I read through a dozen threads, but I can't get the bottom of the power antenna mast out of the motor housing.

It seems there's a small metal flange at the bottom of the mast that I can't get to slide out. Does the 1" plastic piece need to come out too? It's not the cable or gears or anything like that.

Here's a video of what I'm talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI5OBNufW0s

Thanks all!

 

Today I went back at it with some suggestions from
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...mast-help.html

Threw the motor housing into a vice, grabbed the mast with some vice-grips. And banged away with a 20oz hammer. After a dozen blows the mast finally released. As you can see here there's a metal sleeve fixed onto the end of the mast. It's got a tiny lip wider than the mast and that combined with corosion fixed it into the top of the plastic tube pretty snug. I did not use penetrating oil but perhaps that would've helped last night.

 

The metal sleeve is the ground sleeve. I think it also keeps your mast from going all the way out. I think you can remove the tube that covers the mast.

 

Thanks. The new one I got from ebay had a little bronze lip at the very bottom that prevented it from slipping in. I filed it down closer to flush so it could fit inside.