91-94 Power Antenna Mast Fix

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Hoo, boy...Just finished doing my Yota yoga for today, attempting a repair on my power antenna mast. Read through all the other offerings on this subject prior to doing so. My antenna mast was bent just above the crown nut (missed deer, didn't see the tree overhanging the side of the road). Removed crown nut, rubber grommet, unclipped the power lead, tried to pull out the antenna. No dice. Tried to unscrew it. No dice. Then undid the bottom screw to loosen the drive, and rassled the antenna out the fender well...but not far enough to get any access to any working parts. Couldn't see how to get the mast out. Cut off the tip, tried pulling the bottom of the mast out. Didn't come out. The nylon was swaged (yep, that is a word) onto the innermost piece of the mast. Then it broke. Now have the broken end of the nylon sticking out of the base of the mast that won't come out. There isn't enough slack in the antenna lead to get the drum portion out of the fender so I can work on it...read with interest about cutting the coax and crimping ends onto the cut ends by the antenna; doubt there is room enough inside the fender to work a coax cutter to get a good crimp, while still leaving enough at the antenna to do the same.
Have to say I'm flummoxed at this point. Wish I had a nice, cooperative antenna mast like most of you guys have.
Reinstalled it as it is, to plug the hole in the fender.
At this point thinking about replacing the mast assembly, but that'll entail snaking the radio end of the antenna cable through the morass under the dash.
I'd be happy to entertain any suggestions. In the interim, it's CDs and bluetooth.
Cheers
 
I just ordered the manual, non powered antenna from cruiser parts.
It’s factory original equipment.
Hopefully it goes as planned.
I’m replacing the powered antenna.
Don’t want the hassle.
Anyone here done that?
Any tips?
 
Sully said:
I collapsed the antenna as much as I could until I could see the nut connecting the nylon and the mast. (see pic 1) What I didn't realize initially was that there are actually two nuts, one large and one small. (see pics 2 and 3) I couldn't get the nut to unscrew despite several attempts involving several types of pliers and WD-40. What eventually worked for me was using a pair of wire cutters to cut the tip off of the antenna, sliding all of the lower sections off of the top section (which is about the diameter of a clothes hanger wire), and then putting a 90-degree bend in the top section. I then grasped the larger (the bottom) nut with a linesman pliers and just rotated the top section using the bent piece as a handle. Piece of cake. You then connect the two pieces of the new antenna by sliding the small one over the large one. The black grommet should be away from the red bottom of the antenna. I used the mini-needlenose pliers to move the small nut down the thread at the bottom of the mast about three turns. Thread the mast into the nut on the end of the nylon piece and then use the mini-pliers to snug the small nut against the large nut. You may have to unscrew the mast and adjust the position of the small nut in order to get the best fit. Once the nuts are secure, I fed the antenna down into the barrel of the antenna motor until it was snug, slid the rubber grommet over the mast until it was snug against the fender, and then replaced the crown nut. I just used the mini-pliers to secure the crown nut. I then lowered the antenna and raised it to check for proper function. It was all good.
View attachment 117361View attachment 117362View attachment 117363
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This was all excellent information!

I followed the for my 96 LC and replaced the mast in about 20 minutes.

I had been having a problem with my radio cutting out every time I placed the truck into reverse. I was sure it was due to the interferences put off by the LED back-up lights.

However, when I was working on this mast, I discovered that the PO had work done on this fender (he hit a guard rail) and when the body shop put it back together, they left out yet another bolt. The body of the antenna motor was flopping around inside the fender, hanging by the antenna mast nut.

I found a 6mm-1.0 x 15mm long flange nut at O'Reilly's (and installed it to secure my antenna body back to the fender and now my cutting out problem has gone away! (BTW, that bolt can be a bit shorter if needed.)

Thanks for this write-up and pics! This really removed my fears of thinking I was going to have to remove the fender and a bunch of other crap to make this happen!
 
Anyone know the part number and where to source the antena mast? 80 went through the car wash and broke the antena. Cable may still be good.
 
LockedCollector said:
Anyone know the part number and where to source the antena mast? 80 went through the car wash and broke the antena. Cable may still be good.
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Although I found part numbers, the end of the nylon and the mast are not held by nuts. This seems to be crimped together.....anyone seen this? Anyone?
64D9D1DC-7F3C-49C8-860B-10A336F0D267.webp
 
proteolytic said:
I think that copper looking crimp belongs in the housing/mast (i.e. it isn't supposed to come out).
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It is the mast that I am trying to replace but don’t see the nuts the OP mentioned. Instead it looks like the nylon is fused to the mast by the crimp where the nylon and the mast meet. I can retract and extend the nylon noodle after removing the lower ends of the metal antenna but puzzled what I need to do to replace the metal antena mast.
 
so i gave up and removed fender. made the job SUPER EASY. i spent 2 plus hrs trying to work out how to get the cable spooled properly. mine has no teeth. its smooth so it winds in and kinda works now. missing the chrome nut for the top to prevent it fully coming out on extension. so have it in the down position until i get the nut

van is on a wrecker on its way to paint hence the zip tie. i gave the painter the headache to reassemble lol

WhatsApp Image 2022-02-13 at 5.42.47 PM.jpeg
 
remove park light
remove nut ontop antenna
remove wiper arms
remove cover that's over the wiper mechanism
remove bolts along upper fender in engine bay
remove bolt inside fender by door hinge.
remove mud guard
remove 2-4 bolts under fender in area by mud guard
remove 2 bolts under park light, ontop front indicator
remove 4-5 bolts that run on splash shield under the flare.... all the backing nuts broke off for me as the age made it brittle. i strongly suggest you soak all nuts and bolts in wd40 couple hrs prior to attempting this. i didn't and had to use a hacksaw blade to saw off the bolts by flare.

honestly if i had soaked the nuts and bolts, this job shouldn't take more than 20 mins.
out of 5 bananas i give to 2 outta 5 for difficulty, its just ALOT OF FREAKING bolts to remove , can anyone say OVER engineered? lol
 
Madcrix12 said:
remove park light
..
honestly if i had soaked the nuts and bolts, this job shouldn't take more than 20 mins.
out of 5 bananas i give to 2 outta 5 for difficulty, its just ALOT OF FREAKING bolts to remove , can anyone say OVER engineered?
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Great. Thanks for that
 
I'm resurrecting this thread. With @cruiserdan long and hopefully happily retired at the cruiser museum, is this the correct part number?

86336-60040

Motor, etc. all work fine. Bent the antenna just enough at the bottom that it'll retract all but about 10 inches so I know the motor is fine and the cable is attached and working.
 
That is the correct number. As long as the nylon cable is intact you are good.
 
Well, Sully, the author of this thread hasn't been seen here since 2016, but this thread made a 15 minute job out of this. Now, if my aging brain can remember to lower the antenna before hitting the trails, this antenna should be good for another 29 years!
 
LockedCollector said:
It is the mast that I am trying to replace but don’t see the nuts the OP mentioned. Instead it looks like the nylon is fused to the mast by the crimp where the nylon and the mast meet. I can retract and extend the nylon noodle after removing the lower ends of the metal antenna but puzzled what I need to do to replace the metal antena mast.
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Hey LockedCollector, did you ever figure out how to resolve this?
 
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