Donne Trav

Suddenly, my antenna will not go down when the '94 radio is turned off. It makes the "operating noise" and that is it. Anyone had this experience?

CorvetteMike2024

Have you considered buying a FSM for your vette? Seems like your vette is having alot of issues recently. A FSM would be money well spent. The vendors here sell replacement antennas.

Its not a real fun job to replace do to the location. Good luck

Mike

PLRX

stanleyz

Did mine Thursday.....and Friday. That should give you an idea what a PITA it is.

j-vette

I read somewhere that if the motor is operating it may just be stuck or binding a little. Said to try coating a rag lightly with WD40 or cooking oil I think and rub / coat the antenna. Hope it works out for ya...

Also consider the advice from CorvetteMike and PLRX about the FSM. Good info all over in that book(s)...

kmhene

Ya I replaced mine in my 84 vette. Had same issue. I bought a new one on ebay and swapped it out and it works great. I am not sure how hard of different it would be in a 93 compared to 84.
I just took drivers side back wheel off, removed the wheel well, (about 14 screws) and was able to reach it. Took the old one out, swapped the old hardware on new one and its good as new. Took me about 1.5 hours.
Was not as hard as I expected actually.

Kevin

stanleyz

I guess that was my mistake. I bought one from Obama motors and it had to be modified a good deal to be made to fit. I don't know that taking the fender well off would have helped me that much but I'm thinkin if I had to do it again I would do that.

jeffp1167

when I took my 90's bumper cover off the antenna fell on the ground, so they are not that hard to remove hahaha

j-vette

GKK

The plastic antenna ribbon is broken inside the motor.

I bought a new antenna which comes with a new ribbon attached and little socket that you will need. Just jack up the driver side rear, remove the tire, remove the inner wheel well liner, and you can see the two bolts that attach the motor and also, a ground strap that needs to be removed. On my 91, the antenna nut is underneath the bumper cover but, your 94 might have the nut on top.

It's a straight forward job, not hard at all.

Donne Trav

Thanks. I already have the FSM manuals. It does appear to be fairly easy, I just don't see that well any more. Especially having to get up
under the fender well.

CorvetteMike2024

I hear you on the seeing thing. My eye sight is diminshing and its most noticeable when I have to work on my cars. Kind of takes the fun out of working on cars sometimes.

Mike

Donne Trav

After doing a '94 antenna search and reading about the involvement
of removing and replacing "power antenna mast assembly", I want no
part of all the problems others seemed to have had. I'll just take it to the dealer — again. But Thankyou All.

j-vette

Give it a whirl. If it goes south then take it to the dealer...

kmhene

Aw come on, thats the best part when something goes wrong. Grab a wrench and give it a shot. Its much more interesting when it does not go as planned. When I did mine on my 84 it went perfect. Was kinda boring I did not have to improvise or anything.
Thats the best part about old cars. You never know whats gonna happen.

Kevin

Redeasysport

Well I would first pull out the old mast to see if it is stripped before pulling the whole unit but that is just me. Troulbleshoot first replace parts second.

onedef92

The nylon ribbon on your mast has turned to doody. Here's how to fix it....

How to replace a C4 Corvette antenna mast

Here are the instructions for removing the power antenna motor for service BEFORE installing a new antenna mast on 1992-1996 Corvettes.

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 people have 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!)

Redeasysport

Gee all I did was remove the rubber boot and nut on the fender and turn the radio on then the mast shoots itself up(remember the orientation of the geared side of the nylon mast the new one must go in the same way). If it is already up then remove the nut turn the radio on and tug the mast and sleeve should come right out. Then you can see what you have if it is stripped you can get a mast at Advance that matches it in height and length ( or get one on ebay) and make sure you put the guide sleeve on it feed the nylon down in the same orientation till you can get it to catch on the gear and turn the radio off it should pull down. It may take several cycles for it to go all the way down or a touch of oil to lube it the first time. If it is broken off(nylon, that is, you will be able to tell from the new mast what length it should be) You may need to do the whole unit( see above) maybe not depends how much is left inside. Like I said pull the mast out before you do anything unless you like blowing money and time for nothing.

Donne Trav

With due respect to all who would "give it a whirl". You all are probably
a lot younger and in better health than myself. NO, don't pull out the
violins just yet. Two years ago, I would have given it my best shot.
But now I don't have the energy, time or the patience to be bothered
with being a part-time mechanic any more. My weekends are reserved for relaxation and old movies and sports on the tube. Man, what a life!Thankyou very much.

onedef92

You lucked out. The majority of the time, broken bits of nylon ribbon remain lodged inside the motor gears, resulting in a new mast that installs fairly easy, but fails to fully retract or expand after a few cycles.

When that happens, the only fix is to remove the entire motor unit and replace (expensive) or open the unit up, remove the broken sections of ribbon, re-install, then thread the new mast down the hole.

My instructions are intended for those wanting to remove the power antenna motor for service BEFORE installing a new antenna mast on 1992-1996 Corvettes.