I finally figured out this antenna mast replacement, and it took me around 6 minutes. I know some people were having problems with this, so I thought I'd post what I had to do:

There is a nut on the outside the car at the base of the antenna. It looks like if the antenna wasn't in the way, a giant phillips head screwdriver could fit it. I couldn't turn it, but with a hammer and a long, wide-bladed flat screwdriver, you can slowly (not even all that carefully) knock it loose. Use the screwdriver almost like a chisel, toward the outside of the slot. I had to do this in each of the 4 slots as the nut turned before I could turn the screwdriver sideways and then turn the nut that way (screwdriver is in the slot 90 degrees of normal screw). Be careful when you do this that the screwdriver does not slide out of the slot or you'll scratch the paint pretty good. Put something over the fender while you do this (4 layers of masking tape or something like that).

Remove that nut and the base (clean under), then turn the stereo on. I had to turn the stereo on and off about 3 times to get it out, but it comes out with a little tug (never came out just turning on and off - had to give a little yank). Leave the stereo on. Tuck the new antenna cable in the hole and turn the stereo off. It will suck the antenna most or all the way in. You will lilkely need to do the on/off thing twice to get it fully in place. Re-fasten the nut and base to the antenna, and you're set.

One thing - my new genuine Lexus antenna does NOT go all the way down. The antenna was $55 at my dealer. The last piece doesn't go into the car. I don't know if they are all like this or not, but it's fixed so that the last 6-8" are out of the car at all times. Kinda odd! At least I have clear radio reception again, and it doesn't look ridiculous going down the street! You can email me with questions (joel@krooswyk.com).

Hope this helps someone!

 

Joel:

Thanks for the information. I'm in the same situation of needing to replace my antenna mast. I was planning on taking out the trunk liner to get to the antenna motor, but if you can get it done without that, even better. However, I do know that my factory antenna went all the way down, at least before I broke it trying to sneak under a gate arm. Maybe there's something else that needs to be done to get the last few inches to retract. I'll let you know how mine comes out.

Thanks,
Wiley

 

The SC OEM antenna does go down all the way. I think it odd that the replacement does not do this. I personnaly would not be happy with the antenna sticking up. It will be just a matter of time for some a&shole to break it off.

Perhaps the replacement is defective??

 

I agree it must be something wrong with the installation or mask... Just go to the service department and ask them to give you a pointer or two....

 

I was thinking about this situation with 5 or 6 inches of the mast always up. The quantity of the mast above the motor is 5 or 6 inches. The vast majority of this mast is supposed to be BELOW the fender line and inside the trunk.

I suspect that perhaps you have mounted the antenna too high, or in other words, the quantity of the fixed mast that is supposed to be down in the trunk is sticking up above the fender quarter panel. I have attached a picture of one of these units....

Notice near the mast tip there is the black hosel. I wonder if yours is mounted with the hosel too low down towards the motor?

 

I'll take a look - I couldn't get the mast any further down, but maybe I need to adjust something. Thanks for the tip.

 

I am taking a stab in the dark b/c, i had similar problems fixing my g/f's Camry antenna mast. It has a white plastic-teethed line. I wound up taking out the antenna mast b/c, it was just too hard putting it in with, the car in the way. Also, I do not know if this will work or not but, the AM reception boosts the antenna a little further up. See, if you can try it that way with the AM on.

 

Got it all the way down - turn the mast on the bottom as it goes down, and voila!

Thanks everyone!

 

Thats good to hear Joel. It did not seem right that it was sticking up. How is the reception, BTW??
Does your AM band reception work well? Mine sucks. It is very noisy. FM is just fine.

 

All reception is much better - stereo ALL the time now on FM stations! AM reception is pretty good - I only tune into 1 or 2 stations to get occasional traffic or news, but I can get 'em without any problem.

It looks like my motor mechanism has a slight problem with the gear that pulls the cable/antenna down, so it does occasionally slip - which is why that last stubborn bit of antenna wouldn't go down without turning and helping it. It goes up and down all the way now, just has an occasional "brrrp" sound associated with it - sounds like my trunk has gas!

Joel

 

So I purchased a new antenna mask, and while it goes all the way down...when the radio is turned on and after the antenna is fully extended - it seems like my motor just keeps on turning. There is a clicking sound for about 8 - 10 seconds. It's as if the motor is still trying to extend the antenna out even more...but there is no more antenna.

Anyone else have this problem?

 

I replaced a mask on an ES300 94, and it is doing the same thing, runs for about 10 to 15 seconds, and makes a terrible noise. Its goes down just fine. Thanks

 

is it the motor constantly going? because if its just for a sec, like in btwn station changes, mine does the same thing in order to find optimal reception... if your not talking about btwn station changes sorry this response is not relevant...