Pit Bull 49229

Hi all, wanting some help/suggestions with replacing the power antenna mast on my '92 coupe. I am following the instructions that came with the kit and it is being a real P.I.T.A . I removed the mounting nut and activated the antenna, but the antenna and cable will NOT pop out of the assembly as depicted in the instructions.

It did say in the instructions to not "manually pull the antenna mast by hand", which I did prior to getting the repair kit - could this be why the mast is stuck in the assembly? Is there any other reason that the mast will not come out? I can still hear the motor cycling and it still moves the mast a bit but for the most part is stuck - the old mast has some kinks indicating it has been bent.

Any help will be greatly appreciated - Thanks in advance.

Pit Bull 49229

Redeasysport

Sounds like the mast is binding. You may have to pull it out by hand. Is it going up all the way if not start pulling. Mine came out all the way by itself. The real PITA was getting the new on to catch on the gear when you put it back in.

onedef92

I wrote this several year ago for the C4 TechTips Section on this Forum. Like to hear it go!

Due to several e-mail inquiries, here are the instructions for removing the power antenna motor for service BEFORE installing a new antenna mast on 1992-1996 Corvettes.

Many owners (myself included) have tried in vain to simply install a new antenna ribbon without inspecting the motor first for broken sections of the old one. The usual result is an antenna that won't fully raise or retract, even though the motor works fine. Hopefully, this tech tip will save you from this aggravation.

I'm not familiar with the design for 1984 - 1991 models, but the process should be similar. I also understand from other Forum members that the antenna motor design apparently changed in 1995 from housings that are screwed together to housings that are glued together.

If this is the case, it may be possible to pry the assembly apart for inspection. Anyway, here goes: The power antenna motor is visible from underneath the vehicle if you lay on your back and look at it from the driver's side of your car. Please protect your eyes from dirt and other particles that may fall from your fender well while you are working!

Some Forum members opted to place their vehicles on jack stands and remove the driver's side rear wheel first, but I have long arms and did not have to do so.

1. Disconnect the negative battery terminal. Note the way the motor is oriented as installation is the exact order of removal. The motor is held in place on its mounting bracket by two screws. Use either a socket wrench with an extension or a screwdriver with a ratchet to remove the bolts. Note that one of the bolts has a ground/power wire for the antenna.

2. With these two bolts loosened, you will be able to pull the antenna down toward you enough to loosen the antenna gain and positive power wires located at the top of the unit. With all these wires removed, the entire assembly can be pulled down for access while leaving the wire that lead inside the motor housing intact.

3. With the unit now in your hand, roll up the black rubber sleeve that protects the unit from moisture, dirt, etc. There are approximately four Phillips head screws that hold the cover on the motor housing. Remove these screws. Also, remove the center nut that holds the antenna flywheel in place. With the cover off, you will see the flywheel and the main gear that raises and lowers the nylon antenna ribbon. You will also more than likely find bits or long sections of your OLD ribbon. Remove them.

4. Now is the time to lubricate the main gear and flywheel with either Vaseline or white lithium grease to ensure years of trouble-free operation with your new ribbon.

5. Replace the flywheel (noting its direction) and screw the cover back into place. Re-install the antenna, connect all the wiring and hook your battery back up. Turn on the ignition and radio and listen to see if the motor runs. If it does, you are ready to install your new mast. Just follow the directions that came with it and you should be in great shape.

Above all, be patient. It took me about four hours the first time I did this because I thought you had to remove the license plate, tail lamps and back up lamps to get to the motor. You don't! I could now do the whole thing again in 30 to 40 minutes (but hopefully not on MY LT-1 any time soon!) Good luck and keep on waving!

Bob88vette

Nice write up onedef.

I know the OP had a '92 but in case you plan to update the tech tip the 84-91 is in fact similar except where you talk about removing the antenna gain wire. That is not necessary as you have enough slack in it to drop the unit down behind the rear wheel as you described. There is a ground strap near the top of the unit that needs to come off and it's a PITA to reattach unless you pull the wheel and fender liner but that's only an additional 15 minutes of work and made access alot easier for me.

Thanks again for the contribution.

pcolt94

I don’t think you could have done anything to make it stick or done any damage. Most like it was like that from time. I would remove that top nut and try to get the mast out if possible. Other wise the assembly will have to come out and you will be spending many happy hours working on it.

Just did the antenna lot to long ago and mine would not come out either till I gave it a little tug. I think the original problem is that it would not go down all the way. But once I got it out it was apparent there was 3 inches missing as compared to the new mast.

