(PART 1 OF 2)
My vehicle: 90 Toyota Supra turbo with original 3-piece wing
Tools ya need: Permatex RTV, narrow weatherstripping, vice-grips, Phillips screwdriver, set of metric box wrenches or sockets and about 2-3 hours of time.
Being a child of the 80's, I like the "old" stuff on our cars that act as a reminder of how much technology has changed. I decided to replace my OEM power antenna (that went up about 12" and stuck) with a new aftermarket power one Napa. I also hoped for better reception for my favorite FM station.
I have documented my struggles here for your entertainment, er, education.
First, I googled around to find an antenna from a local store in case the fit was wrong. I came across this one from Napa:
Price was right, but there wasn't any in stock locally. The saleslady assured me she could have it ready for pickup the next morning. So I ordered it and picked it up the next day.
You will have to take out most of the plastic trim around the sides of the trunk area on the passenger side.The wing has two screws that can be removed easily with a phillips when the hatch is open. Start there. The wing also has two studs that go through holes in the car and are secured below with wingnuts that must be removed from the inside. The wingnut for the hole closest to the car door was missing on my car, but it was still secured well. I opted to leave it off since the yellow plastic grommet was holding it very well. Here is a pic of what it looks like under that part of the wing after I cleaned it:
Once you have the wing removed and plastic trim off, its time to remove the old antenna. There is a large round nut at the top of the antenna that must be screwed off. I had to use vice-grips to get it moving. The rest can be removed from the inside with a socket or box wrench easily.
Here's how the new one (on right) compares to the OEM model (on left). All the hardware and different plastic grommets came with the new antenna since it was a universal fit. The antenna cable connects near the top of the mast. Note that they are different. OEM uses a "motorola" connector. The new antenna comes with what I call a female coax connector. The new antenna does come with a 4' adapter cable that will adapt the coax to the motorola. The extra cable length is kind of a pain, so wrapped it up and put a zip tie on it. Do note what I failed to note - the mast on the OEM one is taller than the aftermarket unit. This is important!
On the original wiring harness for powering the OEM antenna, google revealed I only need the blue with white, and red with white wires from the original harness to control the antenna. I cut those wires, put on the heat shrink, stripped and crimped them on the new wires, pulled the heat shrink back over the splice and heated it. The rest of the wires that were cut were secured with electrical tape. See picture below (black wire is ground going to screw head you see in pic):
Once you have wired the power and connected the ground, I strongly suggest you have someone hold the antenna while you test it. In my case, the antenna went up when either the radio, CD or iPod was on.
(END OF PART 1)
My vehicle: 90 Toyota Supra turbo with original 3-piece wing
Tools ya need: Permatex RTV, narrow weatherstripping, vice-grips, Phillips screwdriver, set of metric box wrenches or sockets and about 2-3 hours of time.
Being a child of the 80's, I like the "old" stuff on our cars that act as a reminder of how much technology has changed. I decided to replace my OEM power antenna (that went up about 12" and stuck) with a new aftermarket power one Napa. I also hoped for better reception for my favorite FM station.
I have documented my struggles here for your entertainment, er, education.
First, I googled around to find an antenna from a local store in case the fit was wrong. I came across this one from Napa:
Price was right, but there wasn't any in stock locally. The saleslady assured me she could have it ready for pickup the next morning. So I ordered it and picked it up the next day.
You will have to take out most of the plastic trim around the sides of the trunk area on the passenger side.The wing has two screws that can be removed easily with a phillips when the hatch is open. Start there. The wing also has two studs that go through holes in the car and are secured below with wingnuts that must be removed from the inside. The wingnut for the hole closest to the car door was missing on my car, but it was still secured well. I opted to leave it off since the yellow plastic grommet was holding it very well. Here is a pic of what it looks like under that part of the wing after I cleaned it:
Once you have the wing removed and plastic trim off, its time to remove the old antenna. There is a large round nut at the top of the antenna that must be screwed off. I had to use vice-grips to get it moving. The rest can be removed from the inside with a socket or box wrench easily.
Here's how the new one (on right) compares to the OEM model (on left). All the hardware and different plastic grommets came with the new antenna since it was a universal fit. The antenna cable connects near the top of the mast. Note that they are different. OEM uses a "motorola" connector. The new antenna comes with what I call a female coax connector. The new antenna does come with a 4' adapter cable that will adapt the coax to the motorola. The extra cable length is kind of a pain, so wrapped it up and put a zip tie on it. Do note what I failed to note - the mast on the OEM one is taller than the aftermarket unit. This is important!
On the original wiring harness for powering the OEM antenna, google revealed I only need the blue with white, and red with white wires from the original harness to control the antenna. I cut those wires, put on the heat shrink, stripped and crimped them on the new wires, pulled the heat shrink back over the splice and heated it. The rest of the wires that were cut were secured with electrical tape. See picture below (black wire is ground going to screw head you see in pic):
Once you have wired the power and connected the ground, I strongly suggest you have someone hold the antenna while you test it. In my case, the antenna went up when either the radio, CD or iPod was on.
(END OF PART 1)
