LX470 Antenna Shaft Replacement

The replacement shaft is available relatively inexpensively.  Likely, the notched nylon portion attached to the metal mast broke leaving a portion in the motor assembly within the passenger side fender.  To access the motor requires moving aside the wheel well top liner.  This is a modestly sized piece of molded plastic held in place with ten plastic pop rivets and four torx bolts.

The plastic pop rivets have a base with two access groves one hundred and eighty degrees apart.  It is possible to place two flat blade screw drivers or a couple of properly sized panel removers in the groves and under the heads and work the center of the pop rivet loose.  The whole rivet then is easy to pull out.

The rivets are designed with a weak point where the shaft of the inner pin meets the head.  It is thinner than the shaft.  Of the ten pop rivets, six heads popped off for me.  Only the inner pin is destroyed and you may choose to substitute a different pin of your choice rather than buying replacement rivets.

Toward the lower rear, the line fits under a panel of external trim held in place with mast and torx bolts.  The liner is held in place there with the torx bolts AND the plastic bolt base inserts.  You only need to remove the top two of these bolt base inserts but to do so, you will have to pull the external panel trim slightly outward, releasing the mastic.  Be careful not to damage this trim.  Once the plastic bolt base inserts are removed using a tool such as panel remover, the liner can be pushed out of the way.  Be careful not to damage the liner.

Use a flat blade screw driver and hand blows aimed away from the body to remove the upper antenna retainer on the top side of the fender.  You can then remove the old antenna shaft.  The assembly is held within the fender with one bolt.  There are two connectors - power and antenna coax.  Remove the single bolt and carefully pull the antenna assembly from the top of fender seal and maneuver the assembly so you can disconnect the antenna coax plastic retainer to bottom bracket.  It is a plastic pin in a square whole.  Manually work the pin out of the hole.  You will not be disconnecting the antenna coax.  With the electric connector in view, place a flat blade screwdriver in the release and work the connector apart.

Remove all the screws holding the plastic cover on the assembly.  Note how the external grounding wires are connected.  There is a small nut on the reverse of the center screw so prepare to catch it as you loosen the screw.  You may need a flat blade screw driver to start the separation but very little force is required.  Do not force anything.

Inside the assembly, remove the broken off notched nylon shaft.  This may require you to remove the plastic tall ring in which the antenna rolls.  Assembly is reverse of disassembly.  The notches face forward when you insert the replacement antenna shaft.  Turn on the radio and insert the notched portion of the nylon leader with the notches facing toward the front of the car.  Then turn off the radio and help feed the nylon into the motor assembly.  Now install the retaining ring on the top of the fender.

Job should take you no more than a couple of hours.