1996 Power Antenna

[mspin24]

My 1996 ES300 power antenna seems to have gotten off it's track. The antenna motor works but does not catch the antenna to bring it down, so now it's in the up position. Which is not a bad thing.

My question is. Can I fix it myself or will I have to replace it. Any help would be welcomed.

Marc

Raleigh, NC

[91L3xus]

This happened on our 1996 4Runner as well.

The quick fix we came across is to first have the radio on. This required 2 people to do. While 1 person turns the radio off, as soon as the motor begins to spin, another person outside the car pushes down on the antenna so the track catches. We did this a couple of times and it fixed itself, until about 3 years later when the track on the antenna finally was torn up from being very slightly off allignment.

Do not push hard on the antenna; that might cause the antenna tubes to bend, which would worsen your problems. If lightly pushing down on the antenna as soon as the motor engages does not work, you may have to replace the antenna, the track, the cog on the motor, or the whole assembly.

[mscott]

To remove mast, hold antenna in up position by hand. Have someone turn radio off, mast will attempt to retract -- hold it up. When it stops trying to retract, turn radio on. It should spit the entire assembly out. If not, repeat steps above.

Replace mast with factory part for ~$65 or aftermarket for less. To replace, have radio on. Turn radio off and feed the toothed gear in, it will automatically be sucked in and seated properly.

[NeiLtYmE]

if you go to an autozone or a NAPA.... you will find mast replacement for toyota with respective years. buy that as it is a direct replacement and costs less than 10 dollars.

[SKperformance]

Or buy a new mast from toyota.

If the nylon cord is broken inside the motor you probably need to remove the motor and make sure no debris is inside it before you reinstall a new mast and end up jamming it from having too much cord.

[mspin24]

This happened on our 1996 4Runner as well.

The quick fix we came across is to first have the radio on.  This required 2 people to do.    While 1 person turns the radio off, as soon as the motor begins to spin, another person outside the car pushes down on the antenna so the track catches.  We did this a couple of times and it fixed itself, until about 3 years later when the track on the antenna finally was torn up from being very slightly off allignment. 

Do not push hard on the antenna; that might cause the antenna tubes to bend, which would worsen your problems.  If lightly pushing down on the antenna as soon as the motor engages does not work, you may have to replace the antenna, the track, the cog on the motor, or the whole assembly.

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Thanks for all the help peps.