OK, Phil told me that he had someone fix his this way, so I figured I'd take it on myself....
1) Unplug the motor harness from the relay that's behind the ps dash panel just under the pouch emblem...it takes 3 screws and carefully pulling down and out on the cover. The motor will be plugged into the slot just above where those orange, pink, and black wires are....the antenna motor wires are white, green, and gray.
2) Remove the motor and mast just like you were going to use the "repair kit" and take the motor and mast assembly apart...its very easy and a pretty simple motor....pry the 2 sections apart carefully and no parts will go flying after drilling out 4 rivets and removing the 5 clips.
3) Go to Home Depot and buy 36.5 inches of 3/32 galvanized bare cable. It should be about $1.35
4) Once the nylon chord is removed and the mast end, use a butane torch to heat up and melt out / burn out the nylon chord from each end....here the end that mounts in the gear...
5) Then take the steel cable and insert in each end where the nylon was and spot weld them in...may need to clean up the spot welds when done as that part must fit in the inner part of the mast. (On the next one I will try to just heat them up with the torch and melt solder in the ends as I think this will be much easier and should hold just as well if done properly)
When done it should look like this:
6) Then with the mast fully extended, place the gear end of the cable back into the gear assembly...should look like this when done.
7) Clean up the housing edges and apply a very small beade of your favorite sealant, Ultra-Black for me, around the casing and put the casing back together using the 5 clips and machine screws and locking nuts where the rivets were drilled out.
The assembly should look like this when done and ready to put back in. Doesn't hurt to do a test run with it out of the car first.
8) Bolt it all back up the way it was taken out and enjoy a flawless working antenna!! It's the first time mine has worked since I bought the TTop car 11 years ago!
1) Unplug the motor harness from the relay that's behind the ps dash panel just under the pouch emblem...it takes 3 screws and carefully pulling down and out on the cover. The motor will be plugged into the slot just above where those orange, pink, and black wires are....the antenna motor wires are white, green, and gray.
2) Remove the motor and mast just like you were going to use the "repair kit" and take the motor and mast assembly apart...its very easy and a pretty simple motor....pry the 2 sections apart carefully and no parts will go flying after drilling out 4 rivets and removing the 5 clips.
3) Go to Home Depot and buy 36.5 inches of 3/32 galvanized bare cable. It should be about $1.35
4) Once the nylon chord is removed and the mast end, use a butane torch to heat up and melt out / burn out the nylon chord from each end....here the end that mounts in the gear...
5) Then take the steel cable and insert in each end where the nylon was and spot weld them in...may need to clean up the spot welds when done as that part must fit in the inner part of the mast. (On the next one I will try to just heat them up with the torch and melt solder in the ends as I think this will be much easier and should hold just as well if done properly)
When done it should look like this:
6) Then with the mast fully extended, place the gear end of the cable back into the gear assembly...should look like this when done.
7) Clean up the housing edges and apply a very small beade of your favorite sealant, Ultra-Black for me, around the casing and put the casing back together using the 5 clips and machine screws and locking nuts where the rivets were drilled out.
The assembly should look like this when done and ready to put back in. Doesn't hurt to do a test run with it out of the car first.
8) Bolt it all back up the way it was taken out and enjoy a flawless working antenna!! It's the first time mine has worked since I bought the TTop car 11 years ago!
