skongolf

I have researched the last few hours trying to find an answer to my questions and couldn't so here it goes.
We had the problem most people had with a broken antenna mast cable, so we ordered a new one, but when we went to put it in, it would not draw in. So we took the motor out and sure enough, broken antenna cable inside. Took it out, put it back together, tried to feed it in again and no luck getting it started. I finally decided to take the motor cover off again and observe the gears. Well in antenna up position, the grears move great, but when you turn the radio off, the gears slip, barely spin, stick and basically struggle. The teeth look worn and there seems to be chunks of grease everywhere. I guess my question is since the gears seem to be messed up when trying to draw the antenna down, will I have to replace the whole motor or is there a repair I could try? Just curious what others may have done.
Also how do you get the antenna cable started in the coil? When i put mine in, it seems to be too curved at the tip to get in the hole. Any suggestions?
I am not against getting an aftermarket antenna motor to replace this one, but it seems like they all have to be modified in some way.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Try cleaning and lubricating the gears by the motor. Aalso, if you're watching the gears with the gear cover off, the sprockets may be moving just enough out of position to make the motor struggle.

Try heating the tip of the toothed belt with a hairdryer to soften it slightly before you stuff it down the antenna mast housing. I had a similar problem with mine but it went in eventually. It's a stiff toothed belt though and mine makes a noise when it retracts because of this.

2002RX300

I've been looking for that small plastic gear for the antenna motor for a year now. Mine actually has teeth missing, so it makes a horrible grinding sound when going up and down.

Since your in AZ (Phoenix?), you probably have many Rx300's down there with all those old ladies driving them. Check out your picknpull's for an antenna motor and pocket the gears.

SethP

I had the same problem, what the problem was with mine was that there were actually multiple pieces of plastic inside the gear.

While I had removed one, it wasn't all of it. Make sure there isn't more further into the gear.

And even then, it might take 10 tries to get it to "bite". It took mine a while to grab hold of the new mast. But it has held on for several months now.