Broken power antenna repair, how to replace the antenna mast - Auto Repair Series 

Always remember to turn your radio off prior to going through a car wash. Found out the hard way. Purchased my wife her Jag she always wanted, took it straight to the car wash, and broke the antenna... Great video and very helpful. Thank you.

I have spent an hour being educated by you. First, ABS sensor clean, then solder of the brake module and now the antenna fix. I'm guessing when I come in the house today all will be operational. Thank you

I replaced the antenna mast on a 2003 Jaguar XJ8 Sport. Took me a couple of hours but worked like a champ. Stainless Steel mast was $9.75 with free shipping on EBAY. Was originally going to replace the entire assembly until I watched your video. Thank you very much. Bob in Denver.

Great Video I broke the mast on my wife's jag at a car wash. Don't laugh. Your video made it easy for me to fix it. I could hear the motor running, just as you commented on. I got a new mast, and tried to feed it in directly, but it was being blocked. So again, following your complete directions. I took the motor out, disassembled it, got the 6 inches of cable that was still in the assembly out. Put it back together, reinstalled it, and feed the new cable into the motor assembly. Excellent, Thanks so much.

My antenna wont come out, I just hear a clicking sound. And now that I checked out your video, I ordered the antenna and will be performing the repair. Thanks A Million.

We did have to open up and remove the motor to replace our antenna, however this guys video was dead on! 100% excellent information. New antenna installed and working. Thank you Robert.

My antenna just broke off yesterday. After watching this video it’s a job I can do relatively easy. Thanks

Hi Robert, With instructions on this video was able to successfully replace the antenna mast in my 1995 XJ6. The job was complicated by the fact that the bottom section of the mast was jammed fast and I had to drill it out. I could not have done this job with your video! Many thanks, Allan Sterling, Melbourne Australia

Robert, You rock! Did exactly as you showed and now I finally have my radio back. Never would have figured this out - particularly the cycling of the antenna motor. Thanks a million!

HI RobertAnother great video for my 2003Jaguar XJ8 , replacing the antenna mast. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your videos, you have saved me a lot of money over the years, with the cars that I have purchased. You are a god send to the backyard mechanic !!!!!!!

Thanks you Robert, You saved me, Went out to change the mast today. Thought yup I've done this a few times 10min Job. However, I had a lot of issues with the new mast going all the way up but then not coming all the way back down. Mucked around for a while before coming in and sourcing your video for a reference check. I had forgotten to use the short sleeve that sits at the bottom of the mast, It also makes the mast a lot more sturdy. Went back out and 10 min later was finished. Thanks again.

Thanks man. Thanks to you I was able to replace my broken power antenna mast for under $14 and in about 15 minutes!

Robert, I am rebuilding and replacing a lot of my car's (99 XJR) parts, after this girl rear-ended me. Your videos are invaluable, thank you SO MUCH!!

Robert.... your a life saver!! I'm a multiple jag owner and about 5 months ago bought a 96 XJ6 (VDP) with a broken mast. I'm currently repainting parts of the car and decided it was time to fix then antenna at the same time. With your help (thanks again) I now have the right part number, and after already having disassembled (and reassembled ) the power unit, I now have the antenna indexed tot he UP position, and am getting ready to buy the RIGHT replacement mast. Thanks again.....Your video and your help have relieved a fair amount of frustration form my life. Stan L..

Well thought-out, enunciated, and recorded DIY video. I hadn't done this repair in years and needed a refresher. Thanks for posting!

Thank you Robert for your mechanical skills you pass on to us DIY's. Prior to your postings, I spent a lot of extra money on my 1998 Jaguar XJR at the local repair shops. She's in mint condition and now I keep it that way with your help.

Thank you. I was able to do this myself. This isn't the first time I left the radio on in the car wash. I saved over $100 dollars if I had to take it to a dealer. Thanks Robert!

