Antenna H*ll on a 1997 Outback Limited

[elliot.rapp]

Ok, first off....I am an idiot. Went to an unknown car wash and
completely forget to turn off the radio to retract the power antenna.
The flaps on this horrible car wash snapped it like a twig.

Second, the situation. I have a 1997 Outback Limited. The antenna is
a powered retractable factory install (original). It mounts on the
back left body panel just below the window. The current motor still
appears to work fine. The mast was broken near the very bottom and the
"chain" (for lack of a better term) came completely out.

Now, I tried using the "universal antennas" but they don't work in two
ways. The first is that Subaru uses a different type of adaptor than
the universal standard. I haven't found an exact convertor (Subaru to
universal), but I hope they exist. None of Crutchfield's adaptors look
quite right. The second way in which they don't fit is that they are
built to fit a round hole. My car has an oval slot in which to fit the
antenna (rubber grommet piece goes in to fill the hole, and the antenna
fits vertically through that).

Circuit City and Best Buy both told me "tough luck." Ugh. So, I
called Subaru and they said I could buy a new mast for $62 or the whole
thing for $159. I think I only need the mast but it appears as though
I would have to drill through the rivets on the motor to get the
"chain" back in.....and uhhhhh.....no. I don't have a rivet gun and am
not interested in that level of work. As for the whole thing, $159
seem outrageous.

Has anybody been through this before?!?! Do you know of an antenna
and/or adaptor that works? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Ok, first off....I am an idiot. Went to an unknown car wash and
completely forget to turn off the radio to retract the power antenna.
The flaps on this horrible car wash snapped it like a twig.

Second, the situation. I have a 1997 Outback Limited. The antenna is
a powered retractable factory install (original). It mounts on the
back left body panel just below the window. The current motor still
appears to work fine. The mast was broken near the very bottom and the
"chain" (for lack of a better term) came completely out.

Now, I tried using the "universal antennas" but they don't work in two
ways. The first is that Subaru uses a different type of adaptor than
the universal standard. I haven't found an exact convertor (Subaru to
universal), but I hope they exist. None of Crutchfield's adaptors look
quite right. The second way in which they don't fit is that they are
built to fit a round hole. My car has an oval slot in which to fit the
antenna (rubber grommet piece goes in to fill the hole, and the antenna
fits vertically through that).

Circuit City and Best Buy both told me "tough luck." Ugh. So, I
called Subaru and they said I could buy a new mast for $62 or the whole
thing for $159. I think I only need the mast but it appears as though
I would have to drill through the rivets on the motor to get the
"chain" back in.....and uhhhhh.....no. I don't have a rivet gun and am
not interested in that level of work. As for the whole thing, $159
seem outrageous.

Has anybody been through this before?!?! Do you know of an antenna
and/or adaptor that works? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

On my daughter's Nissan, the motor will pull in the new 'chain' portion
of the replacement mast. I suspect your soob will too and likely that's
why they sell it seperate. email Jamie at www.subarugenuineparts.com and
see if she has a better price (online dealer) and if she could take a
peak at the instructions that come with it or otherwise confirm
'feeding' it back in. Of course, you must first get all the old one out!

good luck and let us know how it works out OK?

Carl

 

[JohnO]

Has anybody been through this before?!?!

Heh, the first part, yes. ;-)

Do you know of an antenna
and/or adaptor that works? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

http://groups.google.com/group/alt....ntenna+connector+john&rnum=1#70446df2d5de3e6d

or http://tinyurl.com/o8wmc

-John O

 

[Blair Baucom]

I did a mast only for a Toyota and I think it was pretty easy on that one.
But it had a nylon like center core to drive the antenna up. Like the other
poster said, they do sell just the mast, so should not be too hard to do.

Blair

 

[Clifford Heath]

I did a mast only for a Toyota and I think it was pretty easy on that one.

I did likewise on a Volvo 240 - twice. Pretty easy, you
might be surprised.

 

[elliot.rapp]

Well, I talked to my local dealer and they wanted $62 just for the mast
and "chain". He said that I would have to drill out the rivets,
realign the new chain, and then rivet it back together. Not sure if he
is right or not, but that was enough to scare me away from that answer.
So, I did some searching online and found a subaru dealer selling the
entire motorized antenna unit for $95. More than I wanted to pay, but
substantially cheaper than the alternative....and a safer bet than $62
for a mast that may or may not work.

I also checked antennax and didn't really see anything that would
fit....at least not without me putting together some awful home-made
solution for filling the rest of the oval opening on the body panel.

Hopefully this time next week I will once again be enjoying the modern
technological wizardry known as AM/FM radio.

Thanks for the help!