OK everyone, here is the obligatory every-4-month question on how to replace the mast on a power antenna...except I read the previous posts and the instructions that came from the dealer with the new part, and I still can't get the old one out!

I have a 93 grand cherokee laredo.

1st off, the instructions differ depending on the body type: E & M BODY, AND C, J, Q & Y BODY

I happen to have the factory broadcast sheet for the assembly of the Jeep and it doesn't say specifically what body type I have, but I saw "J" listed in the code numbers a whole bunch of times...but that is just a guess.

The main problem is that the old mast just won't pull out...we have yanked on it! We repeatedly turned on the radio to activate the power antenna motor. Looking at the new part there seems to be a clip that would spring out and lock the mast in place once it was pushed down in. Is there a trick to releasing the clip? Or is it something else? I am totally surprised that the instructions would make no mention of the clip.

I spent $56 on the antenna...I better get it to work!

Any help is appreciated!

Jerry

Well Jerry,

I have been trying to replace my power antenna mast for quite some time now (I am trying to remove the whole motor, in which no one seems to know how to do this, I have tried looking for the ele. connector and antenna inside the jeep to disconnect it, but have not had any luck doing so), Therer last sleeve of the antenna at the bottom does clip into the motor, you might want to try to get this disconnect then yank on the antenna to get it out.

Yeah, I'm having a similar problem with mine. It will retract until the last sleeve, but then it wont go into the body. it sticks out about 6 inches. but opens and closes fine, apart from that. I just thought that this tread might give me some info.

93 GC is a zj

I think the J you keep seeing like in your VIN ("1J") means its a Jeep

If we have to remove the motor to replace the mast, why do all the instructions say it is such an easy job? Who writes these instructions?

I guess I will have to remove the motor from the Jeep...I think I have instructions on that....

Remove the inner fender, right behind the tire for access to the motor...look like it is one screw athe the bracket on the bottom side of the motor and the nut and escutcheon at the top. Not as hard as it sounds...

Jerry

those masts are actually very simple to replace.I assume you took the nut off the top first.they sometimes get corroded and that makes it difficult to remove so the first thing I would suggest is spraying some type of rust penetrant inside the antenna.I have also had luck using vise-grips to get a better grip on the mast and then use it like a slide hammer to pull it out.

you should be able to remove the mast by yanking up hard on it. my problem is, the rubber grip string thing that extracts and retracts the antenna, broke off inside the motor - this is why I have to remove the motor so I can take the motor apart and get all the SH*T out of it. I have the instructions for removing the motor, unfortuantely they suck A$$. I cannot seem to locate the Antenna wire and the electrical connector harness inside the jeep to disconnect the the wiring and atenna so that I can pull it through the body of the jeep and out of the wheel well.

dksob81...You probably have this info already, but I'll tell you anyway...I am looking at a repair manual diagram and it look like for the power antenna there are 3 wires that pass thru a grommet on the inner wall where the motor is located. The 3 wires seem to include the antenna lead and they all look like they come together into one oblong connector on the inboard side of that wall. That is what I can tell from the diagram. What is on the other side of that wall is just a guess on my part. I seem to remember being in that area a few weeks ago replacing the blower motor resistor. I would remove the kick panel by the riders footwell and see what it there. Let us know what you find. I won't have time to work on this until Tuesday.

Regarding my trouble with it...we have yanked really hard to get the mast out--slide hammer-style---and it would not budge. I can't see rust holding it in, but it won't hurt to squirt some penetrant down there. On one hand, I don't buy that the antenna is held in with a spring clip, since the instructions make no mention of having to release a clip. On the other hand the replacement mast has a clip that looks like it will engage and lock when fully inserted. The instructions do mention checking the orientation of the mast and want us to know which body style we have and know which way the motor is oriented. Maybe there is a trick of twisting it to disengage the clip that the service manual/instructions won't tell us.

I am sort of trolling in hopes of more wisdom to be posted here...we need a Jeep mechanic to chime in!

Jerry

jmann, What page is that diagram in the manual, this is the factory service manual, correct? I may find it before you next post, but post anyways. I will look through the FSM and try to find it.

dksob...
I xeroxed it out of a manual at the library...my guess is it was mitchell's but not 100% sure. the section is called 'body components' and the diagram is on page 23-7, figure 22. "J9323-11' is with the diagram. Also on the page is the letter 'Z', up at the top..jerry.

thank you jerry.

this is the same as in the FSM. unfortunately it does not show and accurate picture of the location of the antenna wire/electrical wires on the inside of the fender. I removed the kick panel and looked around many times and still have not located any wires that look to be the ones I am looking for. I guess I may have to cut some of the wire wrap off and check maybe it's inside one of the wiring groups.

