So about 6 months ago I replace my power antenna mast. My old one broke in half and the pipe gear had a short piece broken. The replacement went fine (it is super easy to replace) Worked flawlessly until this week. Now when the mast goes up or down. if makes a grinding noise in a fluctuating way
I will attempt to duplicate
growllllllgrowlllllllgrowllllllgrowllllllgrowlll

The mast does go all the way up and all the way down but it hesitates slightly during the sound change represented above.
I did remove the mast and it and its gear are fine no sign of wear.
Any ideas

 

Wd40, Lube, SuperGlide..?

try that...

 

I usually spray my power antenna with a dry silicone spray. Soak it down well w/ antenna fully up, then lower and raise it a few times to get the silicone into the moving parts.

 

tacoma whip mod, like i have on my 02.

 

1. make sure there's no broken bits of the plastic toothed strand that goes into the gears from the old antenna mast. sometimes they break off and don't allow the new one to seat all the way in. you will need to open the motor to check for bits.

2. check the gears and new antenna for teeth damage. if the teeth are worn down, the gears will just spin and not engage with each other, and then its time for new motor if its on the gear side (rather than mast's strand side)

3. replacement mast may be incorrect, and teeth may not be big enough to engage in your motor.

use lithium white spray lube inside your motor, not wd-40

good luck bro!

 

Tacoma whip mod x2! It looks better, and you don't have to keep worrying about it anymore. I plan on doing it as soon as my original motorized antenna calls it quits (120K miles and counting).

 

I looked at the teeth of the mast they are fine. My guess is the teeth on the motor are worn.



No it is the right mast, I am certified (see sig) lol

Thanks for the Ideas. I think for know I am going to load it up with grease and hope that works. And then I might do the whip

Wyo how does the whip work for your radio??

 

did you open the motor box and peek inside already? if not, make sure last function was antenna up before power off. look in there and make sure them teeth are ok and there's no old bits. also, turning the mast with your fingers will turn that gear strand, maybe they're just not lining up right inside. if you've got the growl growl, it should be just missing. hm.

if it is motor bad, you can get a generic on fleabay if you like the power functionality.
link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/POWER...1%7C240%3A1318

otherwise, as described, a rubber whip job is pretty durable. also, check this out.
link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BOSCH...1%7C240%3A1318

 

whip works good, just like any other antenna, except its not as fancy. its real easy to do too. BUT, if you do end up pulling you motor apart and find something wrong with it, i have the one out of my truck that im pretty sure is still good if you need to replace yours. and i think itll work in your truck but not sure.

 

what is this Tacoma whip mod?

 

mine has been doing the same thing for the past 3 or 4 months....I don't even hear it now, as long as it goes up and down it will eb the least of my worries.

 

I don't even HAVE an antenna I broken mine off, and ever since I installed my new head unit, I get prefect reception without it! I have a whole new assembly and everything, still wrapped in plastic in the garage, buy I'm not going to fool with it as long as it works


oh but mine's just a regular antenna, not a power antenna

 

the tacoma whip mod, is a mod that replaces eletric antennas with a solid whip, which is what the tacomas have. you take out the motor from inside the fender put a mount in its place and screw the antenna in on top of the mount. search it youll see what im talking about.

 

Same antenna that the deluxe Toyotas' came with....non motorized.

 

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

 

Well my solution was to just unplug the motor. No more noise and as long as you unplug in the UP position the signal strengh is the same and the antenna doesnt move!! It sucks for automatic car washes but they usually give me the evil eye If I try to take my muddy a$$ Runner through that lol