Awesome help in this forum. I just went through it all and thought I'd give my experience.
Antenna motor and mast replacement of a 2000 Lexus RX300 (for search engines)
- Get your new mast. You can find many places. I think mine was $25 via ebay.
- See this information http://antennamastsrus.com/Lexus/RX%20300/...nstructions.htm
- That locking collar can be a bear. A small flathead with some gentle rubber mallet taps got it spinning.
- Of course, when my mast came out, it was way shorter than the replacement. Don't think that you're supposed to cut the new one. It's broken and inside the motor. Don't worry; you can get it out.
- You'll need a phillips, 10mm socket, and a couple of flat head screwdrivers to pry the little black clips out. Get a little plastic cup to put your screws/clips/bolts in.
- Take everything out of the back.
- Fold the rear seats forward.
- Open the spare tire hatch and fold all the way forward.
- Open the little hatch on the passenger side and take out the little kit in there along with anything else.
- Pull the little fabric covered lid off the small storage area on the right side.
- Take out the plastic spare cover and the tray to the right of it.
- Pop the little hard liner piece off the front part of the wheel well. It's just a bit behind the side door and sits flat on the fabric liner covering the antenna motor. A flat head under it will pop it off. Watch out for two metal clips against the side wall that may fly off. You need to put them back on if they fly off.
- Pop the 3 black clips out of the right side storage bin by the spare tire. There is also a little nut in the bottom of it you twist off. Remove that piece.
- Using the 10mm socket, remove the 2 luggage rings you see on the right side. One is near the rear seat fold point and one is in the back corner.
- In order to fold back the fabric liner to get access to the motor, you need to remove the hard liner on the right near the hatch. But, in order to remove that, you have to remove the hard liner spanning the length of the back edge. Pop the black clips off this thing and take it off.
- You can now see a new black clip for this other liner piece. Pop it off.
- You can now grab the fabric liner piece covering the antenna motor and bend it backwards to see the motor. Don't bend it too far; just enough to get to the motor.
- Disconnect the antenna connector from the top of the antenna sleeve. It comes straight down.
- Using the 10mm socket, take the two nuts off the mounting bracket of the motor.
- With it loose, you can now rotate the motor and see the electrical connector. It's a pain. On the side away from you, you insert a small flathead screwdriver and fold down the little plastic locking piece. You can then pull off the connector. Don't pull it by the wires.
- There is a drain tube on the bottom, but I didn't have to remove it. The motor now can be rotated out of the wheel well, under the fabric liner, and laid down flat.
- You can now access the 6 screws holding the motor cover on. Before you take it off, notice the orientation of the top of the antenna sleeve. That little piece ends up back against the frame, and it can rotate once you take off the motor cover.
- Take the motor cover off. Look carefully inside and remove the plastic housing and you'll see your piece of antenna in there. Take it out. I didn't regrease anything in my motor, as there was a bunch of it in there already.
- Put the motor back together. Make sure the antenna sleeve didn't rotate or when you put it back in the wheel well, it won't line up with the opening in the frame.
- Put the motor back in the wheel well. Do this before putting the connectors back on.
- Put the electrical connector back on and fold the locking piece up.
- Put the antenna connector back on.
- Get the bolts back through frame and secure the motor using the 10mm nuts. Of course, you've noticed that the antenna sleeve fits correctly in the frame hole.
- At this point, put the new antenna mast in. Turn the radio on and the motor will spin for a bit.
- You'll grab that little plastic cover piece that covers the antenna hole and put if over the antenna. Note you don't need to put the locking nut back on the assembly yet.
- Feed the nylon piece down the hole. The teeth must face the front of the vehicle. Make sure you feed it as far as possible.
- Turn off the radio (you need two people now.) When it turns off, you may have to bounce the cable in the hole to get it to grab. It may take a couple of tries.
- After it's in, turn the radio back on and extend the antenna, holding on to the base to make sure the entire assembly doesn't come out.
- There is a little rubber washer that goes inside the locking nut. Make sure you push it all the way inside the locking nut.
- You now take the locking nut and thread it over the antenna. Put your other hand in the wheel well, and push the motor up as far as it can go. This will allow you to screw it down easier. Do so.
- Test it out.
- Reassemble the other pieces and you're done.
Took about 30 minutes. You may think you're going to break those little black clips, but you won't. Use the two flat head screwdrivers under both side of the clip and rock them up.
Have fun!