Dropped the wheel well (not hard and worth the work), un-hooked the inside wires (a pain) , un-bolts and removed the antenna. All to find the covers were held on with plastic rivets . Carefully removed the heads and drilled out the center (1/16). Performed the necessary work on the inside, removed the junk and cleaned it. Then used small screws and re-attached the cover.

Inserted the new mast, all worked fine and installed back in the car. This whole process did take a fair amount of time. I have seen some antenna assemblies that had screws holding it together, maybe you’ll get lucky.

Pit Bull 49229

Thanks guy's for the imput and help. after a couple of hours of trying to pull the mast out and cycle the antenna, I figured that it wasn't worth the hassle and decided I would try to return the repair kit and try to use the refund toward a complete power antenna.... that is until I called the shop I purchased it from. They said they would take the return and refund my money toward the antenna - but the antenna was going to cost $230 !!!!!! I see them at most other places for about $140 + shipping.

I will try the repair that onedef92 posted first (thanks ) and see how that goes. Otherwise I'll have to order one from Mid American Motorworks or other place, and replace the whole thing.

Pit Bull 49229

Eddywill

Not sure if your year is different the the 89 but I took mine all apart. Then cleaned up all the old grease and plastic ribbon pieces and installed the new mast with fresh grease!

pcolt94

Listen give it a shot, what’s the worst that could happen. It’s broke now and can only get better. It has to come out anyway so what’s the difference if you mess with it for a couple days.

Just keep thinking $140 and post on the Forum for any assistance.

Heck, I just upgraded my CD player in my 94 tonight so it will play CDs from a CD burner. The 94 technology won’t handle it. It’s a gold Bose CD player. I would have worked days to fix something to avoid the $160 tonight.

Tbird100636

I just did a mast in a 95 coupe today. What a major PITA!!! Getting the mast out was the easy part. Getting the new one in was the hard part. It kept getting stuck in a recess just before the hole into the gear/flywheel housing. I ended up taking the whole assembly out. To get at the power and antenna connections you have to remove the trim panel that surrounds the backlight glass latch. Then the LR speaker grille, then fold back the carpet and the connectors are near the left side of the opening. Then from behind the fascia and LR 1/4 reach up and pull the grommet and wiring through. Using a T15 bit, remove all 6 of the torx screws holding the LR inner fender. remove the 3 10mm bolts holding the shield to the inside of the wheel opening. remove the 1 10mm bolt, and 2 7 or 8mm bolts holding the LR mud guard on. The fender shield should slip out, giving you access to the motor assembly. 2 8mm bolts on the bottom, tilt the bottom of the motor towards the front on the car and pull it straight down. One of the 2 8mm bolts has a ground strap attached to it. Before completely removing the motor, there is a phillips screw holding another ground strap to the top of the assembly, just above where the antenna cable goes into the assembly. Remove the screw. On the opposite side there is another couple ground strap attached, this time with an 8mm bolt. remove the bolt. The assembly can now be removed.

Now for the rivets holding the gear/flywheel cover on, just use a 9/32" drill bit to cut the heads off of the 4 rivets only. Don't go all the way through. Remove the cover. Drill the center of the remainder of the rivets with a 1/16" drill bit to accept the small screws. Now here's where I got screwed up. As long as the cable isn't broken, if you are having trouble with the mast cable getting caught in the recess. just twist the cable back and forth while gently applying some down ward pressure. It should get past the recess and you can put the mast in the regular way. If it did have a broken cable you will have to remove and disassemble the assembly. When you drill the heads of the rivets, the shoulder still remains and you gently pry the cover off. Before re-installing the cover with screws, enlarge the holes on the cover with a round file. This is so the cover easily slides on completely. If you don't, the cover will not be completely flush with the gear/flywheel housing, and when you go to put the new mast in the flywheel will jump up, allowing the cable to partially unwind, resulting the new mast to not go down all the way. A note, the gear/flywheel shaft on the 95 I did did not have a nut on it, it just slid out freely.

l98tpi

I don't know why we don't hear more about it, but I hate power antenna's. Therefore, when I had my mast start failing, I tried to replace with a mast first and found that a piece of the old mast was still stuck in the motor. So I decided to eliminate the power antenna and replace with stationary antenna. Of course if I had a low miler that needed to stay original I wouldn't have done it.

Tommy T-Bone

Ya, my power antenna hasn't worked for a few years now. I opted for the power antenna delete option and keep the mast up unless I cover it, then I put it down. I never go through a car wash but if I did all I'd have to do is drop it and ride on through. If it bugged me it would already be fixed. Guess I'll get to it one day.