I have an 87 series III. the telescoping antenna will retract to the last section then stops and goes no further. it will always extend fully but never retract all the way. Any thoughts?

 

Boy, What a beauty of a car. I can't help you but it is pretty much like mine. Mine gets to the point shown in photo and the clicks about 6 times then stops. It goes up only about 3/4 way. Waiting to hear who has a fix for for yours so I can also fix mine

this is the down position of my antenna
.

 

I took apart the antenna casing on my 84. There is a reel inside that the plastic line used to extend and retract the antenna winds on. My bet would be that you have a combination of things going on inside that casing. That casing should be full of grease. If water has gotten in, and in my case it had but you wouldn't have known it by looking at the outside, it causes this gummy yellow crud to form. This may be gumming up the real. Combine that with lack of lubrication of the plastic line that goes through a cable sheath and you get an antenna that is hard to move. Try removing it and cleaning and see if that doesn't help. The fact that it still goes up and down indicates that the plastic cable isn't broken. So your problem has something to do with the reel.

 

Very easy: I have done this many times - on more than 20 Series III cars . The reason the aerial will not retract is because the segments are binding because of dirt and corrosion. To fix this, fully extend the aerial. It helps to have a helper turning the radio on and off at your command. You stand by the aerial and as it extends you pull it up to its full extension. Now take metal polish and wiping UP, not down, polish every segment until they rotate freely (the top-most segment will not rotate because it is attached to the nylon cord) - and until the segments are smooth to the touch. Now you clean the aerial, paying particular attention to the segment joins; a fine toothbrush is useful here to get rid of dirt and polish. When you are satisfied that the aerial is clean and smooth, take silicone spray and a cloth; spray the cloth liberally and wipe the entire aerial (upwards). The bottom "frozen" segment should get special attention with regard to cleanliness, free movement and lubrication.
Now, have your helper turn the radio off: after a pause it will begin to retract but you will help it collapse completely, pushing that "frozen" segment down fully. Now repeat the raising and retracting exercise. You will find that the silicone will bring dirt out from the segment joins so each time you raise the aerial wipe it upwards to clean. Do this until the entire aerial retracts and rises fully. This process will prepare the aerial for another decade of proper performance but once-a-year cleaning and lubrication are advised.
Do not even think of getting into the aerial motor unless you have done the process just described. If your aerial rises but does not fuly retract, the problem and solution are almost certainly presented above...

 

Awesome! that sounds much easier than taking it apart!

 

in my case, the original 1983 antenna motor burned out, yes it is burned. But the cable and antenna are fine.

David found me a replacement antenna but I want to save the old cable and antenna from the old one.

I tried to remove the insides after removing the motor cover but no cigar, everything is stuck frozen in there.

Any tips to be able to salvage the antenna and cable?