Hey all!

I've had the (it seems) common problem of the power antenna motor just running and running with the car off, so I knew that it was likely my nylon cable had snapped. I pulled the motor and aerial and took it all apart, and lo-and-behold, this was absolutely the issue.




I've seen some stuff online about replacing it with a steel cable, but the issue I have is that it hasn't snapped in the antenna itself for me - it's snapped just where the nylon meets the metal guide/holder in the internals of the motor.




I have a couple of questions - is there any clever way of removing the nylon from the metal guide that sits in the wheel? Or can anyone think of a smart way I could attach a new cable to this?

Also, I cannot remove the rest of the nylon from the antenna itself - apparently the top of the antenna is a nut and does screw off but for the life of me I can't get it to to come off. Any suggestions gratefully received!




A new motor and antenna assembly appears to be super expensive and as i'm in the UK the shipping will pretty much double that, so i'm trying to do anything I can to effect a repair.

 

Remove the metal piece from the gear and use a torch to melt the nylon out of it.

Wrap a thick piece of leather on the solid shaft below the finial nut on top of the antenna mast and grip it tightly with Vice-grips. Turn the nut off and pull the nylon cable and the top solid section of mast through the bottom.

 

That's where it normally breaks. If you aren't able to make your own, contact Barny Eaton. He makes those cables.

 

Thank you! I managed to get the nut off this way.

i don’t have a blowtorch - could I melt the nylon on a gas stove or similar, in theory? I assume the melting point of the nylon is lower than that of the metal.

 

that’s great, thanks. Was going to try and find some of the right gauge but I’ve found his email (I think) on a search so I’ll give him a go.

 

Yeah a gas stove should work fine.

Gently hold the one end with a pair of pliers and see if you can get a bite on the nylon piece with some needle nose pliers and put it to the flame and as it heats up you might be able to pull the nylon piece out of the metal piece.

 

This is the last contact info. I had for him. He repaired the antennae in my car back in 2015.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/memb...ml#post5906658

You can see this info is from 2012. Expect the pricing to have changed.

 

I'd have to find it, but I posted his current info a couple years ago.

 

Yeah, I actually found your exact comment in another thread. Thanks!

 

They used to sell a service kit that had just the nylon cable to replace. Dorman might still have something. Otherwise, it’s eBay time I guess.

 

No, if you're going to replace the cable then get the braided line. Putting another nylon cable in there is just a stopgap. It will eventually break also and then you'll be back at square one.

 

True, but how many years will that take? 10, 15, 18 years?

 

I replaced mine with a nylon cable only lasted about a year went to a braided cable after

https://ebay.us/m/94HW68