How-To: Replace OEM Antenna (in-fender)

Victory, soaked the broken part of the antenna in PB blaster for a few days. It was loose, just couldn't get it to spin out with a tiny punch. Figured nothing to lose by trying to drill it out and could see it turning/tightening so knew it was loose. Switched to a left handed drill bit and continued drilling and sure enough it spun right out. Saved having to buy the whole lower antenna assy and replace it which is fortunate.

 

This'll be what I do for my first shot at replacing a snapped-off aerial, wish me luck!
Sure wish there was a dependable powered antenna that hides when not needed. They always seem to die, though.

 

This should work well with antenna removal too

 

Anyway to just remove it with out taking all that apart?

 

I worked patiently on the snapped-off antenna problem and was blessed/rewarded with a cheap and easy fix.
Using a snap-punch, the right size screw extractor with a cobalt drill bit to match, and a little cutting oil, I got the broken piece out, and screwed in a look-alike generic antenna.
I only needed to drill about 1/4" into the stud, and I threw me off when the bit grabbed and the piece screwed about another 1/2" down into the antenna mount; but I was using an appropriate slow speed of about 250RPMs with firm but very straight downward pressure, and stopped after about 1/8" depth to flush chips and apply more cutting oil. When I firmly tapped the extractor into the cleaned hole with a small hammer, I could tell it was biting into the stainless spring steel well, and it unscrewed the stud easily.
I highly recommend this procedure as your first try for a broken antenna repair if the fender mount still looks good. You, too, may just be able to avoid taking the fender & trim apart. Picture of tolls below. You can see that even thought the drill went a little off-center, it did the job because I didn't drill in very far, and the threads inside the mount weren't damaged.

 

Great work tgordo49! Faster and cheaper than buying/installing a new antenna assy. The left handed drill bit my mechanic buddy used to spin the broken piece out is probably hard to find, said he got it off a tool truck years ago so the pics of you bit and extractor you posted are great so everyone else can see what you need.

 

One more "Thank you" to the OP. Your writeup showed that this is an easy enough job.

For the fender clips, original configuration is three orange and six blue.
Part # 75396-35020 - Blue clips
Part # 75396-35070 - Orange clips

 

Can you just use a buy with the same pitch instead of the specialty nut from Toyota? This way you can just put a socket on it.

 

Havent posted here for quite a while. I have a 2013 with poor reception and without confirming im pretty sure this is the issue. I have a comment but more importantly a question. First the comment. Ive read through this entire thread and many posters are blaming this on the use of road salt or other snow melting products. I would much more suspect that this issue is the result of dissimi!ar metal corrosion and an occasional moist enviroment. Dissimilar metals that come into contact with each other can corrode horribly and become fused together.
Now the question. I am assembling the parts for this fix and wonder if anyone can tell me the number of #90189-04040 clips that areused to hold the inner fender well in.might as well have them so they can all be replaced if needed.
Great thread and hats off to the OP.

 

Ok so today I replaced the antenna. Had to cut the nut and some of the bezel with a dremmel as they were fused together. The rest of the job was pretty easy. Took about an hour to cut off the old antenna. Whole job was 3-4 hours.
Thanks for the info in this thread.

 

Ditto. Dremel with a cut off wheel came in handy for separating the original bezel nut that had been fused to the metal trim piece underneath it. Job went pretty smoothly and am putting it back together now. I did it because radio reception was poor and I'm pretty convinced that the hole where the antenna wire passes through the body was a leak source even with the rubber grommet which looks like it had broken down over time. I also used the Dremel to make a little tool to tighten down the new bezel nut.

Thanks also to the OP for the write up...the part numbers and photos made the job pretty straight forward.

 

Yoshio
Thanks for the writeup. I had to do the same for my 2009. It was corroded just like yours. I used a Dremel to actually cut is out of the fender.
I was able to replace the antenna assembly without removing the outside fender flairs. After removing 8 or so inside fender well fasteners, and the mud flap, I was able to get enough access to remove and replace the antenna assembly by just pulling back the inside fender well. It is thin plastic and very flexible. Looks new again and works well.
thanks again.

 

This is a great thread and specifically the post with the detailed instruction is excellent! My situation is a bit different, but since the responses on this thread were so good I thought I'd try it for some help. My antenna mast is in tact and radio reception is adequate, however I would like to replace the antenna ornament and nut for cosmetic reasons (both are pretty deteriorated, the nut so badly that most of the notches used to tighten/loosen it are gone). Is it possible that I could remove the old nut and ornament from above without using access through the fender well? I'm thinking I could leave the full and functioning mast in place to keep the antenna assembly from falling when the nut is removed. Thanks for the help, and again, great thread.

 

That was a great write up! Thanks! It allowed me to change out the parts on my '13 Tacoma. I only had to remove four of the black tabs holding the inner fender liner (didn't break any). I did remove the fender flare screws, but didn't remove the flare. I was a little freaked out when I removed the A-pillar trim to access the wire connection and discovered what I'm pretty sure was an airbag!! I had visions of the thing exploding in my face while I worked. For me, the toughest part was the removal of the old base where it mates to the fender. Had to make sure I didn't scratch the paint. When I replaced everything, I used lots of grease and Rust-Check undercoating (I live in the salt belt). Dealer quoted me about $250 to do the job (taxes in) so I saved a bundle. Finally, for anyone who is on the fence about whether or not you can do the job...go for it.

 

You may not be here, @Yoshio, but here's another thanks for all the details!




And for those who have mentioned all the corrosion (dissimilar materials most likely the cause), I spread a little anti-seize inside the bezel and on the threads.



And, I didn't check for a better picture, but here is the cable in the foam wrap inside, right of the glove box area. The rubber boot is right at the end of the cable. I wished I had left enough cut wire to fish the new, but you don't need to at all. Just yank the old to the inside, then push the new cable through the hole in the wheel well, and massage the boot in place.

 

Do you happen to know the screw size needed for the antenna? my original antenna broke and i purchased a stubby but the hardware set did not have compatible screws.

 

Nope! Not a clue! The long flexy antenna that came on the truck was stolen from a Tundra on the lot - since the Taco had none.
Later on, I bought this one - which comes with several adapters. ONE of them fit just fine. I have no ideal which, and got rid of it.
Amazon.com: Whizzotech Lexus Scion TRD Carbon Radio Stubby Fiber Black Aluminum Alloy Screw Antenna Mast 4.7" (Black) : Electronics

Buy one that says "This FITS your....Taco!" Best of luck!

 

And another big thanks to the OP for the write up, and everyone else.
Thought someone tried to steal my antenna when I saw it was loose, not getting many stations for years, and then I finally put two and two together.
Bought all the parts, incl. the watch repair tool, and cut the corroded aluminum/partly now alum. oxide of what was left of the mount off the fender with a Dremel cutting wheel, and then swapped everything out.

After going for a drive, I now have all my stations back with good reception. Including good ole AM 600. Yeah buddy!
Even smeared some dialectic grease on all the parts that corrode easily.
In total, 3 hours to get it done without any stress.

 

Finally got around to replacing my antenna today and this guide and whole thread really was super useful. Thanks!

My only changes was to use a multi tool with metal blade to chop off the bezel which worked great. I don’t know why I even bothered trying to unscrew it.