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Ford Explorer Community - Maintenance - Modifications - Performance Upgrades - Problem Solving - Off-Road - Street
Explorer Forum Covers the Explorer ST, Explorer Sport, Explorer Sport Trac, Lincoln Aviator, Mercury Mountaineer, Mazda Navajo, Ford Ranger, Mazda Pickups, and the Ford Aerostar
Has anyone installed an aftermarket power antenna on their Explorer? Metra makes one for the Explorer (44-PWFD272) but I haven't been able to find out much about it. Any info would be appreciated. Happy Holidays
Hello,
I just installed an after-market power antenna on my 96 XLT. I tried quite a few antennas (Harada, etc.) and couldn't get anything to fit in the small area under the fender. I finally found one through J.C. Whitney that has a remote motor. It has a long section of flexible tubing so you can mount the motor down further where you have more room in the fender. It comes with most of the hardware that you need. I picked up a one-inch grommet and some black RTV to seal the hole in the firewall at a local parts store. You'll have to make a loop with the flexible tubing and I found that tie wraps worked well for that to reduce the vibration. Also the metal strap that comes with it to use as a bracket didn't line up with the holes in the antenna base. I drilled out the two holes a bit larger and did a little filing so I could use both of the mounting screws for a more secure install. Also use some of the plastic split looming to run your wire through the firewall.
The hardest part was removing the inner fender. Besides that it wasn't too bad. As a side note I noticed that with the inner fender off I could get to the spark plugs easier so I'm installing some Bosch Platinum + 4's and some Jacob wires.
Hello,
I thought about using an OEM Ford power antenna but ran into a few problems. The OEM power antenna has a sticker on it that states not to apply power directly to the motor or bypass the relay. It turns out that if your Ford didn't originally come with a power antenna you don't have the power antenna module or the harness required to plug it in. Using the aftermarket antenna was the easiest way to go.
