DIY - replace roof aerial

Hi Guys,

My aerial has cracked due to old age and bush-bashing and was starting to let water into the cabin in heavy rain.
I purchased a new aerial from amayama (only part is the complete unit) and installed over a few hours on a weekend.

This has been the trickiest job to date on my io and was not free from letting the neighbours know how hard it was..

The manual covers the removal/refit on supliment 54A-pg64

I added a few steps to this process to make it easier. (this is for a RH drive car with the aerial in the RH pillar)

* remove drivers seat - trust me on this, there simply isn't enough room to squeeze in otherwise
* remove the sill trim cover plate - phillips screws then it pulls off
* remove the kick pannel (the one with the bonnet release in it) single screw and it comes straight off.

the diagrams in the manual are not clear here so I've tried to be descriptive as I can.

With the kick pannel off you can start disconnecting the wiring harnesses that pass through the white bulkhead plate
- find the antenna cable first - it comes out of the side pillar tucked into the bottom of a white plastic bulkhead pannel. Disconnect the aerial cable at the junction plug just above the bonnet latch.
- remove the cable tie that secures the harnesses together (including the radio side of the aerial cable) above the bulkhead to allow the harnesses to flex more.
- tease out the cable anchor that is in the bonnet release latch frame that anchors a cable harness - you can push one side at a time of the barbs to release the plastic barb
- unplug the rectangular plug that is housed in the white bulkhead pannel and sit to the side

* remove white plastic bulkhead pannel: you should now be able to remove the bulkhead pannel with a thin flat-blade screwdriver - four clips (two each side) anchor it into the hole in the pillar. Remove it from the pillar and tuck it up out of the way - it should still have a harness attached to it with a cable anchor.

* gently tug on the aerial cable and tease out the bottom of the aerial tube - it's just tucked in the side of the pillar frame behind the bonnet latch.

* Tape a strong piece of cord to the bottom of the aerial tube and tape the aerial cable to the cord to keep in line and prevent snagging when pulling it out. cord needs to be long enough to reach up the pillar as you will need the cord to get the replacement aerial back in.

* unscrew the aerial from the roof and gently tease the aerial out - allow the cord to follow up the pillar - it will likely snag and you may need to be a tad forceful.

* when re-fitting the aerial you will find pulling on the cord will help bend it around the corner - you may need to be forceful.

* once back through re-seat the aerial tube inside the pillar and tuck the cable into the slot in the white bulkhead pannel - re-fit all cables and cable anchors.