Antenna ornament/seal/boot replacement

I'm doing a bunch of cosmetic stuff to my 2002 Tacoma TRD and would like to replace the seriously deteriorated antenna ornament/seal boot and antenna nut. The nut is so badly eroded that I cannot see the notches used to loosen and tighten. The antenna itself is not broken and functions adequately. My hope is to remove the nut and boot from above and not venture into the fender well (from what I've read in this forum a requirement if the antenna is being replaced. I have read that removing the nut can be a challenge, so I guess I'm looking to have a couple of questions answered:

1. Can I remove the nut and boot from above without going into the fender well?
2. Any suggestions if/when I have a nut hat refuses to budge? Is it realistic to use a Dremel to cut through the outside of the nut so it can be removed without damaging the male piece it screws onto?
Any input would be most hlpful.

 

Yeah, you can remove it without going into the fender well. You have to remove the nut and you will be able to pull on the boot. It is when you replace the whole antenna assembly that you have to go into the inner fender area

Don't lose time on the stubborn nut. Just cut it off, but cutting completely through it with the dremel will run the risk of damaging the small fine threads it is screwed on, so what you could do instead is grind a small notch in it and crack it open with a screwdriver

 

Thank you for responding so quickly. I’m going to give it a go right now.

 

How'd you make out?

When I replaced mine, the threads were corroded enough where I couldn't just cut and pull the ornament up. Plus the plastic/rubber ornament was basically crumbling when I tried to pull on it. It was so much easier when I dropped the finder liner because I no longer had to worry about screwing up the paint trying to work on it still attached to the fender too. After I finally got all the plastic off, I cleaned up the threads with a dremel wire wheel, then used a spare antenna nut to try and clean up the threads before putting it all back together. I found the post below which helped.

 

Best of luck when I removed the nut on top of the antenna the antenna fell through the hole the antenna was retracted all the way.

No idea how many times it might have been changed just my luck.

At that point I just installed a new antenna and called it good

 

Thanks for your reply ireymon. I removed the remainder of the nut (there was very little left) and was able to use a thin blade 1" putty knife to remove the above surface portion of the boot (after protecting the paint). The boot was so badly deteriorated that I couldn't remove it by pulling it up. In the process of removing it, I discovered a rubber gasket I did not expect that appears to be in good shape. There is absolutley no corrosion on the surface of the fender and the antenna itself is completley stable.

On a different thread in this forum I read a number of horror stories about removing the under fender liner with most people mentioning having to buy/replace clips they break removing the liner. That, combined with the fact that my age makes getting on the ground to work from the underside difficult at best, I really would like to be able to work from the top. I'm thinking if I can compromise the wall of the boot by drilling a number of holes in it and then pulling pieces out with needle nose pliers. Does that sound realistic?

 

eww, that antenna support shaft is so rusty.... but a replacement is going to have you venture into the inner fender area and find your way to the stereo headunit

 

Yeah, but it's not quite as bad as it looks. Much of what the pic shows is the rubber/plastic(?) boot remaining after I chiseled away the above fender portion of the boot. The remaining portion appears to be fused to the antenna assembly. I'm concerned that even if I pull the antenna down in the fender well that I won't be able to remove the fused boot. Since the existing antenna functions fine, if I can thread the nut onto it I may just cut off the bottom of the new boot that extends through and into the fender well and make it work; the parts arrive today.

 

"What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me." (Job 3:25) Well, determined I'd take advice given and go into the fender well. As I feared it wasn't easy either getting the flare and clips off as well as the clips on the liner. With the antenna dropped down and dry fitting the new boot it looks like it might be wise to just replace the antenna. Can anyone tell me if it is possible to locate and remove the antenna connection from the head unit without having to remove the unit? Can I just feel around back behind the unit to do the job? What I hoped would be a simple job to improve minor cosmetics is snowballing. Help!!!

 

Well, it's not that hard to pull the stereo unit out. I don't know if you can reach it from behind, but all I can say is that it is a connector like a 1/8 audio jack that is about mid-height and near the left side edge of the radio backpanel

here's a video to help you out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FHwgBvzcnA

 

Mission accomplished. I cleaned up the old unit using a dremel. Took some effort but saved me from buying a new one and removing the radio to connect. Thanks all for your input/suggestions/help!