Great help---Thank you very much! One thing I ran into that might help others. When I removed the nut on top of the fender, a short piece of the antenna was stuck in the nut. I filed of , what I could to get it flush with the nut. Then I put it in the vice, opening the vice just enough to let the nut rest on top of the vice jaws and the piece of the antenna hanging down. Then I used a quarter inch drive socket just a little bit smaller than the diameter of the antenna, and used it to dive the damaged piece out of the nut. Then I used the open jaws of a pair of wire cutters to cut the burr out of the inside edge of the nut. then I used a small piece of sand paper to smooth out the inside. All's well that ends well! His video was a great help. From set up to clean up was one hour and 20 min.

You showed all the steps as WELL as what it didn't do at first and what YOU did to correct it cycling the radio on and off plus the lube THATS the way these DIY videos should be shown Great Job!!great video

Great video Robert. It took me 20 mins to order the part, 17 on the video, and 20 mins to replace the antenna mast to my '01 XJ8 - just in time for basketball playoffs. Your videos are inspiring.

Robert Thank you so much for posting this. I watched your video once and with no prior experience went straight out and fixed the broken antennae on my XJ Sport. So easy to follow. Many thanks. Matt

Thank you very much Robert DIY. I have fixed my 2001 Jaguar XKR antenna today after viewing your video. Many thanks.

Awesome video, sir. I took my 2001 Jaguar XK8 convertible through a car wash today. Like an idiot, I didn't even think to turn off the radio. So, you know what those brushes did to my antenna. Great! I just turned my $20 car wash into a couple hundred dollar repair. I was not happy. My motor works fine. But the crimped antenna won't go all the way down. Thanks to your video, it looks like all I have to do is buy a new antenna, and feed it into the motor, like your video showed. Thanks so much.

Great I realized too late to turn the radio off to let the antenna down and washed my jag and I'm sure you know what happened next thanks to you I can replace it.

THANK YOU for this video! With your help I just replaced my broken mast and it now works perfectly. I was lucky in that I didn't need to open up the motor, but thanks to your clear explanation of how it all worked I was able to do this confidently and quickly. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Nice! Just picked up a beautiful XKR and I just noticed that someone was nice enough to break that antenna right at the base before they shipped it to me. Nice to know it'll be a cheap, easy fix. Thanks man, nice job!

I used Robert's instructions on my 2005 Jaguar XKR. It worked perfectly. Good job Robert.

Robert it's Robert here from New Zealand awesome video I managed to do mine as well very successfully with no parts remaining I might add thank to your video I managed to work it all out. the key was to let the radio retract the cable in the end to get it sorted. I'm sure stoked it's all working again now as i travel some 500 km a week in the country to go to work each day and it's nice to have a clear FM radio signal all the way... Thanks again a.k.a. mdbobbo

Thanks Robert, I have the same car with similar issue so after watching your Clip I am going to try to replace the Mast. I have ordered a replacement mast online you showing he Part Number was very helpful. I will let you know how I go with the job. Cheers from Australia

Superb, well explained, step by step instructions, nothing taken for granted, all intricate little pointers covered. Thanks again, Robert! Now I'm going out to do the same procedure to my 1998 XJ8, also of the same color.

That's a nice DIY video- thanks for sharing. Unfortunately- my '89 GM power antenna doesn't feed the "zip cord" on a gear; the end of the cord is metal, and actually threads into hub of the spool, winding around. I've read that *thick* edge trimmer line or vinyl-coated steel cable works well, too. It's also nice that your Jaguars' case is simply screwed together- whereas mine is riveted. My 25 year old zip cord was brittle and broken. The mast is perfect. I was just happy to retract it until getting a new cord, thankfully nobody bent it up until then. This will be another project for me- getting it to _actually and correctly_ work.

Very helpful. I agree with Faith -- the replacement part cost me $19 but I saved probably by "do it yourself" $100 or $150 (mostly labor cost) that I otherwise would have spent at my Jaguar dealer. The toughtest part was removing the trunk's interior cowling toaccess it. You figured it out for me. ALLEN

Seems easy enough. I’ll be trying nine this weekend. Ty for the video

SUCCESS!! Other than the nut being very stubborn coming off the old antenna your Very Precise Video went step by step!! Thank you for answering my previous question as it boosted my confidence. Almost forgot to pay attention to which way the old teeth came out but glad I remembered too! Keep up the great work!!

