I dunno if it's just that it's 2AM and I'm down five beers? I replaced my power antenna. Had to dig out the broken bits in the motor.

The problem is with the new antenna. I feed it down into the mast and it goes all the way down and the motor turns off.
Then I turn the radio on and the antenna raises, and raises and 'poop' - it spits right out of the car and lands on the hood. And the motor keeps running for another 10 seconds.

Now, according to this pic, I've got all three parts. The bushing, spacer and special nut. So wtf am I doing wrong???????

Pic sourced from:
http://www.antennamastsrus.com/Instructions%20Mast.htm

 

after the antenna is fully seated im pretty sure u turn it counter clockwise a quarter turn so that it locks in place but make sure of that i do know that it turns one way or the other

 

Heh. Where did you get the atenna?

 

I bought one on fleabay a few weeks ago and had the same problem. I wound up having to reuse the old "sliding end from the old one. Can't really describe really good but it fits at the bottom of the old antenna. It acts as a "stop" for the atenna. I wound up having to cut the end of my old antenna out to remove it. Hopefully your new antenna is smooth on the end and you won't have any problems transferring it. If you would then post up pictures of the old one and I'll try and show it to you. I would try to take one of mine but it was a PITA and I'm not taking it out again.

 

Can anyone confirm this? It wasn't mentioned in the directions in the link I posted above. Wouldn't turning it move the teeth off?

I got it from one of the eBay power sellers. It looks exactly like the one in the pictures in the link I posted above. I dunno about the length though.

Both my new and old antennas were smooth at the end.
I'll try to post a pic a bit later.

 

Okay, here is the old mast on top and the new one on the bottom.



Old one on the left, new on the right.



The antenna hole.





When I go to put the antenna in, this is how much it sticks out before I get resistance.
Btw, on my 4runner the teeth face towards the front of the vehicle.

 

you need to unscrew the round antenna nut, remove it, and slide it over the antenna
and then screw it down. you have not removed the nut it is still sitting there


it is the silver thing with 4 notches in it

 

After looking at mine and unscrewing the special nut I'm going to agree with mcfalls. The round black piece is what stops against the special nut. It acts as a stop for it.

 

doh! I was actually going to do that first, but it didn't make sense because I thought the antenna would just go all the way down into the hole and I'd never get it back out again. Thanks guys.

 

Yeah I did the same thing. I even had to take the motor out too because the teeth were stuck inside as I was one of the unlucky ones. Being fustrated by that then having the antenna pop right out after installation only fueled my aggravation until my wife figured it out. Ha ha imagine my surprise. I even went as far as telling her that we needed to swap careers. She be an auto tech and me be an EMT.

On a side note, when you finally had it installed. Does yours make a clicking noise at full rise? Mine does now and can't remember if it did the same before I unhooked the power wire years ago. What it does is rises to full mast then clicks and then settles back down maybe 1/8" after the noise.

 

How do you get access the motor? my 98 4runner antenna dose not go up or down, I hear the motor going on and off when I turn the radio on but I had to pull the antenna up by hand to stay in position. One time I took the antenna off but I didn't see that mast part, also when the antenna is up the radio stations still wont come in good. Thank you.

ADAM.

 

You will have to take the passenger side fender flare off. Then the inner fender well. You may need side cutters, but if you have an upholstery remover tool then it will do a better job to get the retainer clips off. I didn't take mine all of the way out, just enough to get access to the motor itself. Then IIRC there is either a 10mm or 12mm bolt holding it on. When you take the motor apart remember where all of the screws go back. Putting the motor cover back on I actually used some sealer to keep water/mud out but it may not be necessary.

 

Thanks

 

Sorry for the late response.
Yes, after I got mine on, I let it go up & down a few times to settle in. When it rises up, it will click, then adjust back downwards just about 1/8" and stop. It just does the one click when it gets to the top though. It's not like it sits there making noises for awhile.

 

UPDATE:

Frack, the replacement antenna mast I got for it has already died! The teeth part has completely separated from the mast.

I would gladly pay extra for a GOOD, long lasting antenna mast!!!!

It lasted less than four months. And this is NOT a fun replacement to have to do!!!!

 

Stop buying that aftermarket crap then, and buy a quality OEM one.

People always give me crap cause I am "OEM OEM OEM" but the old one lasted in your truck 10+ years and the new one lasted 4 months.

I think we can all do the math there

 

Tacoma whip mod...... you'll never have to mess with it again. That's what I did and it works great.

 

Hi Death Cougar,
I am an OEM guy also. However CZ Eddie ordered through the website: http://www.antennamastsrus.com . On the site they "claim" OEM parts. Are they lying? I have never used them before so I don't know, though I did think it was strange that an OEM part from these guys was $52 dollars CHEAPER than the dealership. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

 

I cut the wires to the antenna motor because I assume the teeth are stripped and I got tired of listening to the motor run and run and run every time I turn the radio on or off! I can lower it manually if I need to, and I probably should since I hardly ever listen to radio.

 

To all,
I just finished changing my antenna mast with an OEM mast, and it is a was a process. The Toyota dealership told me they don't even like to do it. The reason, you need to 1) pull the mask, 2) remove and open the motor. Toyota mechanics alway open the motor because if there are any broken pieces in the motor, the mast will not work. I have a Limited, so the fender flair adds to the removal time, but not impossible.