-95 are separated.
If you get past that, some of the sellers include instructions, but they all seem the same.
Some antenna are aluminum, some are stainless.
The instructions sound so easy, like you pull the old mast from the motor casting assembly, but they go on to tell you that if that doesn't work, you have to remove the whole assembly and soak that joint with aggressive penetrating oil.
Then there are instructions on taking the circular cover off the motor assembly if the tail of your old antenna is shorter than you new one (the rest is inside the drum).
None of it sounds too hard, but I would plan on removing the whole thing from the car and working this change on a bench.
If someone has done it by just yanking out the old antenna and feeding in the new one, I would like to hear the story.

 

[Eric VerValin]

Yea I just did a week ago, twice. If its not broken, with that top nut off, its just that simple. Push the power button, and it comes out, push it again, and it spins waiting on you to feed the new one in. When the new one goes it, it'll stop itself when it trips the limit switch.

Sometimes it wont always go all the way down because its not quite centered right. Hit the button on and off, until it falls in, then replace the nut and your done.

If the "whole thing" has to come out. It's one 4 mm I think, and a long extention to get at it. Don't know what u would need the penetrating oil for. There is one nut on the thing, and the motor casing all comes apart, just pull out the old cable and put it back together.

You still need it in the car to feed it into place, you can't do it all on the bench without powering it up.

 

[newshofan]

ok so heres what it seems like to me. buy a replacment mast try that and if it doesnt work then spend 40 to 60 and buy a whole new unit. either way...im going to order my mast on ebay tonight.

 

[hawkeye18]

It's a 7mm acorn nut that holds the motor halves together.

If your mast doesn't go all the way up, it's broken. There are little plastic tooth pieces stuck in the motor you'll have to pull out. Fortunately, once you take that 7mm nut off, it will become incredibly obvious what's going on and what you have to do. It's all just sitting right there. Once you get all the old plastic shit out of the motor housing, you just reassemble it, and stick the new antenna in from the top, making sure the teeth face forward (or is it backward? It'll only feed one way, in any case).

Also make sure you have the right limiter collar on there. Most of them come with more than one, and the instructions will tell you which one to put on. It's srsly like a 10 minute job - I'd rate it at 1.5 difficulty stars out of 5 (cos there is one nut, after all).

Oh, and make sure you take that top collar off, too. I just used a pair of vise grips (very, very carefully, so as not to f*** up the paint on the fender) to take it off, but I understand AAP and AZ sell tools for this purpose.

 

[kevinspann]

I got lucky, and the ebay seller sent me two by accident!

 

[Eric VerValin]

You know I got both collars to go down in there... it just takes a little extra wiggling to get it to work... I took it off before and it was always a little loose. If you leave the big nut a little loose until it finally works down it will make it in there.

 

[newshofan]

ok well i ordered one from ebay 8.99 with 5 dollar shipping. 13.99 total we will see how it turns out when i get it.