I don't know what happened to my other post. Basically, I am lookin to replace the Antenna Stem because the original one has a lot of drag in it. I know a lot of you have gone through this. Are there any instuctions to this replacement somewhere? The dealer wants $35 to do this job.
I also saw a posting for a strut bar install. I bought one from Courtesy and the dealer wants $65 to do that. I can do it myself. I didn't know it wasn't that much involved.

 

What is an Antenna Stem? The power antenna has two components, the mast and the motor.

 

The Mast.

 

Before you replace the mast, try this. Raise the mast. Wipe it clean. Lubricate it with WD-40 or euqivalent. Run the mast up and down 2-3 times. See if that helps. If not, read on...


The antenna "rope" is the flexible plastic part of the telescopic mast assembly. These instructions assume the old rope is still intact, but has some stripped gear teeth. If the old rope is broken you will have to remove the power antenna motor, disassemble it, and remove the broken pieces. That's a bigger job, but still doable by the home mechanic.

(1) Remove the antenna bezel nut. Use an antenna wrench such as Steck 21600. For details, go to http://www.steckmfg.com/21600.htm If you don't have the special wrench, a pair of needle-nose pliers can be used instead. Cover the paint all around the bezel nut with a soft cloth to protect the finish against an accidental slip. Be careful!

(2) Have an assistant turn on the radio. This will cause the antenna rod to raise (or at least, to try). Grasp the antenna rod and help it up and all the way out of the car.

(3) Insert the new antenna rope with the gear teeth facing the rear of the vehicle.

(4) When you feel the gear teeth begin to engage, have your assistant turn the radio off. Gently guide the rope and mast inward as the power antenna motor draws it down. It should pull the mast all the way down.

(5) Install the bezel nut. Tighten to 2 foot-pounds.

 

Thanks for the instructions. I did work with the WD40 when this first happened. Then, the antenna would intermitantly go down all of the way. Now it sticks out about 7 inches and when I push it down, there is a lot of resistance. I always push it down to keep knuckleheads from breaking it off. I think its much more than dirt. Who knows. I think when I rip it apart, I will give the motor a good cleaning. feels like there could be some mud in there.

 

But once you've cleaned it, i would suggest using a silicone or molybdenum based grease for lubrication. The reason is, WD40 evaporates rapidly and leaves a thin (viscosity wise) lubricant. This thin lubricant attracts dirt readily and eventually results in a fouled antenna mast again. THe silicone or moly grease is thick, yet very slippery, and does not attract dirt and dust. Plus, any dirt that does become attracted gets rubbed off when the antenna retracts, instead of sticking and sliding it's way into the joints.

As Daniel has stated, clean the mast thoroughly with the WD40, running it up and down and wiping with a paper towel. After it's clean, make sure it doesn't stick anywhere. If it still does not go all the way up or down, you might either have a bend in one of the shafts, or the gear "rope" has some stripped teeth. If it works fine when clean, finish it off with some quality grease. Remember to check it every so often to make sure there isn't too much dirt build-up on the mast.

 

I'll mess around with cleaning it this weekend and see what happens.

 

Does your antenna happened to have a slight bend in it from traveling at highway speeds (sometimes excessive speeds...oops)? The antenna on my Max and Pathfinder do not go down all the way because of this. And when they are up, they look dumb.

 

I am sure there might be a slight bend, but nothing you can really notice. I cleaned the hell out of it with WD40 while my little brother turned the CD player on and off. I had WD40 all over the side of the car. I cleaned it up good though. it works better now. It needs more cleaning.

 

Dude, you'd probably have to drive at about 500mph in order for you to build up enough drag force to bend the antenna mast enough to cause a jam up.

Just make sure you clean it and don't let any objects hit it and you'll be fine.

 

No kidding, I just drive 70-75 mph on average when I am on the highway with the occasional 80-85 for a few seconds while I overtake someone in the fastlane. My 2 cars do have a noticeable bend in them though and it looks ghetto. I don't take them through any drive through car washes either.