Electrical Antenna Broken AGAIN.

[freelee]

Hey all! I have a 1995 Camry LE. She's been a great car but it's time to sell her. She has some "problems" I am trying to fix before I do sell her. Of course being a Toyota...the enigne is perfect...it's all the doo-dads taht are now 10 years old and are breaking!

The biggest is that the stupid antenna has broken again. The motor works, so when you turn off the car you can hear it trying to pull in the antenna...but the antenna isn't retracting. This happened once before, but the car was side swiped and the auto body people fixed it for me. This time I'm game to try to fix this myself. I might be a girl but I have some tools...and the inclination. Does anyone know of a website that covers this? Preferablly with PICTURES. Heh heh. I just dont want to camp out in my trunk and get it all pulled apart without SOME idea of what I'm trying to fix! I don't even think this is Toyota specific. Please help!

[Redline]

if your motor still runs and the antenna isn't going down, then it's the gears connecting the mast to the motor that are busted. I hear they're cheapy plastic, and the teeth can break. You'll need to replace it. Best off just buying a new mast.

I think that there were several posts covering this topic. I'd give you a link, but I'm too lazy to search for the thread Try the SEARCH button up top ^

[HaveBlue]

My Camry (same year even) has the same problem. If you find a cheap source for the antennas, let me know. Maybe we can have an antenna-replacement-wrench-a-thon in Colorado

[freelee]

I'll let you know if I find any cheap ones. to tell you the truth I'm thinking of replacing it with a Euro style one that doesn' retract...I've only had this one for 2 years. maybe the cold weather makes the plastic teeth more brittle or something. at anyrate when it's stuck up I can't go through car washes....and my car is black. dirty mess. I'm too much of a wimp to hand wash/spray my car in the winter...and so maybe I'll be doing a favor for whomever buys it from me?

[HaveBlue]

I think you're right about the cold weather. The power antenna on my 4Runner is broken too. I have a replacement for it, but I've been thinking about switching to a whip from the Tacoma. I've been searching here for something similar for the Camrys. I think the threads are the same but the cables are different lengths. I wonder if you can get an antenna extension cable from Radio Shack. I also wonder how funny a 26" black whip from a Tacoma would look on the back of a Camry.

[ASG14]

A lot of the time the plastic "rod" in the antenna breakes which has happened to me. The motor was still fine. I for a new antenna mast for $35 at Toyota of Hartford (it was $57 at Toyota of Stamford, both in CT). Unscrewed the weird bolt at the base of the antenna (the silver thing with 4 nothches). Use pliers to unscrew it and you will see the plastic rod from the inside of the antenna. Keep in mind what side the teeth are facing. Turn your radio on so that the antenna motor is in the "up/on" position and slid the plastic "rod" in with the teeth facing in the right position. Then turn the radio off, anf the antenna should go down with it. That is how i fixed it when I did it anyway.

[Rico_S]

Just do a conversion to a honda s2000 antenna.
All the cool kids are doing it

Mind you it is a little more pricey than buying a cheap antenna and tossing it in.

[ASG14]

That is all i did when my andtenna would not go up or down, and the same for my moms '96 Wagon. And they have both been working fine for about a year.

[Admiral]

Originally posted by HaveBlue
My Camry (same year even) has the same problem. If you find a cheap source for the antennas, let me know. Maybe we can have an antenna-replacement-wrench-a-thon in Colorado

you can find universal ones on ebay for about 35$ shipped. its real easy and may even come with directions

[freelee]

OK. went to napa got a replacement mast and plastic rod. I bought it just in case this needs replaced since it was the only one in the store. They have plenty of universal replacements too, in case I decide to replace the whole thing. Sigh. I pray it's NOT the gears. I don't think so. wishful thinking. thanks for the feedback everyone...

[ASG14]

Good luck, let me know how it turns out

[Stealth]

Originally posted by Admiral
you can find universal ones on ebay for about 35$ shipped. its real easy and may even come with directions

I got mine for $20, $25 way back when... then my bro broke it a few weeks later so i said fuck it

[dna59]

i have the same problem, but since i don't listen to the radio at all it doesn't bother me.

[freelee]

My petty reason for wanting to fix it is 1. it makes me feel like the car is a peice...when it isnt. and 2. I cant go through a car wash with the antenna stuck up...it's not a flexy one and breaks. I learned that the first time. Oops. then it looks really crappy. heh. I'm going to look at it this weekend.

[burchard]

In my case (camry 95) the plastic gears that engage the motor within the black box were broken. The motor never fails . I have no idea if you could get those little plastic gears separatedly.