Thanks for the write up, this is on my to do list. What's the chances of a bird hitting the antenna mast at highway speeds?! The antenna actually held up fairly well. Bent it over enough that it wont close all the way but it still works........the bird didn't do as well, nothing but a cloud of feathers.
Antenna Mast Replacement - How To
- Thread starter stevema1214
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Thanks. Am going through this on mine and it’s currently not budging so I’ll add some more force.!
Thanks for the encouragement. I did apply a scary amount of force and it worked like a charm (as antenna rises, tilt it gently side ways while keeping cable straight and pretend you are bench pressing for better leverage- sheesh). I got it fed back in relatively easily. Then it stopped at 6” above the hood on the way up. Toggled back and forth once and it seated nicely. Used graphite in petroleum base as lubiricant on the plastic teeth and a light coating on the mast for good measure. Appreciate the help, y’all!
Great video I was able to get my new one in and the old cable out of the motor thanks to this YouTube video Ohashimi. Only problem I had was the black rubber donut broke down the mold line and now the antenna goes about 1/4” too far in. Not sure how to fix that.
To those who installed the cheap Chinese ebay mast, do your antennas have any play? Mine wiggles when the antenna is up. Can’t figure out how to get rid of the play
I just went and checked mine. Pretty sure epoxy will work as it’s more plasticky than rubbery. Clamp it not overly tight and let it set two days. The motor is pretty torquey and my rubber donut rode up with the mast when I turned on fm. A little bit of spider glue from my speaker refoam did the trick. The epoxy dries black, too. Good luck!
Oops. Spider glue to be applied at base. Figured if I ever had to get it off I could in case the motor was actually the issue.
I don’t even know how to post reply’s I’m so new haha sorry LXRestore. Where should my broken donut be mounted? There is also one inside the chrome cap screw it appears. Should there be two?
Ah, I got it. You’re saying that tiny plastic donut in the chrome screw cap cracked? If that’s the case, I still would go with epoxy to fix it, but the trick is keeping the antenna up while it cures, right? Maybe unhooking the battery?
Bought the $18 Amazon antenna mast (MTX branded), install was easy but once fitted it was loose and shakes when fully extended. The tolerances at the base are just too loose between the collar and the mast itself. As a result I just ordered an OEM mast from Camelback for $55 (+ shipping). I'll try and return the amazon unit once the OEM one arrives.
gregnash
Anal Retentive Analyst
I bought these for the wheel well liner, and they fit good. I think the size is 7mm. The ones you found might might be a bit too big for that.
Eyedaho
SILVER Star
53879-60010 were the right clips for my '99. I just used them when I installed a tundra fixed mast antennae. I hate automatic antennas, and made the swap after bending mine on some brush.
gregnash
Anal Retentive Analyst
Awesome! Thanks.
gregnash
Anal Retentive Analyst
The clips that @jake9 linked ended up being perfect!
Did this last night, took me about and hour and once I got the antenna out I found that there was pretty much the entire mast inside. Got everything buttoned back up and had the wife come out and help with retracting the antenna and all is said and done! Easy
job to replace. I only ended up breaking one of the plastic clips, rest all came out pretty easily to my amazement. But they really were not reuseable with how old and nasty they were.
Did this last night, took me about and hour and once I got the antenna out I found that there was pretty much the entire mast inside. Got everything buttoned back up and had the wife come out and help with retracting the antenna and all is said and done! Easy
job to replace. I only ended up breaking one of the plastic clips, rest all came out pretty easily to my amazement. But they really were not reuseable with how old and nasty they were.Hey guys, has anyone gave this mast a try? Need to replace mine and can't decide what to go with. I can hear my motor running but the antenna will not go up or down, so I'm guess the there's a piece that broke off in the motor. I refuse to pay $90 from Lexus. *98 LX*
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I ordered this mast from The Antenna Source for a little over $20 + free shipping. Installed it today. Many thanks to those on this thread especially @Ohashimi for his video. Quality of this particular mast seems very good for those who are in search of one. Putting it in was super easy after getting the old broken nylon gear "cable" out of the motor. Teeth toward the front of the car as the motor pulls the new cable down in. Goes up and down fully with no issue. I did put some teflon dry lube on the mast itself in hopes of reducing wear. Just left the old grease in the motor itself, seemed like there was plenty.
Old left, new right. They both have their own shape of rubber grommet they fit into, so the slight shape difference doesn't matter:
Old left, new right. They both have their own shape of rubber grommet they fit into, so the slight shape difference doesn't matter:
Haven't seen any write ups for how to replace the antenna if the cord/ribbon isn't actually broken. I wanted to replace my mast because it was bent, but it was still fully functional. Much easier process, but just to spell it out:
Anyways, not a hard process but I thought I would spell it to emphasize that force will be required to remove the cord and the teeth may not always point toward the rear.
- Remove cap (needle nose pliers work, but be careful)
- Extend mast
- Firmly hold mast in hand
- Retract mast (while still holding it)
- Extend the mast
- Note the direction that the teeth on the cord are pointing. The FSM says they point towards the rear, but mine pointed towards the front.
- Pull cord out. This part it the reason I decided to write this out. The cord will pull out almost all the way with ease, but then it gets difficult. I was hesitant to pull too hard, thinking I may break the cord or motor. I decided to just go for it and pulled with a lot of force. The cord came free, but I was worried I broke something.
- Feed the new cord in. Direct the teeth in the same direction as the previous cord. As mentioned before, FSM says they point toward the rear but mine were towards the front. You will feel resistance after a little bit. Press it in a bit further.
- Retract the mast. If it doesn't pull the new cord in then the teeth are probably pointed the wrong direction. Shift it around and keep trying. I fed them in facing the rear first, even though the old one faced the front. The cord didn't catch so I pointed the teeth toward the front and then it worked. It may not retract all the way at first. Don't worry.
- Reinstall the cap
- Power off the radio to fully retract the antenna. This should pull it in fully.
Anyways, not a hard process but I thought I would spell it to emphasize that force will be required to remove the cord and the teeth may not always point toward the rear.
