Antenna Mast woes

[hyuan]

Have any of you had problems with your antenna mast and have been able to fix it yourself? I read the FAQ and have had some problems following the suggested fixes.

One fix describes loosening the chrome nut, however, its not clear to me how this is done. Is there a special tool I need?

Another fix suggests lubricating the mast? What does that entail exactly? Does the suggestion refer to the entire mast, including the assembly near the bolt?

The top joints of the mast fully retract, but the last joint before the mast retracts fully into the vehicle gets stuck with about 8 inches to go. Any ideas what might be wrong? It doesn't seem like the motor has gone bad...

 

[nsxman]

Rain plus road dirt equals stuck mast.

Extend the mast and lay a bead of wd-40 or the like along the entire length. Wipe off and repeat. Then trying retracting and extending a number of times. You will probably have to wipe the mast a number of times to remove the junk that will appear on the segments from this routine.

If your mast was working and now is troublesome, it is unlikely you need to mess with the mounting nut yet.

 

[hyuan]

Thanks, I'll give this a try!

 

[hyuan]

In the end, it turns out my mast had a kink in it. No amount of lubricating helped the problem.

I went to two dealerships to get a quote on how much they would charge for the replacement including labor. The two quotes I received were $150 and $180. Which I thought was totally absurd. One dealership wanted to charge me $90 dollars for the mast! He claimed that my car was special and therefore did not qualify for the $70 mast. I guess dealers in the Bay Area just try to gouge you every which way they can.

So I went to A&H Motor and bought an antenna mast and antenna mast nut tool ($50.25 and $15.50 respectively). Including shipping, the damage was $74.25.

Replacing the antenna mast was pretty simple. Loosen the bolt and remove the bolt, spacer, and washer. Turn on the radio. Yank the old antenna mast out. Orient the nylon cord of the antenna mast towards the outer corner of your left tail light lens, turn off the radio, feed the cable through, put the washer, spacer, and bolt back on, and voila! You're done.

It's a 15 minute job. The NSX service manual has pretty good pictures on how to get it done if you need a second reference. If you're going to replace your antenna mast, I think its worth considering a DIY approach. It could save you some money!



[This message has been edited by hyuan (edited 23 February 2002).]

 

[nsx_in_lighthouse_pt]

My antenna also became grumpy about going in all the way, instead of replacing I took it apart and cut off approx. 3 inches of the end of the nylon that seemed to be binding up (there is still a few inches left fully extended)....and presto it works just fine now. I figured if I ruined it I had to buy a new one anyway (and I was bored that night)

------------------
'92 Black/Black #977

 

[wfo_18]

I am having troubles installing my antenna mast. It seems that as I insert the nylon cord it is catching on something inside the antenna shaft and I can not get it down to touch the antenna drive gear. I am following the directions in the manual exactly. Any tips or tricks?

Thanks

 

[5inchfatlip]

Am I the only one who doesnt use the radio?? I use the CD, but I know how the antennas always break not just on the NSX....the car also looks better without the antenna up..

 

[wfo_18]

The BOSE system is back so I use the hell out of it.

If I can just plug the whole I do not even need it.