My antenna was making grinding noise when i turn on the radio and came up to all the way up to 3/4 outside. I turn off the radio few times and tried again but the same result it making grinding noise up to about 3/4 out. So i turn the radio and pull the rod up when it was grinding. Now what happens, i turn the radio off or on but the antenna rod doesnot go down or no grinding noise. I try to push down slowly but feel that the antenna rod is loose at the bottom and don't want to go down. I know something broken. What would be the nylon wire, mast or the motor ?

 

http://rx300how2.home.comcast.net/~r...eplacement.htm

Take the mast out and examine the teeth. If they are messed up, I would suggest not to put it back in.

Salim

 

Thanks Salim. Antenna mast prices on e-bay $25 or Park place Lexus $53.00 plus shiping. How is E-bay is it good ?

 

If it was a sensor, or part of drive/control component, I would only recommend OEM replacement.

Since we are talking about antenna mast, all it needs to be is OEM equivalent. I can not vouch for fitment or quality or even vendor being honest on ebay.

Next thing to consider is price including taxes and shipping + handling. Add labor or savings if you will DIY. Next thing to look at will be expected life and how long you will keep your RX. In this case we are talking about a delta of $25 for an item that should last 5 yrs.

Salim

 

i got one from ebay. same as oem. more than likely a small portion has broken off inside the motor. you will need to take out the rear interior and dissassamble the motor to remove. do not lube the new mast with any kind of white grease. this will attract dirt to stick on and utimately shorten the life of the mast. (i know your probably thinking im nuts saying not to lube it but after working in a honda dealer and replacing them all the time on older accords just leave it be)

 

Finaly i bought the antenna mast from the Lexus of Manhattan for about $50.00. I installed it today. It takes about two hours. My antenna mast some broken left in the motor. So initialy i have to remove the motor. I will post some pics for you. This one after i remove the almost everything from the rear right side of the trunk

 

After i remove the motor.

 

Broken antenna mast

 

Open motor & broken cable

 

Thanks all.

 

subscribed! - ours makes funny noises right now, so i'm pretty sure I'm headed down this road not too long from now. Thanks for the pics, anything you wish you knew before you dug into it?

 

I think it is better to change the antenna mast before it broken the nylon cable and left inside the motor. If it broken you have to open the motor like me.

 

I'm having the same grinding noises that you described so I''m going to get the mast from ebay ($15 incl shipping - my local Lexus dealer wante $97 plus tax just for the part). Looked straightforward enough until I saw the antenna nut - there's no way I can get any form of box wrench, open ended wrench or adjustable wrench in there (and there are no flats to grip anyway).

http://rx300how2.home.comcast.net/~r...eplacement.htm

Short of a driift punch, I can't see any way of getting that nut off. Also, it appears to attach the power antenna assembly to the fender - are there any problems with the antenna dropping onto the rear cavity once you get it off?

 

The picture does not show the flat faces, but examine the actual mast and you will see it.


Well I need to see it before I advise others ...

Harborfreight sells a tool to remove cir-clips. It is a mini-pliers with round pins and has an adapter where the pins are angled. The tip of the pin is round but it should fit in the slot.



Salim

 

sktn77a, I used a smal flat screw driver with a small hammer to turn opp clock way. Once you have one or little turn it will loose than you could use nose pliers or flat screw driver to open the antenna nut.