Best possible way to take off the stock unicorn antenna?!

M

M3TL

Member
Location
Costa Mesa,CA
Name
Kyle
New to the forum here and just bought a 2008 Infiniti FX35. I'm already tired of looking at the horrible unicorn antenna, I've tried to pull down my headliner but scared of cracking/messing it up to get to the bolt to remove this stupid ugly antenna.. if anyone can shed some light on this with some pictures or tips would be great.
 
You can just unscrew it and replace it with a smaller universal antenna, that's what I did.

---------- Post added at 11:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:30 PM ----------

I'm not sure if you want to remove the long antenna or actually remove the full base of it
 
g0ldm4g3 said:
You can just unscrew it and replace it with a smaller universal antenna, that's what I did.

---------- Post added at 11:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:30 PM ----------

I'm not sure if you want to remove the long antenna or actually remove the full base of it
Click to expand...

I want to completely remove the base of the antenna.
 
I might have some pics I can dig around,

but basically, if you remove your two sun visors, and remove the little business card holder, you should be able to pull down the headliner enough to fit a large crescent wrench in there and undo the nut, then you just unplug the thing and fish the wires out.

To cap the hole, purchase a pack of the square, and rectangle rubber caps for metal railings at your hardware store find one that fits and shove it in the hole.

Unless you have a white car, the cap is like invisible unless you are looking for it.
 
meme405 said:
I might have some pics I can dig around,

but basically, if you remove your two sun visors, and remove the little business card holder, you should be able to pull down the headliner enough to fit a large crescent wrench in there and undo the nut, then you just unplug the thing and fish the wires out.

To cap the hole, purchase a pack of the square, and rectangle rubber caps for metal railings at your hardware store find one that fits and shove it in the hole.

Unless you have a white car, the cap is like invisible unless you are looking for it.
Click to expand...

That will be awesome if you have some pictures, The way your describing seems legit. The motor from the sun roof dosnt get in the way while shoving the crescent wrench in there?
 
M3TL said:
That will be awesome if you have some pictures, The way your describing seems legit. The motor from the sun roof dosnt get in the way while shoving the crescent wrench in there?
Click to expand...

Nope it doesnt. To be clear, if you pull down the headliner I found it easier to reach in from the windshield side. It's a tight fit for sure, but with a flashlight you can see the nut, and once you give it one twist with the wrench you can wiggle your hand in there and loosen it off.

It looks like this is the only picture I have of the process:

IMAG0925_zpswn4tvw7b.jpg

That's what the actual base looks like, you can see it plugs into a harness and along with the nut and that harness undone you can just yank the thing off your roof through the top.

To lower your headliner:

-Remove both sides of the A-pillar trim, these just clip in.
-Remove your sun visors or push them out of the way.
-Remove all the retaining clips (like the business car holder)
-Gently start to pull the headliner down from the windshield side, if you feel it start to get stuck, look for any clips holding it in place and pry them out.
-Once you have enough room grab a flashlight and look for the nut attached at the base of the antenna
-From there you should be able to just remove the thing.
 

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meme405 said:
Nope it doesnt. To be clear, if you pull down the headliner I found it easier to reach in from the windshield side. It's a tight fit for sure, but with a flashlight you can see the nut, and once you give it one twist with the wrench you can wiggle your hand in there and loosen it off.

It looks like this is the only picture I have of the process:



That's what the actual base looks like, you can see it plugs into a harness and along with the nut and that harness undone you can just yank the thing off your roof through the top.

To lower your headliner:

-Remove both sides of the A-pillar trim, these just clip in.
-Remove your sun visors or push them out of the way.
-Remove all the retaining clips (like the business car holder)
-Gently start to pull the headliner down from the windshield side, if you feel it start to get stuck, look for any clips holding it in place and pry them out.
-Once you have enough room grab a flashlight and look for the nut attached at the base of the antenna
-From there you should be able to just remove the thing.
Click to expand...

Sounds easy enough! ill give it a go tomorrow. Thank you for all the info! Ill post pics up when completed maybe help some others out with some pics!
 
I removed the light covers and if i remember correctly you remove a screw. You yank down real hard on the side of the overhead console. The clips are stubborn. I had to do this to remove that antenna in order to vinyl my roof. Btw this is the gps antenna right?
 
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