QZRBLU

My antenna has had a slight bend in it for many years. It would occasionally stop on the 'down' cycle with about 8" of mast extended.
I knew it would someday stop retracting. I recently came across the threads about mast replacement and www.antennamastsrus.com
I ordered a replacement mast last Sunday and the parts arrived on Thursday (not bad from WI to AZ in 4 days). I used a pair of needle-nosed pliers to loosen the retaining nut and removed it before powering the radio ON. The included socket wrench was slightly too small to fit on my retainer nut.
I had my helper (wife) turn the radio on as I pulled up gently on the bottom section of the antanna mast as soon as it became visible. The
mast came out with about 8" of nylon gear cable between the antenna base and the rubber grommet. A bit more pulling and the cable came out. It seemed to spin the drum in the power antenna assembly as it came out.
I compared the new nylon cable length to the original and they were within 1/2" of each other (the new one was just slightly longer). Next
I fed the new nylon gear cable into the antenna hole and it took some rotation of the new antenna assembly to get it fed all the way down to the gear drum (with the gear teeth facing to the left (driver's side). I had my helper turn the radio OFF and the new nylon cable retracted to the point where there was about 8" of cable exposed out of the antenna hole. I then fed the antenna mast into the antenna hole as far as it would go and loosely installed the retaining nut. Next we turned the radio ON and OFF one time to cycle the antenna and this time it retracted fully. I then cleaned the new mast with brake clean and lightly lubed it with break free synthetic gun oil and wiped it down with a clean rag.
GREAT service from www.antennamastsrus.com and a quality product.

Mick

LannyL81

Your are one of the lucky ones; on my '96 the ribbon broke about 8" from the end that was done in the drum. Tried putting the new mast down, but no luck....had to remove the antenna assembly....which is not much fun. Decided to just order a replacement OEM assembly but also repaired the original one by taking it apart, removing the broken mast piece and then installed the new mast/antenna.

So now I have a spare...which I will likely never, ever need.

Red86Z51

I converted my original 1987 antenna unit to the 1988 and later style, and when I replaced the mast in the later motor I had the same results you did. I used the antennamastsrus replacement and was extrmely pleased...especially with the price!

Just my .02 here...Lube is not necessary, and is most likely a bad idea as the lube will pick up dirt which you promptly will drag dirt back down the mast every time you shut off the radio. For maintenance, I always make it a point to wipe the mast down with a clean dry cloth each time I clean the car, and am amazed at the amount of filth that comes off of that mast each time...and that is without adding lube of any kind. One and a half years later and my mast sounds as quiet and works just just as smooth as the day I installed it.