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HOW TO: Retractable Antenna Repair


techboy
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At the end of the last driving season, I noticed my antenna wasn't retracting all the way, so I figured it's time to dig in and see if we can fix this thing.

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First, you'll need to remove a few carpet panels in the rear trunk area.  Once they are out of your way, you need to remove two nuts.  The second one is under the rear deck support sheet metal.

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To get it out, you'll have to drop it down into the rear fender and snake the antenna part out first,  It's a little tricky, but with some finagling you'll be able to sneak it out.  Don't forget to remove the ground screw just below the upper nut too.

Once you get it on your bench you can pop the on side off and you'll see all the gearing.

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On the other half you'll see the electrical connections.  You can see there are contacts that ride on the metal surface as the gears spin.qdyaZt.jpg

Clean up and re-lube the electrical side up with dielectric grease.  That's all you need to do to that side.  While you're at it, grab some White Lithium Grease too.  If you don't have any make a trip to your local Auto Store.

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Give all the plastic gear a good cleaning, get all the dried up gunk off and re-coat everything with the White Lithium Grease.

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Next, flip the whole unit over and we'll move over to the mast.  There is a plastic housing that has the retract tape inside.  It's coiled in there like a snake in a can. Pop it off and will sorta burst out.  Mine was nasty.  It takes some time, but clean the tape entirely.  I used Simple Green.

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Then re-lube the whole tape with a generous amount of White Lithium Grease.

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It's a bit tricky, but recoil it into the housing and put everything back together.  Then reinstall in your car.  Hold your breathe and give it shot.

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Here's a video link to mine working again!

Starquest Rear Antenna Video

 

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