I've got a 02 plate volvo s40 (2002), this is basically the same fix for my aerial, thanks Robert DIY, and yeah! went through the car wash with radio on ~durr

Awesome instruction. I'm a woman and I am so so doing this myself

Awesome video thank you. With your step-by-step video it was so easy to replace my antenna mast. I had to remove the winder mechanism to remove some broken cable but once that was done it worked fine. In fact, the hardest part was removing the boot lining to get to the winder. With my Toyota Avalon (ancient model) I had to face the teeth to the rear of the vehicle. BTW, I had a genuine part which fitted straight away (of course) thanks to sydneycityparts on eBay at a huge saving over my local auto store. Thanks again.

MY Brother . You are the JAG man..thank you from England

Thank you. I liked the detailed explanations of the trouble spots. I am doing a 95 Toyota 4Runner.

Robert, Thank you very much. I ordered from amazon and followed your instructions. MAGIC!!

Thanks Robert.. looks easy enough.. will give it a try on a extremely rare 64 gto power antenna 👍😎

Great video! My Oldsmobile 93 needs this done.

Grateful for the help! Made the job a lot easier! Keep up the great work!

Thank you Robert , this was a excellent video , very useful information as always 👍

Great video, thank you. Your very kind to share this valuable information.

Hello Robert I love your videos they are clean, simple and straight to the point with no back ground music. I just bought a 1997 XJ6 and my trunk wont open with the key or the power switch. Is there any way to open it? Keep making videos you are a great at it. thank you.

Thanks mate, very easy and clear. Done very quickly !!

Thanks mate first time I saw how it works.

Hi Robert - Very informative video - Many Thanks

:) I remember doing this on my Volvo 960! it helps if you have a buddy to turn the radio on and off for you.

Thank You, Thank You, Great explanation and directions, you saved me some money.

Thanks nice concise video with good info

OMG this video was so helpful! Many thanks to Robert Spinner.

Thankyou, Very useful! Going to DIY this myself.

Very good video Robert.Thanks!

Sorry Robert that should read after runner -it has broken away from the aerial so I am now etc

Power antennas don't exist anymore for a reason. They would break and were expensive to repair. In fact, nowadays when they break most people just replace them with a rubber antenna and call it a day

How did you get that part out of the thing when it was stuck at the motor part. Part of my mast is broken like yours and wont come out.

Thanks for this video, been a HUGE help!

Thanks for the video bro it helped me a lot but mi old antenna it wouldn’t go all the way down n I just put the new one n it went all the way down I thought man I just broke the whole thing 😂🤣

Thank you so much for this information.🙏

Great job.

Very good instrucktions! But my antenna is going up too much, it doesn´t stop and it leaves the hole, fall out and hangs on the side of the car. About 2 centimeters of the wire is seen. What to do?

Great video!! Thank you

Thank you so much for this video. So helpful! We are having a similar problem to you with the sleeve. We cannot get it to go in at all, and I wonder how you managed it with yours? I see someone else further down had the same problem but I’m afraid I couldn’t quite figure out your answer. Could you explain as if I were two years old please?? :). Many thanks. Jill

love it and answered all questions Thank You

Can I pull the mast out from the top as it's trying to go up? The tip broke off the top, motor winds but I think corrosion got to it after 30 years. It goes up only half way, and won't full retract, so zip cord is still attached.

My mast is stuck! I had to clip some of it off and the rest is stuck inside - I’ve pulled it with pliers but it won’t budge..

Thanks, man - really helpful.

Thanks for this video. We just bought a 2000 XJ8 VDP. Antenna is broken off and I can see the end of the ripcord just inside the opening of the mast. Does this mean I have to get into the motor and thread in a new cord or can I just install the mast (skip to the 12 min part of the video). Sorry if that is a dumb question. I'm just learning how to do stuff with the cars that we have to save $$. Videos like this are a huge help. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!

