I have a 1996 Infiniti I30 whose power antenna quit working. Taking it apart, discovered that the motor shaft rusted away. I realize there are cheap aftermarket replacements for the entire unit, but for the fun of it, I wanted to see if I could source just the replacement motor. Seems like a simple enough unit and these were installed in many different vehicles. Based on an eBay posting I came across, it looks like the exact same power antenna module was used on a 1998 Ford Explorer, so my sense is these should be "easy" to locate. But I've hunted high and low and can't seem to find any source for these motors. Here's a picture of what it looks like - notice the broken shaft! Anyone have any good pointers. Again, this is not as much about replacing with a cheap aftermarket but about the satisfaction of bringing something over 25 years old back alive! Many thanks in advance.

Back when antennas were mostly in fenders and not on glass, I'm sure those motors could be found pretty easily. Nowadays, the things that still use worm drives (like door lock actuators) all use "toy boat" motors with extreme gearing and plastic hardware. Probably your only option would be a worm gear from a place like Stock Drive applied to a similar motor with a straight shaft, but my guess is that the gear plus shipping would cost you as much as a whole eBay assembly.