XM Shark Fin Antenna Access

Ill grab some more pics of the installation once my new antenna comes in later this week

 

So I installed my new one but it was cold outside and I didn't take any extra time to take pictures. Basically i was able to take the two coat hooks and grab handles off. Then the C-pillars and i was able to bend the back down enough to access the antenna nut. My advice would be take your time (find a heated area to work so you dont feel rushed) and take down as much of the headliner as you need. And use a razor blade to get the srs covers off the c pillar to access the bolt. Lastly i guess when I ripped mine off I must of bent the roof to a degree because my new antenna did not sit perfectly flat on the roof. I put a bead of silicone to water proof everything and Im going to try and superglue, appoxy the front down so It sits more flush against the hood. Once again sorry for the lack of pictures

 

No worries. Sorry you had such trouble. It is a PITA location. Glad you got it done though.

 

Appreciate this advice! Finally home for break so I can get around to working on fixing it. This definitely motivates me to just do the whole thing myself. Glad everything worked out for ya

 

ya hopefully yours isnt semi bent like mine. Also I couldnt figure out how to get the grab handles off so i pretty much trashed the clips. Let me know if you figure those out please

 

Well I took a look at it today and my roof is definitely bent around the antenna... pretty bad too from the antenna being forcefully ripped off. Currently scheduling some body work with a local friend of mine while I get an antenna ordered. Will update sooner or later.

 

Well. That sucks.

 

I mean just wrap a rag around a hammer and tap it back flat?

 

In case you were wondering how it all came out... I know it's been like 3 months but I finally got around to replacing the antenna. Bought an OEM antenna from Toyota directly for a whopping $550 and put it on myself by pulling down the rear headliner, banging out the dent and installed the new antenna. Paint wise, I just put touch up on the roof where the paint cracked as the antenna covers it up completely...

 

Very nice

 

Morale of the thread, don't break off your shark fin antenna

 

Ugh...resurrecting an old thread.

I backed out of my garage this morning and my garage door had stopped short of full open. Not anything I could see in my mirror or through the back window and as I backed out it snagged the shark fin. I immediately stopped and pulled back in but it pulled the antenna up in the back, and although the roof doesn’t look dented the antenna has a slight gap opening towards the back of the antenna. My antenna seems to work ok but not sure if the antenna got tweeked or it’s my roof. Guessing the latter. I am looking at dropping the headliner and removing the antenna to get a better look . Sounds like this kind of tweeked roof sheet metal is typical of this kind of issue. For those doing a DYI fix any pointers on best options to straighten a slightly tweeked roof?

Guess I can just take it to a body shop and have them fix it as an option, but always feel better doing my own fixes when possible.

 

I have the shark fin antenna on my 2015 access cab, but I don't have digital radio or gps form the factory. Does it even have a purpose? I don't see how it's being used.

 

Took my 3rd Gen truck to the dealership collision center a week ago and they gave me a low probability that it could be fixed with paint less dent removal. They said the could remove the antenna and try to fix it with PDR for $615.00 not including a new antenna which would have driven the price up to the $900.00 + range. If they had to go the traditional body shop route the price was roughly estimated to be north of $2,000.00 without the cost of the antenna added on top.

I opted to dismantle it myself and removed the antenna, then took it to a different PDR shop to straighten what little damage was there. Overall the results came out very nice. I purchase a new oem antenna and fixing nut from a toyota online parts place for $145.00 and the PDR was $150.00. Total cost less than $300.00 including the cost of the new antenna.

The best part was no painting or traditional body work required and the truck headliner, sidepanels, and antenna came out and reinstalled without too much cursing. Everything looks like it did before, so pretty happy with the results.

Lots of credit to the forum and members for a wide variety of info in different threads surrounding this headliner / antenna removal project.

I will add in a couple of things to remember. 1) Once you have the sides and back of the headliner loose, you need to remove the dome light cover and there are two little diagonally located spring loaded clasps on the light base that you have to release. Once those are released the headliner drops right down offering easy access to the antenna nut and any PDR work can be accomplished right from the rear passenger door entry.

2) Once the antenna nut is loose the threaded connector barrel of the antenna has two little spring loaded clips you need to pinch inward on to allow the antenna to be released from the roof. As noted in another post all garment hooks and grab handles attachment points need to be reassembled with the spring clips and covers and then they simply snap into place with a firm push.

I have a number of photos I can share, and if anyone has any questions feel free to ask as it’s fresh in my head and I have the removal and install sequences memorized (for now)

Thanks again for helping make this project a lot easier and hopefully I can help a bit too.

 

Does everyone have a shark fin antenna, I mean my used one doesn't have Sirius, is that all it's used for?