I'm trying to replace my antenna mast with a new one, on my 2000 XJ8. I've got it all apart, but can't get the old mast out of the tube. The old one is free and loose due to the nylon linear gear being completely destroyed. I can raise and lower it by hand but who the hell wants to do that every time I want to use the radio. I tried tugging on it but it just won't budge.
Any thoughts?

 

Watch this video:


There is a lock sleeve that holds the replacement mast in the motor portion of the mast.

 

Well, how do you get that sleeve out of the mast! How to unlock it without destroying everything?
That video is OK as far as it goes, having watched it maybe a dozen times, but he does not show how he got the mast/locking sleeve out.

Thanks anyway.

 

You don't need to remove the antenna assembly from the car, it is actually easier to replace the mast with the antenna in place and connected. Keep the radio switch on so that the radio comes on with the ignition key in ACC position. Unscrew the chrome bezel that sits on top, around the antenna mast. Turn the ignition key to ACC and the old antenna mast should come out all the way and a length of the nylon linear gear should be exposed. You should then be able to just pull the nylon gear out. Before you do this, note in which direction the gears on the nylon cord are facing. If you still cannot pull the nylon cord out, tie firmly a few cable ties around the nylon cord close to its entry point into the antenna tube (to prevent the cord from being pulled in again) and switch the ignition key to off. When the antenna motor stop running, switch the key to ACC again and this should completely eject the nylon cord. At this point, do not switch the ignition key off, keep it in ACC.

Feed the nylon gear of the new antenna into the tube as far as it will go and push on it a bit against the stop, making sure its gears are orientated as the old ones were. Keep the mast in the retracted position. Now it is better to have someone switch the ignition off while you hold the new mast and the nylon cord. The moment the ignition is switched off, the antenna motor should start pulling the nylon cord in. If it does not start travelling in, give it a bit of push while the antenna motor is still running. When the antenna motor stops running, the nylon cord may not still be fully in or the bottom of the mast may have hit the edge of the tube and not gone in as you cannot properly align the mast with the hole while it is travelling in. Just wait until the motor stops and then feed the bottom of the mast into the hole by extending it downwards if the motor has stopped before the bottom of the mast has reached the hole. Once you have inserted the bottom segment of the mast, put the chrome bezel over the mast and screw it back on. Don't worry if the mast is half extended at this point. Now just switch the ignition key to ACC and the mast should fully extend. When you then switch the key off, the mast should retract all the way in.

 

Yep. An easy task.