Good job i hav 2 do my 1

Hi Robert DIY, I am going to try this today. My broken aerial puled out in one go along with the plastic cord, so hopefully I won't need to remove the motor. Is it possible to remove the metal sleeve without removing the motor?

May Jaguar xj8's power antenna was frozen down and after temp raised so did the antenna and now it will not go back down. I checked the fuse and it is good. HELP PLEASE!

I see you answer slot of comments despite the video being very old. Some I'm gonna ask the question here to see if I get a response. I drive a 1997 XK8. The mast of my antenna is bent near the base so that it won't retract. Based off of this video could I just pull the old mast out and feed a new mast in instead of taking the motor out? Edit: after this king about it for longer than 5 seconds I now realize that the motor has to be taken apart to get the zip tie out. Thanks for the vid

Great info. My buddy just bent his mast. This looked pretty easy. His is a 97 XK8. Without sounding "dumb", and I did watch the entire video, you are saying that I can replace his mast just by removing that nut and feeding the new mast zip cord into it?

I liked it, good job!!!

Robert this video was very helpful but I can't get the antenna to go all the way down. I greased the antenna but that didn't work, I re did the installation many times. the antenna does go all the way up but does not go all the way down. there is still about 5 to 6 inches showing. I have a 98 XK8. Any ideas

great video good teacher

thanks for the info in this video, very helpful! Any chance you would know how to fix a window that will not go down? I don't want to mess up that door panel by taking things off. Thanks

Great video

I've got another question. I made the mistake of locking my driver's side back door (child proof) and now I can't open the back door can you help me sir 😢

Saved my ass! Thank you sir

Hey guy that sleeve wont fit inside the housing when I cut the radio off it stops there

i have a 1986 Oldsmobile delta 88 and the antenna is the front of the car how do get to the motor

I have a 3000gt sl and I replace the mast and the power antenna assembly. What the problem is it make a clicking sound when I turn on the radio. The antenna doesn't extend or retract. It does nothing. I'm not sure what else to try.

My driver seat won't incline back up, 99 jaguar XJR supercharged. Any suggestions???

the retractable antenna I have on my 93 940 wagon is on the left rear pillar, is not broken, but won't move up or down. any help?

Thank you!

Informative video. I have different problem in my car which i think is motor or sensor of it, not sure. My car radio making beating noise 6 times from antenna area every time I open radio and close radio power. I guess it is trying to pull more than it should trying 6 times, then it fails and stop, and vice versa while pushing antenna out. Do you think it is Antenna issue or motor issue.

Great. Fixend it

Hi can this affect the battery would it drain the battery out

I could not get the antenna to pull out whatsoever and it ended up breaking off and so it looks like your did now. I have an xk8. The cable came out intact. Do you know how to get the darn old one out? It is like its welded in the sleeve on the underside. Since I have the CD system/nav system in the way of the antenna motor, removing the motor just to get the mast out it would be a pain in the butt.

Robert - nice video. Are there two sleeves on the antennae then? This is not clear in the video. My new mast came with only one and it will launch out of the housing when powering upwards. Where do I buy just the required sleeve please? Is it even available? I am almost ready to call it a day as this is getting rather ridiculous and everything is covered in old black grease including this computer keyboard..... The old sleeve had to be destroyed to remove it. So are there actually two sleeves and where can I source one please. Thanks, Brian.

robert .. for these cars .. if antenna is down does the radio signal still work? still get reception ?

Thanks for the video. Question though; the antenna makes a grinding noise when it's all the way up. When it goes down there's no noise.

thanks. Nice video.

can you provide info about the dc motor? type model size brand? much appreciated 👍

Robert Great Video. On my XJ8 I have opened up the electric housing and taken out the old plastic runner (it have broken off the aerial and I am now ready to fit new aerial, but cannot get the old aerial out of the housing. Do you have to pull it hard

Nicely done, thanks for sharing, What model after market antenna do you recommend? I own a XKR 2003

What does it mean when you can't hear the motor to pull the mast back in?