QuietGiant

My 94 4Runner power antenna needed a new mast when I bought it. I replaced the mast about 2 months ago. Now, the antenna won’t go up or down. I assume the cable broke again. Before I replace the mast again, I plan to clean and re-grease the motor and generally service the unit. My question is, is it worth bothering with or should I replace the power unit with a fixed or whip antenna instead? I’m not worried about the time/labor. I am mostly worried the system is not worth fixing. (Motor seems strong and relay works great.) The electric antenna seems to be a sore spot with a lot of 4runner owners.
Thanks, QuietGiant

YotaFun

If you aren't worried about the time or labor I would go for cahinging it out....

I am finsing the power mast to be annoying, I need to eplace mine because i hit some bushes and got it bent.

On my old olds it had a fix whip style antenna that even went throught the car was and survived.

If not, check were you are getting the mast from, maybe the quality?

And are you sure it is not the motor since it is not going UP or down?

Also maybe your stereo isn't sending the power signal to activate the motor?

And the might be a fuse to check, but I am not quiet certain....

QuietGiant

Motor and all electrical works fine.. it's definately a snaped cable. I want to know if the antenna cable snaping is a regular occurence and if so, is it because most people don't know how to fix or maintain them or is the quality of the after market masts just poor? I'm not worried about bending the mast in the bushes or a car wash, just if my repair time & effort is not going to yield a bad cable/motor or whatever later.

YotaFun

I have heard stories that the antenaa cable snaping is normal but usually over time, not in a matter of two months.
I would lean more towards the quality of the aftermarket masts, it just sounds very odd that after 2 months.
Maybe cleaning and re-greasing might be the bes shot.

Were you able to take out the mast to see that the cable snaped?

QuietGiant

Not yet but I'm sure thats the problem. I'll just R&R the motor and see what happens. Thanks for the input.
QuietGiant

misterzee

I have redone an old manual one on my 87, newer type on my 96 and 97 (much easier). They all are holding up just fine. Its worth fixin.

DuB

I'm trying to fix my antenna as well, but it keeps jamming because I think the grease I have is too thick. What kind of grease did you guys use and where can I get it?

itsmeagain5789

car wash bent my antenna, and i broke the rest of it off. I thinks its better without the antenna, because now I can listen to the RADIO when im going under a tree, and not have to turn it off. you still have the antenna on the back window if you've got a 2nd gen, and i still get good reception.

YotaFun

Yeah I didn't know the tihird Gens had that antenna in the window till i read a post somewhere....
My current head unit only plays really old cds and my power antenna is gone...
So I couldn't listen to the radio...
Untill I read that post, now I am not looking for a mast anymore...
No need for it !!
w00t!!!

Alperovich

personally, and i did this with my acura, I removed the power ant and had the hole shaved off! I got a window antenna in the rear glass plus a got another antenna, i placed it also in the back behind the glass, together they worked great, just either one alone worked like crap.

In my 4runner though, i don't have the power antenna anymore and the hole is taped up but i have no antenna hooked up, nor the one in the rear glass or anything, nothing is plugged into the radio and i get pretty decent reception, i know its weird!

CJM

In my T100 my antenna was already bent, then one day while opening after I switched on the radio is flew out and was held together by the plastic cable. I ripped the cable off, took some electrical and taped it back together b/c it had teeth on the part that flew out I couldnt get to go in..works just dandy.

Denk

After 16 years of service, my power mast finally gave up the ghost. Replacement from the dealer was $25. The fixed whip assembly was going to be about $60. Replacing the power mast was super simple and works fine. I also added a switch so I can lower the mast, with the radio on, while I'm in heavy bruch or trees.

That antennae in the back window also gets really good reception.

Snorkeldepth

IIRC when my power antenna stopped working I took it apart to try and fix it. I remember that it had a flexible plastic "cable" with teeth/compartments that mesh with a drive gear in the power unit. The teeth were obviously stripped off in a section so that the gear spun without pushing up the antenna. I don't know where you'd be able to find more of that plastic stuff with the teeth. I ended up finally putting a new power unit in after using a fixed mast for awhile.

craw4x4

So let me get this straight , there is a antennea on the back window of the secon gen 4runners, is it on the passenger side far back window???if it is what i think it is , i thought that was a defroster.................. damn feeling dumb right about now.

itsmeagain5789

yea, thats it, thats what im using and it works great. although if you have an aftermarket radio, u need an antenna adapter, which is not much anyway

rdharper

I've fought this problem off and on for a lot of years now. I replaced the motor/antenna about 3 times on my Rx7 before going to a whip with the spring at the bottom. That was many years ago... still works great, and actually doesn't look bad. It has a pre-load on it, and is collapsible for car washes etc.

My 85' 4wd PU broke a fixed whip about 3 years ago... and I went to a "rubber ducky" on that because it was the least expensive solution, and the wife likes it. Performance is only a bit worse than the Rx7 solution.. both are more dependent on station signal strength than anything else.

The '94 4Runner came with a fixed whip. So far it has held up fine. My roads are narrow in spots, the antenna gets a fair amount of abuse on top of the occasional car wash which is often the worst stress.

iceman81005

I have been meaning to replace the power antenna for some time. I do have an aftermarket stereo. What kind of antenna adapder do I need and where can I get one? Terrible reception without any antenna.

rdharper

You should be able to pick up an antenna at any auto parts store... out here that would be Kragens. No adaptor needed, as the input characteristics are the same for your system.

If you insist on another power antenna... which I did a number of times before I went to a fixed antenna, should also be compatible with your system. The question is more one of getting one that fits in your space available. If all else fails, any good audio shop that does its own installation can tell you what will work in your vehicle. Installation costs should not be much if you want them to do it.

Tofer

I got tired of breaking the power mast while 4wheeling. so i put a simple inline switch on the blue line running to my antenna after the amp tap. this allows me to flip the switch and it disables the power antenna leaving in the down positison. so i leave it off all the time unless i am using the radio not in the city. it get good enough reception if your in city down.

8yota9

can a 4runner power antenna be put on a 89 pickup with out eney mods to body like the mast hole