# 1990 Hardbody Extended Cab XE V6 4x4 - Antenna Replacement



## TAPAL2007 (Jul 1, 2008)

Hi. I am in the process of replacing my factory head unit (after 18 years it finally konked out -- no complaints here) with an aftermarket cd/receiver that has bluetooth capability to meet new laws for handsfree driving. I want to thank those of you who have posted the wiring harness color codes to the forum.. it was helpful. 

When I pulled the factory radio out, it became obvious that the previous owner had butchered the wiring harness for an aftermarket system then had thrown the factory unit back in to sell it. I traced it out and wired it all back together and soldered in the new connectors/harness and they are now matched to the head unit plug ins. They also had cut the antenna leads into six seperate pieces (God, knows why?) and twisted them back together. The new head unit uses a motorola plug (not a diversity plug) and my old stock antenna mount has gotten loose and beat up over the years.

I purchased a replacement antenna (not a diversity antenna) that Crutchfield stocks for this model/year truck. I have to say after pulling the glove box and dropping the interior trim panels that I am a bit flumoxed... There just isn't any room to access the underside of where the antenna is mounted.... I can see where to access the diversity antenna leads that are grounded to the front passenger pillar but this doesn't help me with replacnig the mast itself. The firewall inside the engine prevents me from seeing where the pass through grommet is located between the fender and the cab. I loosened the antenna this afternoon to see if I could move the wire and now the retaining clip inside the fender has dropped and I can't get the mounting screw to tighten back down to keep the antenna in place (read ... very frustrated here.. lol).

Has anyone replaced an antenna on their hardbody truck before? It looks like I will either have to drop the blower and/or pull the dash or take off the fender and possibly the inner fender wall (with all the stuff that is attached to it). Before I randomly pick a potentially (wrong) direction that is going to consume a lot of time and effort, I thought I'd ask and see if anyone has dealt with this before and can offer advice on the least painful way to replace the antenna.

The crutchfield manual and the Chilton's guide that I have for the truck are very generic and don't have a factory diagram for the factory antenna system/wiring diagrams for the factory radio harness.

Also, could anyone tell me what the black box under the passenger side seat is for... I was wondering if it might be a factory amp for the rear speakers that I may need to bypass?

Thinking outside of the box... it looks like the first segment of the antenna lead may be intact (it has continuity between the antenna and the plug). Would a standard antenna connector work to extend it the extra 3 feet to the new head unit, the plug looks very similar to the motorola type plug, and then just run the ground from the head unit to the frame... or would this require some special type of connector made for the diversity antenna? I could then potentially just use some metal putty to remount the antenna mast.... (I'm starting to grab at straws... I know.)

Thanks for taking the time to look at my problem and any insight you can provide.

Todd


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## zanegrey (Dec 5, 2005)

you will just have to remove the glove box and the metal pan behind it ..
this will give you access to the tie downs and the meeting point of the second plug in ..
then you will have to loosen the passenger fender to almost removal.
the antenna has a ground strap that is held by the screw down,,it can be tricky.
also the antenna is at an angle down thru the fender towards the front of truck.

then carefully tape a wire on to the old one so when you pull the old one out ..you have a way to pull the new one back in..


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