3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
Topics of discussion range from fuel economy, safety, modifications, performance all involving America's favorite family car, the Toyota Camry.
Long story short, I got a replacement power antenna mast for my 92 Camry. I pulled the old one out. When I try to feed the cable for the new one in, the motor grabs it for a few inches, but does not pull it all the way in (or even close to all the way in, for that matter.)
are you sure its spooling correct? there's a detailed repair procedure in the "camry repair manual" that should be in one of the stickied posts at the top of the forum
First, you saw how long your whip was on the new mast when the antenna was pushed together, right?
Did you get that much whip out when you pulled the old antenna out?
If not, you still have part of the old whip in the antenna reel. The only way to get it out is to remove the power antenna assembly from the car, then open the black plastic reel cover (be careful of loose parts, don't want them to fall out without you knowing how to put them back together again) and find the tail of the old whip and pull it out. Then put the old power antenna assembly back together again, reinstall it in the car, and then put your new mast in.
If all of your old mast did come out, just make sure the "teeth" of the new whip face the rear of the vehicle when putting it in the power antenna assembly.
First, you saw how long your whip was on the new mast when the antenna was pushed together, right?
Did you get that much whip out when you pulled the old antenna out?
If not, you still have part of the old whip in the antenna reel. The only way to get it out is to remove the power antenna assembly from the car, then open the black plastic reel cover (be careful of loose parts, don't want them to fall out without you knowing how to put them back together again) and find the tail of the old whip and pull it out. Then put the old power antenna assembly back together again, reinstall it in the car, and then put your new mast in.
If all of your old mast did come out, just make sure the "teeth" of the new whip face the rear of the vehicle when putting it in the power antenna assembly.
The newer one has a longer cable than the older one does, so from what you've described it sounds like there's a piece in the motor. How do I access the motor?
3rd paragraph of post #3 was trying to tell you that.
Rusty9 said there is a sticky somewhere in the forum that you might find very useful. I'm not sure where it is, as I've done these many times before and wouldn't be looking for something like it. But I would suggest you go look for it, I'm sure it has the details needed for you to get the rest of the whip out. I'm sure you will have to remove the power assembly from the vehicle to do it, just so you know.
3rd paragraph of post #3 was trying to tell you that.
Rusty9 said there is a sticky somewhere in the forum that you might find very useful. I'm not sure where it is, as I've done these many times before and wouldn't be looking for something like it. But I would suggest you go look for it, I'm sure it has the details needed for you to get the rest of the whip out. I'm sure you will have to remove the power assembly from the vehicle to do it, just so you know.
I found it. But I meant more specifically. I've been trying to pry out the little plastic screws that hold the trunk liner in, but they just aren't coming out. Any tips?
Although now that I looked at it, the process was for replacing the power assembly. You won't need to do that if you motor still works. You just need to get it out (which these instructions are helpful for) and you can then just open up the plastic cover to expose the spool and pull out the rest of the whip yourself.
I managed to disassemble my motor, and it appears that the larger gear isn't gripping the teeth on the cable. I'll screw the mast on and then thread the cable around the gear and see if that works.
So in taking the assembly apart, was a part of the old whip still in there? It must have been, if the whip on the old mast was shorter than the new one you want to put in. Just checking.
So in taking the assembly apart, was a part of the old whip still in there? It must have been, if the whip on the old mast was shorter than the new one you want to put in. Just checking.
Actually no, which I found interesting. However, the new antenna is not identical to the old one, so now I'm not so sure why the cable lengths would have been the same.
Well I assumed that, if you are replacing an OEM supplied mast with another OEM supplied mast, the whip lengths would have to be the same, so if the one your took out was shorter, it must be broken with the rest inside the power assembly.
If you old mast whip was not broken, then why doesn't it work? Usually the masts work until the whip fails. Unless your mast was simply getting dirty and wasn't moving as freely as it once did.
But then, your new mast whip should have been pulled into the power assembly, if you were following the instructions on how to do that.
Well I assumed that, if you are replacing an OEM supplied mast with another OEM supplied mast, the whip lengths would have to be the same, so if the one your took out was shorter, it must be broken with the rest inside the power assembly.
If you old mast whip was not broken, then why doesn't it work? Usually the masts work until the whip fails. Unless your mast was simply getting dirty and wasn't moving as freely as it once did.
But then, your new mast whip should have been pulled into the power assembly, if you were following the instructions on how to do that.
It was defective in that when it was done rising there would be a grinding noise coming from the motor for a few seconds, but then went away. I had read that this was generally an issue with the mast.
I've extended my old mast with the motor open so I could see what goes on, and it extends fully, but the gear in the center keeps rotating for a few seconds, which causes the grinding noise. This is quite confusing to me...
So your old mast extended full open, and it also retracted completely then? Only issue was that the motor kept running a few seconds after the mast was fully extended, and made a grinding noise only at that time?
Is the old whip have any teeth missing towards the end of the whip where the gear was grinding on it?
Does the gear itself look like it is worn badly or broken?
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