Replacement Antenna Mast

[Billy Mild]

During my weekend lake trip I took my Corvette to a local car wash. I forgot to turn off the radio when pulling into the wash bay. Needless to say the antenna took a huge beating and snapped off. I was able to pull the cable and antenna out, but there is still a little piece of the mast in the motor housing. Is there a way to replace just the mast without taking the antenna motor apart?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/370524706197...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Also is this the best MAST solution? Does it come with the tool to remove the nut?

[mike100]

I was unable to feed a new plastic gear strip into my other C4 I used to own...even after having taken out the entire unit out and putting on a bench. It was a mess- a big giant clock spring and grease inside.

Maybe you can get it to work if you are persistent, but my recommendation is to not spend $30 on that and instead invest it towards a new unit (if you can still find one).

[Billy Mild]

I'm not opposed to a whole new unit, I just want to make sure I get the correct one.

Is there a good picture tutorial on how to replace it?

[Mystic ZR-1]

Just replaced mine this Spring. Paid $21 delivered for new mast on Amazon.
Not a hard job, but didn't find any "nut" that everyone
talks about? No need to remove (and screw up) grommet in fender.
Did the same thing years ago on my old 89, no "nut" there either...
Pulled whole assembly out from under fender, (leaving electrics connected)
removed LR wheel and fender liner 1st to make it easier to get at.
Disassemble unit and remove what's left of old operating cable.
New one feeds in by running motor to retract antenna, may need
some help turning radio on and off to do this. Be patient...
Lots of info on this site on doing this.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by Mystic ZR-1

Just replaced mine this Spring. Paid $21 delivered for new mast on Amazon.
Not a hard job, but didn't find any "nut" that everyone
talks about? No need to remove (and screw up) grommet in fender.
Did the same thing years ago on my old 89, no "nut" there either...
Pulled whole assembly out from under fender, (leaving electrics connected)
removed LR wheel and fender liner 1st to make it easier to get at.
Disassemble unit and remove what's left of old operating cable.
New one feeds in by running motor to retract antenna, may need
some help turning radio on and off to do this. Be patient...
Lots of info on this site on doing this.

Hay, ZR-1 doesn't have an Antenna Mast !

[1991ZR1]

You have to remove the nut from the top for the bottom section of the mast and contact sleeve to come out. I don't remember if you need to remove the grommet to get to the nut but I suspect that the grommet has to be removed. New masts used to come with the special socket. I'm not sure if they still come with the new mast. Is the remaining bottom section protruding above the fender so you can grab it? If you cannot get a hold of the remaining part, you will most likely have to remove the whole assembly from the car.

[Z51JEFF]

The antenna has to come apart to get the broke piece out. Not too hard and the antenna mast does have a special nut holding it in the body without the nut in place the mast would pop out of the body. A 93-95 antenna will work in 90-92 with some slight rewiring. The reason for the rewire is the 90-92 has an external relay and the 93-95 antenna has an internal relay. It is possible for one person to feed the new mast into the housing once the body is back together and bolted back in the car but it is tricky. I've done all this if somebody wants some tips.

[Billy Mild]

The new antenna came on Friday. It has a special tool to remove a nut. The instructions say to remove the grommet and nut then remove the old antenna or what's left of it and feed the new one in.

What's the safest way to remove the grommet?

[secondchance]

What the instruction is saying is to shove the "special tool" through the rubber fitting on the top of the quarter panel, remove the nut and allow the antenna to push out the top. Two concerns I had doing this - possible damage to the rubber fitting/grommet which is ZR-1 specific and tougher than hen's teeth to find if damaged. And, sometimes broken off toothed plastic reel will not come out the top.
Best way is to remove the antenna from below, slide it out intact, grind off melted shut plastic tabs, separate right and left housing, remove and broken off pieces of plastic toothed reel, reassemble two halves of the housing using sheet metal screws (since black plastic tabs are ground off). Once reassembled (minus the antenna post), temporarily connect power without installing the antenna assembly on the car, turn on and turn off radio and feed the new mast as the motor is reversing as if retracting the mast. Finish off by screwing the top nut and reverse antenna removal for install.
Above is the best mast replacement having tried both methods - replacing mast with the assembly on the car and off the car.

[1991ZR1]

Is any part of the broken mast sticking up above the fender? Don't forget the contact sleeve has to come out too. If not. I don't see any way to avoid removing the whole antenna assembly. Also compare the old plastic gear strip to the new one to see if you can tell if the old one is broken and there may be a piece still in the motor and needs to be removed. If you are not the original owner, a previous owner may have done this repair before and left a piece inside the motor. Otherwise, the nut is easily accessible and you can see it close to the top. The instructions that came with my new mast and instructions in the factory service manual do not say anything about removing the bezel (grommet) before removing the nut.