1984-1996 Corvette Antenna Mast Repair

Broken power antennas seem to be a common problem on 1984-1996 Corvettes. There is a fix though, without having to dish out big bucks for a new power antenna – and the repair is a fairly simple procedure. Removal of the antenna assembly from your Corvette is required, so refer to your service manual to obtain the procedure for removing the antenna assembly from your C4 Corvette. We contacted Zip Corvette Parts, 8067 Fast Lane, Mechanicsville, VA 23111, 1-800-962-9632, and bought their C4 Corvette Antenna mast replacement kit.

For the rebuild, you will need a flat-blade screwdriver and a drill for drilling out the four small rivets in the antenna housing. You won’t be replacing the rivets, so don’t worry about replacements. The procedure should take about 15 minutes once the antenna is out of your C4 Corvette. Follow along as we rebuild your 11984-1996 Corvette Antenna Mast Repair:

01: There are a total of four brass rivets that need to be drilled out. Note that there is one in the middle of the antenna gear itself.

02: Once you have removed all of the rivets, pop off the clips around the outside of the antenna housing. Be sure to place the clips aside because you’ll need to reuse them.

03: Use a flat-blade screwdriver to carefully pry the housing cover apart. If you look where the clips were located, you’ll see a slot in which to insert the screwdriver..

04: With the antenna motor housing separated, you can carefully remove the antenna mast and gear.

05: This is why our Corvette’s antenna wasn’t working. You can see where the cable is broken. Zip’s line of Corvette Parts includes replacement antenna drive cable or complete rebuild kits with the drive cable and antenna mast. No matter what you need Zip has the right Corvette Parts for you.

06: Here is the new GM Corvette antenna rebuild kit from Zip Corvette. Our 1986 Corvette needed the mast replacement since the mast was bent in the process of “manually” moving the antenna mast.

07: GM supplies instructions with each kit. As you can see, they are not very detailed, but at least you get a diagram of how the Corvette antenna is assembled.

08: After cleaning off any old sealant, apply new sealant to the outside of the antenna housing.

09: Insert the new antenna cable’s metal hook into the gear. There is a hole in the gear that the end of the cable will fit into.

10: Carefully wrap the plastic cable around the inside track in the gear. You must keep the cable tight while doing this or it could come loose.

11: Place the gear into the antenna housing along with the new antenna mast. You will see the rubber grommets that hold the mast in place. This assembles the same way the old mast came out.

12: Now reinstall the housing cover. Make sure you press firmly on it so the rubber grommet slides on the pin on the mast. You also want to be sure that the edge all the way around the housing is seated.