waltmail Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 (edited) Getting ready to paint trunk lid on vehicle. Rather than tape off the antennae, I decided to remove it. No problem in doing that. The up/down function has not worked in years and remains in the up position. So, the mast came out completely with what appears to be the broken/detached cable. With the antennae extended fully up there is 18" of plastic cable exposed. 30" of exposed cable when mast retracted. It remains attached to the actual top tip. At this point, since I have not removed the motor unit, is there any chance this cable is functionally long and can be reattached to the spool ( assumption)? Edited August 3, 2016 by waltmail further explanation of condition (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waltmail Posted August 3, 2016 Author Share Posted August 3, 2016 Pix of antennae; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2reattas Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 There is probably close to 4in of cable in the housing, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 X2 on Barney being the Guru of antennas. Send it to him and it will come back new with a stronger drive cable as a bonus. Cost is more than fair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drtidmore Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 I will chime in regarding the rebuild that Barney offers. It is not just "good as new" it is WAY better. Over the years of ownership, I replaced that damned antenna 4 times with the same failure mode, that stupid plastic line breaking. Barney came up with a plastic coated steel cable that should last...well it should way outlast the rest of the antenna. I ran with a fixed mast stainless antenna for quite awhile before I sent my old power antenna to Barney and while the fixed mast worked perfectly and looked nice, there is just something about the way a power antenna does it thing that just goes with the Reatta. Have your power antenna rebuilt by Barney, you won't regret it. As has been posted, the cost is VERY reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waltmail Posted August 5, 2016 Author Share Posted August 5, 2016 Barney? Calling Barney. How much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machiner 55 Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 According to the summer issue of "Reatta Road", Barney is offering "Rebuilt power antenna W/steel cord <$60 (includes return shipping)" John F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enoytsur Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Barney is the answer to your antenna; he rebuilt one for me a few months ago. However, hold off writing him about the antenna until about September 1st ... I e-spoke with him a couple of days ago and that was his message to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enoytsur Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 By the way, since Barney will be out of pocket for a bit you may want to take a trip to your local Salvage / Junk Yard to get a temporary replacement as a stop-gap until Barney can do his expert job on your old antenna. Many GM cars in the in the same age ballpark as our Reattas have the same antenna ... some have a different mounting bracket but that is easily switched out. The other thing you may run into is that you cannot find one with the exact antenna cable & plug ... that too is an easy to swap. I've done this many times over the 20+ years of having a Reatta and have never come up short at the Junkyard ... even when I find one I still look around to ensure I got the best one. Today I have a Barney one installed and a Junkyard one as a backup; which with the great job Barney does I may never need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 As noted, I am stuck in Central Indiana for a few days for the wife to have infusion antibiotic treatments. Expect to be home by 8/24 I wrote a repair instruction several years back and that can be found at www.reatta.net That instruction uses the replacement cord that was available from GM at that time....don't waste your time, the parts are overpriced and some had brittle plastic......I first went to weed eater line (.108 or .130) which works pretty well but now use plastic coated steel cable, This can be a DIY operation if you have the ability to silver solder. I rebuild your antenna for $50 plus $15 shipping (shipping has gone up) turn time is usually 2 days but I will probably be a week behind when I return home. If your antenna mast is broken or kinked, there is an extra $20 fee for replacing that. Send me a MP to get the address or phone number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waltmail Posted August 11, 2016 Author Share Posted August 11, 2016 Thank you for the info and offer, but I actually wanted this to be a DIY project. At this point I will disassemble the unit and attempt to figure out a repair or just reinstall it in the up position. I am attempting to sell the car and wanted to take care of issues. paying for repairs will not increase the return on a sale. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waltmail Posted August 22, 2016 Author Share Posted August 22, 2016 I am at the point to where I am attempting to split the motor case. I have removed the 5/6 retainer clips and and removed the mast base from the motor case. Is there a technique for splitting the case at this point to access the spool? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry yarnell Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 Drill out the rivets. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waltmail Posted August 22, 2016 Author Share Posted August 22, 2016 50 minutes ago, harry yarnell said: Drill out the rivets. All right. That worked. Thanks hugely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted August 23, 2016 Share Posted August 23, 2016 I have been off-line because of the trip to Allentown and my wifes health. Go to www.reatta.net and find a 10 year old procedure to rebuild the antenna with the then available GM part. I need to revise that procedure..... When you get the antenna apart, heat the antenna top section (where the cord goes in) with a torch and pull out the plastic, do the same on the other end "J" hook. Then either install weed eater line or steel cable that is plastic coated. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waltmail Posted August 23, 2016 Author Share Posted August 23, 2016 Looks like it's done. Thanks to 2Reattas (Harvey) and the other suggestions including the old write up Barney suggested. Ended up using the insulated twisted wire (3/32") cable from Home depot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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