Question Power Antenna

[ColdFinger]

The antenna mast on my 2001 Sequoia quit working. I pulled out the mast and the plastic gear strip appears to be broken. It is 29" long now.

Can someone tell me how long it should be?

Also, can someone tell me if it will hurt the antenna motor to just clip off the remaining strip and reinstall the mast? I've done this and the motor runs a few seconds while it tries to raise and lower the mast but appears to turn off after that. I don't mind the antenna staying up as long as it doesn't burn out the motor.

Thanks.

[SE2000]

For some Toyota models, there was a mast replacement. There are lot of aftermarket ones too. The mast broke on my 92 about 6 years ago and it still turns so I don't think you have to worry.
As far as length, it is dependent upon the station you are listening to. AM and lower stations in general prefer a longer antenna.
In reality, since it is receive only, it doesn't much matter unless you are in a fringe area.

[ColdFinger]

On the length, I'm referring to the plastic strip which is attached to the mast. When I removed mine it was 29" long but I'm not sure if it should be 30, 35, etc, or if 29 is correct. Knowing that will tell me now much might be left in the motor and whether I need to worry about getting it out.

[SE2000]

If you buy a new mast, you can compare length. If you are not getting a new mast, then you don't have to worry. The most common problem is the "gears" strip out. If under inspection, you have good gear after the stripped part, and it doesn't appear broken, you are probably ok.
I would bet that 29" is the whole plastic. How far down the whole is the gear? It should be way less than 29"

[Universal]

I just purchased a new mast to replace one that would not go all the way down. After removing the mast I noticed the plastic part of the mast was broken . I took the antenna motor apart and removed the 5" piece of plastic that had broken off of the old antenna. I inserted the new mast and it would not go all the way down either. I then took the motor apart again and checked to see if the gears in the motor were stripped. They appear to be fine and the motor runs up or down for about 20 -30 seconds but for some reason it will not accept the new mast all the way. It goes down maybe 5-10 inches and then stops. Any ideas?

[SE2000]

Is it curling the right way? It may have been rolled the wrong way from the factory.

[Universal]

The mast cord appears to be curled the correct way. You can kinda make it curl any way you like though. I removed the motor again and applied more grease and then inserted the mast with the motor cover off. The mast pulls all the way down with the cover and plastic bowl off. I then removed the mast and kept the cover off and installed the bowl that the plastic gears winds up into. It worked perfectly but its impossible to let go of the bowl and install the cover. It appears that when the mast goes into the motor it gets caught or snags right before rolling up into the plastic bowl, which causes the motor to stop. Could this be a bad antenna mast?

[ColdFinger]

Wow, I bought a new mast from the dealer the other day. The plastic pigtail is way longer than the 29" piece remaining on my original. I'm wondering

a - do I have the correct replacement
b - is there that much broken off in my motor
c - do I need to cut the new one to match the length of the old (once I determine how much may be in the drive motor housing that is)

??

[SE2000]

Did the mast come with instructions? The parts dept should be able to give you the details for installation.