Busted Antenna, help

[Hartman]

I went through a carwash the other day and forgot to put my antenna up, and it busted off. I think I only need the mast, but I called Ford and it's 100 dollars JUST for the mast, which is outrageous. I was just wondering if I could put a sport stationary on there. Anybody that has done it, advice would be appreciated.

 

[Bill Kemp]

I have seen masts on ebay for a lot less.
Search "parts & accessories" for "Ford Explorer antenna".

 

[Thew_77]

Go to your local parts store and they have them for $20

 

[MDCSoft]

I did the same thing

Went through a car wash tonight on the way home. I forgot to turn off the radio, and the power antenna mast snapped at the base.

I would like to replace the mast, or perhaps the entire assembly with a small, black flexible whip antenna. Whichever is cheaper, I guess. Any advice?

-Mike

 

[ok89]

You could give Torrie@fordpartsnetwork.com a shout and see how much he is asking for it.

 

[Alec]

Short flexible black antennas are less than $10 at Radio Shack. I've had mine for over 3 years without any problems (except it got stolen once), and it gets better reception than the stock antenna ever did.

 

[Hartman]

How do you go about switching from a power antenna to a stationary one?

 

[MDCSoft]

Yeah, what's installation like?

I would love to go with one of the black Radio Shack antennas, particularly if the reception is superior to the stock one.

 

[MDCSoft]

Hey Alec, how tough was the replacement?

I can't figure out how to get the stock power antenna out. Does it come through the top or the bottom? My Haynes manual doesn't even mention the power antenna. I guess that's what I get for buying the Mountaineer.

 

[Brian8]

I changed my antenna to the short little cell phone style one. I didn't have a power antenna so the install took all of two minutes and i got mine for $7.00 and it also has a little better reception then the stock one.

 

[MDCSoft]

What about the antenna cable?

Did you have to pull the radio out and reroute the new antenna cable? I shudder at running wires and pulling the motorized antenna assembly out.

 

[Brian8]

mine wasn't motorized so all i had to do was just unscrew it and screw the new one on..

 

[Alec]

Ya, I don't know about the power antenna, but I have a feeling you can get at the mechanism from under the hood. You might need to go up from the wheel well after pulling the lining off. Mine isn't powered, so I just unscrewed the old on and stuck the new one on. Took 30 seconds.

 

[Hartman]

Nah, you have to take the pass. side fender off to get to the motor.

 

[Okrazie1]

According to the manual I have, you don't have to pull the fender off to change a power antenna. You can get to it by pulling the fender apron out (the liner above the tire).

 

[Spud3159]

Hey just to inform you. I curently work at a local carwash and if we forget to tell the person to put their antenna down (bunch of signs reminding them before they enter to lower it) and it gets broken or bent. We usually help them out if they are a reasonable customer with replacing it. So mybe if youd like you should go and see if they will help you out at all. Then you might not have to replace it yourself.

 

[Hartman]

I work at the carwash where it was busted at (I ran it through after work and forgot to put it down). They're paying for half of it, but I got an estimate from a Ford dealer for $180 to fix it (90 dollars is still a considerable amount of money just for a damn antenna).

 

[MDCSoft]

As it turns out, I'm going to get an OEM replacement mast for about $31 including shipping. I tried a bunch of other options, but I really don't feel like pulling out a perfectly good power antenna motor.