I need help in repairing my antenna, any ideas?



Broken antenna





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It appears to me you will have to Replace the Antenna Mast. Toyota Part No. 86309-48040
You can do a Online Search to see if there is a cheaper price or can try a junkyard.
After you get the Part, I Think you can remove the broken part with a pair of Channel Locks or Vise Grips.

Hope this helps,

MR LUV

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Unfortunately you are looking at a full antenna replacement. That is broken below where the mast screws on and you can't order the portion it screws to separately from the base. And to make life more difficult the base has the antenna cable attached to it so you end up having to replace the whole base and cable all the way up to the radio. It is taped to the top side of the headliner so you have to drop the headliner to get to it. This requires removing all the upper plastic panels on at least one side of the car and they are held in place by the lower panels, which in the rear are held in place by the seat and seat belt assembly. In other words it's a royal PITA to replace.

This is why lots of people decide to get a shark fin style antenna when this happens, it's a lot less work.

 

How would I go about replacing it with a shark fin antenna. And wooooooowwwwwwww man thank you thank you thank you

 

Here's the DIY on changing it. You'll need to drill and tap the remaining part of the antenna that you have since it's designed to screw to the part that was broken of.

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sci...w-pics-161198/

 

That's bad news. I had no idea it was that involved, probably could have a better design with replacement in mind. Now you have me wondering, how did it break? Just age, or did something impact it? I run mine through an automated carwash and have often wondered if it would hold up.
Best of luck with your repair, keep us posted with results.

 

Did you figure out how to get the shark fin antenna to work in this case where it's broken?

 

unfortunately i can't find the part on this thread you linked, where it installs the fin on a broken antenna like above. i think it only discusses if screw is in place.

 

Was it this company?
https://shop.visualgarage.com/collec...rk-fin-antenna

If it's broken like the original post pic, it may be possible to drill and tap what's left and screw the cable end of the shark fin to that. Just need a good electrical connection.
Not sure it would be solderable, but that could be an option. Taking out all the panels and roof liner for access does sound painful.

 

oh man i really hope so. I am not going to do all that work just for a better radio signal. I already have radio signal now with the nub up there, but it's not a good signal. I just want it to be clearer and if not, then i'll just live with it. I'm thinking of just getting one of those small self drilling sheet metal screw and drill into the center of the metal bottom broken off part of the antenna (what's left up there) to attach that shark fin connector to with some electrical tape and see how that goes. might look into soldering it too. I'll try to get pics/video of my progress and updates and let you guys know how it goes. I'd love it if it works for years to come and save some people a lot of pain bc that antenna popped off way too easily when we took our car top carrier off 2 years ago... so i'm sure others would have this issue.

 

also 2 other questions...
Couldn't i just get one of those cheaper $25 fins on amazon instead of this $90 one? https://a.co/1wXTvf8
I mean they're basically the same concept and i think the measurements on this one would work over top of my base. If not let me know.

Secondly...
for the self tapping or drilling sheet metal screw...will this screw's metal conduct the signal ok?.

 

If the color works and it fits, why not.
The self drilling &self tapping screws tend to be kind of long, the metal won't affect the signal.
But then again, I'm not an electrician so...

 

Ok guys! So I did it! I took a little sheet metal screw and screwed it into the little circle hole into the plastic (red circle in pic) and made a nice tight fit. Then I put the new $25 shark fin from Amazon on and now I have great signal now! See pics.

 

Excellent. Nice Job!!

 

Just had this happen to me, so thank you for this little guide. Did you drill out the little hole at all or just screw the sheet metal screw directly in?

 

Just a note about those antennas. I am on my 4th "pre-owned" Xb and all of them came with the antenna cracked. Careful crazy gluing fixed them before too much happened. But what the heck, this part does not get too much of a workout.
A quick spray once in a while with De-oxit does help keep the motion free.

 

It may not get much of a workout but remember that thing has been out in the rain sleet snow sun for the last 10 plus years. It’s bound to get brittle and break at the slightest touch.

 

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