Replacing a broken aerial

After a recent 4wd trip a number of the club members, including myself, had the misfortune of breaking off their aerials on some overgrown narrow tracks.  At the time I didn’t think it was much of a problem however after talking to a couple of other club members who told me horror stories about the cost (anywhere between $150 and $500) of replacing these items a little bit of the fun was taken out of the day.

I decided to do some research into alternative (cheaper) repairs.  My first inquires took me to an archived discussion that had taken place on the forum page of the Pajero Club of Victoria (great web site if you ever have a spare hour or two to spare for browsing).  Seems broken aerials is a common problem with a number of people who were also looking for alternative solutions.  After much reading and suggested methods to fix the problem finally one person put their hand up and said that they had actually done a repair (it was actually done on an NP model Pajero not an NJ like mine but they believed it could be done in the same way on all models) with an after market aerial for around $30.  Details of how the repairs were done were a little vague however a web site for finding a matching aerial was given as

http://www.aerpro.com

This site allowed me to type in my model Pajero and told me the matching model of aerial.  Unfortunately there was no listing for my NJ model so I went for the next closest thing, which was a model for the NH Pajero (model AP253 from memory).  As it turns out, although the fit of this aerial was ok it was not perfect and I think (after seeing the catalogue in SuperCheap) that the aerial that would have fitted the NJ Pajero better was more like the current NM and NP models.  I actually ordered and bought the aerial from auto pro (for $35) but have since seen it in a number of other auto shops.

Next trick was to fit the aerial and hence the reason for this article.  Now that I know how to do it the job could be done in around 10 – 15 mins.  However it took me around 7 – 8 hrs of dismantling, cursing and bruised knuckles to discover the correct method.  Hopefully the step-by-step instructions below will help save someone else who attempts this job     6.5 hrs of labour and upwards of $100.

The process

1)       Unscrew the chrome nut at the base of the aerial.  I did this by gently gripping it with a pair of multi grips (trying not to scratch or crush it) and twisting.  You could use a screwdriver but be carefully not to slip and scratch the car.

2)      Remover the black plastic housing below this by sliding it up over the damaged aerial.  This will reveal a cylindrical tube poking out above the wheel arch.

3)      You should now be able to remove the old aerial.  To do this turn the radio on so that the motor try’s to force the aerial up.  As this is happening grad hold of the aerial and gently pull it.  Because the top retaining nut is missing the whole aerial should just pull out completely including the plastic cable that runs up the middle of it.

4)      Make sure that all of the old aerial has been removed.  This was my mistake.  I left a small part of the old aerial stuck inside the cylindrical tube that is left exposed above the wheel arch and consequently the new aerial would not fit into the hole and I had to dismantle the whole electric motor and half the car to find out why.

5)      Insert the plastic cable of the new aerial into the hole that the old aerial came out of with the teeth on the cable facing in towards the centre of the car.  Push the cable in as far as it will go.

6)      Have someone else flick the switch on the dash that lowers the aerial to it half way height.  This will cause the electric motor to start up and begin to drag the plastic cable (and aerial) into the motor.  If the cable does not get hooked up by the motor flick the dash switch again so the motor try’s to push the aerial completely up then wiggle and push the plastic cable in further.  Flick the dash switch again and hopefully this time it will get caught up by the motor.  If it still does not work put the aerial up completely again but rotate the teeth of the plastic cable 90⁰ anticlockwise then flick the dash switch again so the aerial goes down to its half way height.  If this still does not work continue to rotate the aerial 90⁰ and try again till it does work.

7)      Next turn the radio off so that the motor completely drags the aerial into the cylinder sticking up above the wheel arch.

8)      You may need to turn the radio on and off once or twice till the aerial is completely bedded into its correct position.

9)      Put back the plastic housing and chrome retaining nut then go and buy a cartoon of beer with the money you have saved.

The helpline for this project is open from 9am till 9pm any night of the week on (number available from the club).  Just ask for Trevor

Best of luck

Trevor