ParkRat

Well, I finally ordered an antenna mast to replace my broken one. I decided to get black because I thought it would look better. It came with the tool needed to remove the nut that's holding the mast in place. I removed the nut and turned the radio on. Once I heard the antenna motor stop I yanked up on the mast and it came right out! Only problem was.. only half the ribbon came out I thought..crap.. this isn't going to be fun. The motor had to come out because the other part of the ribbon was still in the motor.

I started buy removing the interior peices around the hatch area to disconnect the power and antenna cable. I also taped a long wire to them so I could fish it back through the hole in the body.



I then removed the left rear wheel and wheel well. My next battle was pushing the rubber gromet through the body where the cables come through. If you run your hand along the wires it will lead to the gromet. It's pretty far up there! This by far was the hardest part! There is no good way to do this besides pushing and pulling on the gromet! I wasn't able to take pics!

Here is a pic of the gromet after I removed the motor completely.





For the next part I found it easier to lay on my back and reach up rather than reaching through the wheel well. I also found out it hurts to have a rachet drive drop on your face. The antenna is mounted to the antenna bracket via two screws located on the bottom of the bracket. The body strap is connected to the screw on the right. Remove these two screws. My left screw would not come out. It just kept spinning in place. I'm thinking.. crap. I took a flat head screw driver and pried down on the screw. It popped out along with the metal fitting that the screw attaches to. I was then able to hold the metal fitting with pliers and unscrew the screw. I pushed the metal fitting back into the motor.

Now.. there are wires connected towards the top of the motor. One on the right and two on the left. The two on the left are held in by the same screw. You can twist the antenna motor around to access the screws a little easier. Once you remove these two screws the antenna motor should come right out.






Now you need to remove the ribbon still in the motor. I used a flat head screwdriver to pry up on the cover. It should pop off. I circled a pry point.



Once the cover is off you can remove the ribbon housing. This is where the other half of the ribbon was chilling.





After this.. reassemble the motor. I used channel locks to snap the cover back on.

Putting the motor back in wasn't bad at all. First stick the wires back through the body and push the gromet back in place. Connect the two wires back to the upper part of the motor. Again.. lying on my back and reaching up made this easier. Next.. if you feel up towards the hole where the mast comes out through the body you'll notice a rubber sleeve that the antenna post needs to be inserted into. Make sure this is done before you position the motor in the bracket. Once the is done put the motor back in the bracket and secure it. don't forget the body strap. Connect the power and antenna cable back. Next you will need assistance from another person. Turn you radio on. Leave it on and feed the new antenna mast ribbon in the hole. Ribbon teeth should be facing the left outer side of the car. Push the ribbon down until you feel it stop. You may have to wiggle it a little to make sure it is all the way downin there. Then turn the radio off and if should feed on in! Put the antenna mast screw back on and you should be done!

Although, this isn't where it ended in my case

My Antenna mast would only go half way. The antenna motor grabbed the ribbon and was pulling it in, but it would stop. Holy crap was I mad!!! My girlfriend decided it would be best to go back inside. Also, it's 105 degrees here and the heat started getting to me. My tools kept getting really hot because I kept leaving them in the sun My only thought was I left part of the ribbon cable in the motor. I had to remove the f'n motor again. I also thought my motor might be f'd up. I said screw it I would work on it another time. To be honest it took a long time to get the motor out.

We lost power the other night so I decided to try it again. I headed out in the heat My girlfriend came out to play basketball and said, "I thought you fixed that? Maybe you should take it to a qualified person!" After I threw her basketball down the alley I got to work.

I removed the motor and took it apart. Well, it was clean. No ribbon pieces. I thought WTF! Then I noticed something....there is a metal pin that feeds through the gears that holds them in place? It was sticking up about 1/8inch. I thought maybe the ribbon was getting caught on it. I pushed it down so it was flush.



I Reassembled the motor and put everything back together This time the antenna went all the way down!!! Make sure that pin is flush!!!

It only cost about $24.00. $14.00 for the mast off ebay and $10 to bribe my girlfriend to help me after I threw her basketball down the alley. I know this write up is long and may not make sense, but hopefully it may help somebody.

If anybody is in the DFW area and needs this done maybe we could all get together and help each other. I promise my girlfiend won't be there

shakedown067

Nice write up. I wish I had this kind of info a few months ago...After going through two antenna masts, I just went with a hidden antenna. I'm going to completely remove the motor housing once I figure out how to plug up the hole it will leave until I can get it filled and painted. That way I'll never have to deal with the stinking motor again...

ParkRat

You could get a rubber plug of some type. You probably get a big piece of rubber and cut one out. Filling it in the fiberglass might be a pain and expensive.

Not sure.. this may need to be in C4 Tech.

Ttime

Good Stuff!

I had to do that last month Took all day because I had to clean everything . I'm so **** sometimes

zoro

Thanks for that info - lots of pix really help.

purplewindworm

My antenna makes a noise but does not move. I have been putting this off for over a year now, because I was scared of how bad of a job this might be. I live in South Arlington, when can I drop my car off ParkRat and how long will it take you to fix it? Justkidding ... Thanks for the info and PIX!!! I might tackle this sometimes this week, since the cold front has blown in and it is gonna get down to a cool 99 degrees this week. hehe

JazyJeff13

Mine does not go down all the way either bet there is some broken mast down there. Well now I know what to do. Thanks for the pics and write up

Jeff

Steel Breeze

Put a new one in mine a few months ago. Had to be houdini with my hands. I like a good clean install myself. So I took the antenna mounting bracket off to clean it. I beleive it was zinc coated, but a mess. I took it to my brothers (A metal finisher) he stripped the zinc off, Then plated it with nickel. I re-installed it, and the new antenna. and then cleaned, and armoralled my inner fender skirt. Yep, I know I am crazy, as I am like this with everything I do to the car. So if you ever see me selling it. I would jump all over it, as it will be better than when it came off the assembly line...

Hogan

My next project, looks like fun.

Thanks for the pics.

Ttime

Oh, it is fun

onedef92

Did you read my antenna mast replacement TechTip in the C4 section? If so, was it helpful at all?

ParkRat

No. Holy crap.. never knew that sections existed. I need to start adding stuff!

I usually only read your hot chick topics

onedef92

Please do. Here's the link to the portal


https://www.corvetteforum.com/techti....php?TopicID=2

Indynick

i read your tip. i just need to replace my antenna mast. the mast broke half way up. i followed the instructions that came with the mast, and i got all of the ribbon out, but can't get the rest of the mast out. no mater how hard i pull. am i missing something? the mouting nut is off, but the contact spring seems to be holding it in.

onedef92

You're going to have to go all the way and remove the entire antenna motor.

Then open it up and see what's going on inside.

Whatever's fouling up the gears (I suspect broken bits of the old mast) is preventing it from releasing.

2008 Atomic Orange

Thanks for the great pics. and write up (detail)---not that mine needs it yet--it still valuable info.-THANKS