Hey dksob:
I clicked one of the advertising links on the forum page and found a power antenna motor and mast with correct connectors and online tech support for under $30 ... it sounds really good. I paid $57 for my mast from the dealer. I am considering returning it if they will let me and ordering the whole shebang from this place: http://www.antennax.com/ just click on the Jeep and Grand Cherokee links and then power anntenna kit or something. I hope I am allowed to post links to commercial sites...

this might be the best solution for both of us...although I wish we could figure out the right way to do it with what we have before us.

jerry

Thanx Jerry. I am gonna go out in a lil bit and prolly remove the fender this will make it alot easier to find out where exactly the wiring harness is located inside the jeep. If/When I find it I will let you know.

Joe

I'm now having your old problem, can you help me.
I got to the motor and unscrewed it and on the inside I disconnected the antenna cable and power cords but the cables are stuck in between the inside of the car and outside where the motor is, was there a clip there???
thank you

Oscar

I never finished it, i never got around to remvoing the fender. I could not even find the wiring connector on the inside of the jeep.

Could you tell me exactly where yours was located at?

Hi Oscar and D...

Boy this is really testing my poor memory...we sold the Jeep and quickly forgot about the antenna...

I DID get the old mast out...there was some trick that I cannot remember right now (I can't believe I forgot what it was. I will ask my wife and Mom--they have better memories than I. ) I think I destroyed the old mast to get it out, and after looking at the wreckage I discovered the "trick" to getting it out in one piece! The new one went in like a dream. Heck, maybe it all WAS a dream...

Regarding the wiring coming through... I can only guess that there is a grommet holding it back.

I wish I could be of more help...

Jerry

There is a grommet passing into the passenger side of the car. It brings the cable and 3 wire lead into the antennae relay. These can be a real bear to get out after they get hard from time. There is also a bracket thet can be just outside the grommet under the inner fender that makes it very hard to pull out after you get the grommet loose. I used a lot of spray silicone lube on the grommet. (makes rubber parts very slippery) and I remember using a very large screwdriver and a cotter pin pick to pop them in and out. Remove the plastic shields as necessary to gain access.

sorry to revive this but I'm in the same spot as many of you w/my 93 ZJ.

No prob removing the rubber splash guard in the wheel well. Next I took off the entire pas side panelling (including glove compartment and vents) to get better access to the ant. coax lead and the power harness on the inside.

That proved rather futile as it yielded practically no additional room to get at the leads from the front. I STILL had to get at the leads from underneath which was a PITA, but I did manage to disconnect them.

The cap nut was almost impossible. It was locked so tightly (and I dont have the special ratchet for it). I had sprayed it with WD-40 but it didnt help. Needle nose pliers allowed me to turn it, but it was actually turning the whole shaft it was screwed onto. I tried to look into the escutcheon by wedging a small screw driver between the two which caused a piece to crack off (pissed me off alot), BUT after that I took a larger screw driver, and while I turned the cap nut, I pushed up on the cap nut with a flat head (from underneath it), and that raised the entire shaft (with the cap nut "frozen" on it) enough so that I could get a medium sized vice grip around the shaft, and another on the cap nut, and finally, it broke loose. What a POS!

Anyway, as if that wasn't enough, then the grommet is simply impossible to get out (forget trying to pull the wires through the grommet). I can with my small hands and thin arms, just barely reach the grommet from inside the wheel well with my finger tips, since it's "around a bend". Forget about any visuals of the damn thing. It's hard and barely budges when I try to pry it out with my tips.

I cannot for the life of me imagine how anyone could possibly get any tools up in that well to work on that grommet. I can't even get to it at all (or see it of course) from inside, so that's out.

Since I have the old mast (with cable) off, perhaps I don't have to take the whole motor out afterall (it does work fine). I just found some directions which state that one only needs to feed the new cable in, seat the new mast (extended) into the motor shaft, and then have someone turn off the radio to cause the motor to retract, grabbing the new cable and pulling in the new mast.

I may try that if I can't get that POS grommet out today.
The only problem may be that I wouldn't be able to fully get the old mast out. There is still a tiny bit of the old mast (maybe 1/8 of an inch, or less) in the shaft, since the antenna broke off near the base while it was fully extended.

ugh.

Any advice appreciated.