Hyundai Repair: 2005 Sonata antenna mast replacement, antenna mast, antenna assembly

Question
QUESTION: I went through the car wash with mom's Sonata and never thought about the radio until too late. The mast is bent but still in one piece and still operates but won't fully retract.

I have the new mast/cable assembly and ... now what? Do I have to completely remove the motor to replace it? How do you get to it? (Would it be easier to just junk the car???? :O)  
thanks for the help,
Joel

ANSWER: If you can get all of the old mast out, it's a rather simple procedure, although it can be tricky to get the antenna to grab the new mast.

1.  Remove the nut holding the mast into the antenna (12mm I think).
2.  Turn the radio on and pull the antenna mast out.  There should be a round disc and a ball on the bottom.  If not, you'll need to remove the antenna assembly and take the rest of the pieces out of the antenna.  If the disc and ball are present, continue with step 3.
3.  Push the plastic of the new antenna mast down into the antenna as far as possible.
4.  Have an assistant turn off the radio while you're pushing the plastic into the antenna.
5.  If the antenna does not grab onto the mast, return to step 2.  Otherwise, continue with step 6.
6.  Install and tighten the mast nut.
7.  Turn the radio on.
8.  Turn the radio off.  Your mast should now be properly seated.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well the old one came OUT easy enough....complete with disc and ball....
But the motor won't grab the new one. I've tried pushing it down (with radio on and then turned off) and while I hear the motor run, I can't feel it grabbing at all. Tried it a dozen times tonight and...nothing. Getting some sleep and trying tomorrow, but would appreciate any ideas.
Thanks for the help so far !

Answer
Sometimes it's hard to get the ball into the antenna motor.  When attempting to install the antenna mast into the antenna, continue pushing on the plastic until the antenna motor grabs it.  If you look at the ball, you'll see that it's not completely circular, either.  If you cannot make it work in one position, rotate the plastic a little and try again.  

Getting everything out with the old antenna mast is the trickiest part, but getting the new antenna mast in is the most difficult part.  Persistence pays off.