How to remove antenna to get at rust ?

[mikebish]

Hi,

I have a 1984 Tercel 4WD wagon.

Apologies if this is a silly question, I'm new to Do It Yourself car fixing.

I have rust around the hole in the body where the antenna goes through. How do I remove the antenna so I can remove the rust around the hole ?

I've become very attached to my Tercel and am trying to re-register it for another year.

Any help would be appreciated.


Thanks

[takza]

I couldn't figure that out so I sort of trashed mine getting it off the fender.

[brianp]

Near the bottom of the antenna is a retainer nut, which you remove, and then you unscrew the antenna itself. Both of them were frozen on mine, so I used vice grips to unscrew it. Maybe using some PB blaster would help in the removal. Once you remove the antenna, the antenna post still protrudes just a little through the fender.

[CASE]

If the retaining nut at the bottom of your antenna is too crusty to move without breaking it, try the "impossible bolt treatment": hit it with WD40 (any penetrant/lube will do, probly)wait a couple hours, give it some more WD40 and try to turn it, if it's still stuck:wait a couple hours, give it some more WD40 and try to turn it, if it's still stuck:wait a couple hours, give it some more WD40 and try to turn it, if it's still stuck:wait a couple hours, give it some more WD40 and try to turn it, if it's still stuck:wait a couple hours, give it some more WD40 and try to turn it, if it's still stuck:wait a couple hours, give it some more WD40 and try to turn it, if it's still stuck:wait a couple hours, give it some more WD40 and try to turn it, if it's still stuck:wait a couple hours, give it some more WD40 and try to turn it, if it's still stuck:wait a couple hours, give it some more WD40 and try to turn it, if it's still stuck:wait a couple hours, give it some more WD40 and try to turn it, if it's still stuck:break it into little peices and burn it, laughing-hope this helps

[Petros]

is your antenna mounted on a front fender like the North American version? If so, and you do not want to damage the antenna, you might consider removing the fender to get better access to the back of the mount. it would be easier to deal with the rust as well.

Otherwise the easiest thing to do would be to cut off the top, and discard the whole thing, and replace it with an aftermarket antenna.

Good luck,

Peter

[mikebish]

Thanks all, for the replies and help. Yep, managed to do it and removed rust. Though a little tricky applying filler to replace the cut out metal - Needed to make sure it wasn't too thin in places.

Well, took it to garage to get pink slip for rego and....

1) Front brake hydraulic hose faulty
2) C.V Joint boot split
3) Steering rack boot split
4) Oil leaks from driveline

ahh dear. I'm still going to go ahead with repairs. Can't bear to ditch my Tercel yet


Michael

[neonsport]

That nut on the antenna base is another place where a little anti-seize is a good idea... Assuming you get it apart intact.

[turtleman]

For what it is worth, if you ever need to get further into the whole antenna thing, removing the rf inner fender liner (a lot easier witht eh wheel removed) and you can access the back side.
Mine was frozen solid and rather than destroy the fender, I was able to get vise grips on the underside and seperate it with not so much as a scratch in the paint.

[deejay1272]

I tried to replace my front passenger side quarter panel today, but got stymied by the damn antenna post that protrudes out an inch or so. No matter what I did, I still couldn't remove the post. Anyone encountered this problem before?

Thanks,
Dan

[dlb]

just had to mess with this on reggie (the project car). it was all broken, flopping around, and had another antenna taped to it so i wasn't sure what should be there and what shouldn't. figured it out though and took some pics.

first, there are flats on the antenna itself. use a small wrench to unscrew it from the antenna base.



then use a 15 mm socket or wrench to take the retaining nut off. this nut pushes against the plastic trim pieces at the base of the antenna and pulls the hooks on the underside of the base against the fender. you'll see what i mean in a second.



pull off the two plastic trim pieces.



now remove the 10 mm bolts holding the inner fender in place. there are 12 or 13 of them. pull the inner fender out so you can pull the antenna base out of the fender. here you can see the hooks that help hold it in place against the fender.



installation is the reverse. super easy once you see what you're working with. the antenna on the '84 parts car looks slightly different but is essentially the same, it just requires a large flat blade screwdriver to remove the retaining nut rather than a 15 mm wrench.

[dlb]

bit of an addendum to my last post here. i've had to replace the fenders on my new project car and found that most antennas seem to have another piece that was not present on the one i took pics of. they usually have a 6-8" PVC pole that extends down from antenna base. at the bottom of the pole is a piece of metal strapping that is bolted to the frame of the car with a 10 mm bolt. the pole and metal strap serve only to strengthen and stabilize the antenna so it doesn't flop around too much if it gets knocked around while extended.

to remove the antenna, in addition to what i posted above you must also remove the 10 mm bolt that holds the strapping to the frame. no biggie but i thought i'd mention it.

also, if the antenna is the telescoping kind, it cannot be removed from the base. it is one unit so just slide it in when you need to remove it. the telescoping kind are a bummer because if the antenna breaks, you need to replace the whole damn thing. at least with the ones that are up all the time, you can just replace the antenna itself if that's all that's broken. i prefer that.