In my forgetfulness in driving a taller car (previously a sedan), I accidentally backed up too quickly out of my garage, clipping my antenna somewhat loose... I know. Anyone have ideas how to safely remove it so I can remount it with 3M adhesive? There doesn't appear to be an easy access from inside.
Removing & Fixing Antenna Fin?
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I have this problem too. Does anyone know what's involved in tightening this up again? It's all working well, but there is a gap and I worry about moisture getting in.
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13,172 Posts
The headliner is supposed to come down. That requires a lot of work. Look up the Prinsu roof rack installation instructions to see how.
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If yours is loose or has a gap from you hitting it on something, then, see my previous reply.
If it's been that way since you got the car, then, I'd report it to your dealership and ask them to address it.
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Thank you so much.
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Any time. Hopefully you can skip pulling the entire thing down. Good luck.
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Those Prinsu instructions are great. If all you need to do is tighten it, you can just pull the top trim and an upper side panel. I had to take two screws out of the lower side panel to loosen it enough to pull the upper one out. One screw is above the rear cup holders and the other is where the cargo cover hooks in. Then just give the headliner a little tug to pull out the clips. 22mm nut.
Unfortunately, tightening it didn’t get rid of the gap for me. The nut was slipping with maybe 10 ft-lbs of torque. The driver backed into a garage door so maybe the bolt is bent?
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After taking the fin off, I noticed the roof was actually creased around the hole and I suspect that’s what’s causing the gap.
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After bending in the creases as best I could with the plastic butt of a screwdriver, the fin sat better, but not perfect. I used a liberal application of RTV around the rim of the fin to fill in the cracks.
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Unfortunately, tightening it didn’t get rid of the gap for me. The nut was slipping with maybe 10 ft-lbs of torque. The driver backed into a garage door so maybe the bolt is bent?
After taking the fin off, I noticed the roof was actually creased around the hole and I suspect that’s what’s causing the gap.
After bending in the creases as best I could with the plastic butt of a screwdriver, the fin sat better, but not perfect. I used a liberal application of RTV around the rim of the fin to fill in the cracks.
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Jack, would you mind commenting on how your RTV fix is working so far? I've got a nearly brand new 2021 subaru ascent that I just did this to (backing up into my garage door which hung before making it all the way up, sigh).
I took it into a body shop today for an estimate but got told in so many words to just perform the fix you mention because the repair was going to be well north of $1k. This is my family mover and I hope to drive it into the ground but it currently only has 4500 miles on it. I know RTV has pretty good temperature / aging resistance and while mine is normally parked in a garage (clearly), I do live in central Texas so lots of heat and sun if we're out daytripping or on vacation. Any thoughts on how long you expect your fix to hold up?
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