PBR_Streetgang

Morning everyone,

I've searched past threads for my problem, but cannot find the writeup for the solution. Can someone here help me (or point me in the right direction)?

I have a '98 Ltd and recently the power antenna won't go up or down, though the motor runs for about 20 sec. If I give a slight push downward to the antenna (while its motor is running) it will go down all the way. It raises with no problem.

Any would be most appreciated. Thanks.

NVRSASTK

Let me know if you find the answer. Mine goes up, and down just not all the way. Chris

AznSky

I'm guessing parts of the little teeth in ur antenna are worn out, which explains the pushing down for a bit, then it hooks on to the remaining teeth and pulls it down itself.

You have 2 options:

Replace the plastic teeth part - which I don't think is that expensive cuz ur motor is still running fine (which would be the expensive part to replace)

Or you can put a permanent antenna in by using this thread
http://www.4runners.org/articles/whip/

I personally chose the latter cuz it was ez and I didn't wanna mess with the power antenna anymore. Except I went with a cheapo Auto-zone antenna which I want to replace with a taco whip.

PBR_Streetgang

I prefer the power setup and I'd like to do the work myself (to save some $$), so does anyone know how to do it??

Thanks.

phatride4ever

ya refcently exprience the extact same problem, my antenna wont go down after turning the car off. The motor just runs for like 20sec and the stops, the same thing happens when i turn the car on.

rah1420

If you want to keep the power antenna, go to this ebay auction. This lady is great. The instructions are clear and she even replaced a defective mast with a new one. Highly recommend this ebayer.

Fink

I have the same problem except mine won't move anywhere. Luckily it is stuck in the up position so I still get very good reception from it.

I went to the dealer and priced out the cost of getting the Taco Whip antenna parts and it came to about 63.10 with a little discount added on to that.

I will probably end up having a local stereo place do it for me since I don't that I am qualified enough to route the new antenna.

What I was wondering is if the antenna cable going from the radio to the old antenna that I have on there now is removeable. If the cable it detachable then I could just unattach it from the old setup and reattach it to the new Taco Whip. Is that possible?

-hijack over-

That is what I would do man, it looks better and is just for practical in my eyes.

Fink

nofilter

when i bought my 4runner, the power ant was not retracting. i bought a replacement from toyota for $33. it is the telescoping part, with the plastic rack (the part with teeth).

you have to unscrew the nut on the outside of the fender, and drop the inner fender trim to access the motor unit. when you pull out the old telescoping part, you will probably find that the rack is broken, not the some teeth stripped. anyway, if this is the case, you will have to crack open the motor unit to pull out the last part of the broken rack.

i think i closed up the motor unit, inserted the new telescoping portion with it extended all the way(IT WON'T GO IN VERY FAR ART ALL), plugged the harness into the motor unit (with the radio on). the power to the motor unit will turn the gear assembly as if raising the antenna. the gear will click on the rack teeth. when you turn off the radio, the motor unit will pull in the antenna.

somehting like that - it was over 3 years ago! i think i read the thread about replacing with the Taco, you have to pull the whole antenna wire and rethread the new one through the dash to the head unit.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

No.

Write-up for the Taco Whip Antenna mod of my website.

PBR_Streetgang

Thanks a lot, guys.
I called my local dealer and they charge $45 for the part but said I should bring the car in because it's something "a mechanic should do."

Surprising eh?

nofilter

ok, add $90 for labor.

i used a snap-ring plier to unsrew the nut on the outside of the fender. i think a phillips to remove the inner fender plastic, and a 10 or 12 mm socket to unmount the motor unit. phillips to crack open the motor unit, and maybe a slotted screwdriver to pull the harness off.

if you have some mechanical experience, it shouldn't be too bad. on the other hand, if you end up snapping the rack, you're out another $45 . so maybe it'll be cheaper in the long run....

btw, the antenna for my wife's integra was $67!! we never replaced that one.

Cebby

It's all attached. It isn't hard to route the new one. Cut the old one inside the fender leaving yourself some slack. Tape the new cable end to end to the old cut one and pull it through the hole to the interior. Makes life easy on you (and its free). You'll need to drop the right side of the dash to facilitate running the wire.

playswithfire

Hey PBR Streetgang:
I had the same problem, so I bought a new mast from the dealer two days ago and installed it. It took me an hour, mostly because I've never done it before and had to take the motor apart to retrieve a short length of broken teeth/rack. The procedure is just as described by NoFilter, and I found a couple of write-ups on Yotatech by doing a search.

Anyway, it was pretty easy, and you definately don't need to be a mechanic to do it. I say give it a try.

WVRunner

Hi,

I used the search feature and found this string about power antennas. I see it has been inactive for a while but I hope someone will respond to my posting! The antenna on my '97 4Runner has been in the up position for some months. I can hear the motor trying to lower it but the grinding noise isn't as loud as it use to be. If I understand from what has been previously written, it isn't the motor but the gears or teeth on the mast itself? It that right?

I consider myself to be mechanically inclined member of the opposite gender (to most on this site). In the past, I did some minor repair work on my vehicles. Things such as changing the fuel filter on my CJ5 and removing then replacing a rebuild alternator on my MGB. So I think I could give this a try. Any advice or feedback will be appreciated! Thanks,

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Hey guys! It's a girl!

Welcome to Yotatech!

If you can do those things you mentioned, replacing the little plastic piece that pushes your power antenna mast is a piece of cake. Just make sure you check the motor as most of the time the piece of plastic with teeth breaks off in the motor and you have to remove that piece as well as put the new piece in. I would definitely try fixing it yourself before I paid the dealer anything.

Good luck!

jacksonpt

I got an estimate from my dealer for $286 to replace the power antenna assembly. SCREW THAT!!!! I have the same problem a lot of you do... antenna will go up no problem, but won't go down without a nudge from me. Dealer tore everything appart and said the plastic gear teeth are worn down.

Can I just replace the gears? If so, should I, or would it be easier to just replace the entire assembly? Any writeups on this? I saw the fixed mast writeups, but can't find any writeups on replacing the gears/assembly.

Bob_98SR5

hey jackson,

bend over!!! $2 hundred what?!?

i still have my old motor assembly. if you wanna buy it, i can take some pics tonight. i did cut the antenna cable (rookie mistake) but if all you need is the motor, i can sell that to you for cheap.

or else, i highly recommend the taco whip mod. no need to ever worry about gears, masts, teeth, etc. http://www.4runners.org/articles/whip

bob

WVRunner

Waskillywabbit. Thanks for replying. Yea, it's a girl. I'm concerned about getting into the area where the motor is. On someone's posting I read about removing the fender lining. Do I do that from inside the wheel well? Can I get to it while the vehicle is on the ground? I don't have any ramps. Not many tools either but I'm told I'm getting some as a birthday gift! Then I'll be able to tear up, I mean work on, all sorts of stuff!

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Read my write-up and it talks about getting to the motor- to take it out - but you are wanting to fix it - so same thing.

You can do it flat on the ground, but taking the tire off makes it easier if you have larger than stock tires like I do with 285s. And buy some new grommets, makes it much easier to get the liner off and then get back on - like $0.65 each at the dealer and they will have them in stock.

Anyway, this should help:
http://www.drawhorn.org/tacoma_whip_antenna.htm

Good luck!

Bob_98SR5

...you do not have to take off the tire. Totally unnessary. Just turn the wheel to the left and that will give you plenty of room to work.

Here's the original write up on the Taco Whip mod as mentioned above: http://www.4runners.org/articles/whip/

Bob