Antenna replacement? Suggestions?

[SlowPro48]

He's talking about the antenna base, not the mast. Well - both actually - but masts that fit the Isuzu base are a dime a dozen, while a reasonably priced Isuzu base is near impossible to find. Go ahead and call Merlin about the price. I bet you won't be buying OEM!

David - try doing an eBay search for "Ford Focus antenna base" - or VW Jetta, or Toyota Yaris... maybe one of those will work and they're 1/5 the cost of OEM. Hard to tell just by looking at pics though - need dimensions to know if it will fit properly. My antenna is in the same condition as yours. The plinth is pretty much falling apart. I dread replacing it because the headliner will have to be removed. What a PITA. So to stave that project off as long as possible I used black RTV to seal up the cracks and keep water from getting to the headliner. Needs to be replaced though....

....So if anybody out there has already found a good substitute, chime in and let us know!

Thanks!

[Ldub]

I dread replacing it because the headliner will have to be removed. What a PITA.

Thanks!

I'm not 100% sure on that...

I think it might be possible to reach with just the rear ceiling panel removed, & the H-L held down just enough...

[samneil2000]

That's correct. My radio wouldn't tune in a station for crap and I remembered something about the factory antenna being "powered" and that it could go out. I went to Auto Zone and bought a short flexible antenna with base and mounted it up on the roof. I think it was a tight fit and I had to fight it a bit. I'm sure the guys with the more pristine VX's would want a better match to factory.
Anyways, Dub is right. All I did was remove the rear plastic panel and could reach it easily while standing on the back of the VX.

Oh yeah, and it does tune in stations better now to boot.

I'm not 100% sure on that...

I think it might be possible to reach with just the rear ceiling panel removed, & the H-L held down just enough...