My antenna was not always going down properly. I thought that the teeth on the drive cable were stripped, so I bought another one to replace it. It worked fine except that when it retracted it would only go down with about 4 inches left up. I looked at the old mast cable and discovered that the teeth were in tact, but the cable had broken at the lowered point. So I am assuming the new mast will not go all the way down because there is a 4 inch piece of the old cable left in the antenna mechanism. Any suggestions on how to get the broken piece out of the mechanism?

 

Hi Lew,

This is another one of those jobs that people dismiss as easy, except when it isn't...
You'll have to remove and disassemble the motor to remove the broken drive cable section. There aren't any "one way" assembly techniques used (no plastic welding or rivets), the unit can be opened and reassembled properly with a little time invested.

 

I had to do this to replace the mast in my wife's XJ. It was not difficult for me to disassemble. As JagTech says, it just takes time.

 

My major concern is that it is near the top hydraulics and I am scared to death to even touch them. When I get the nerve, I guess I will attempt it. Thanks!

 

Well, today I decided to tackle the problem. What harm could I do? I could replace the complete antenna and be done with it or I could take to old one out and attempt to remove the broken piece of drive cable. Either way, I have to go to the trouble of removing and re-installing the antenna unit. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I had already spent the money for the replacement mast($14.00 on eBay). If I broke it or could not fix it, I would end up with a new one anyway.

Soooo..I researched the removal instructions in the JTIS and printed them out. Sounded simple enough. Right? Wrong!! The antenna is behind the top hydraulic pump, the DVD navigation disc reader and the CD player, which leaves very little room to get to the antenna. I have big hands and big fingers so that made it even more difficult. I followed the instructions and removed all the panels in the trunk except the left side one. The instructions said to disconnect the antenna lead and the electrical plug, but I did not know exactly how that was done. The leads had some slack in them so I decided to remove the antenna with them still attached so I could see how they were connected. I removed the outside trim ring, the ground strap and the two bolts that held the antenna in place. I could then pull the antenna into the trunk area with the leads still attached. I could then easily see how they were connected.

In this process, I also had to pull out the antenna drain tube and grommet. This sounds simple, but it was about a 30 minute process. I then began to notice that there was blood all over everything. Somehow in all this process I managed to cut my finger and never even noticed it. OK, antenna out. I removed the drain tube/grommet and sprayed Gunk Tar & Bug remover on it to clean it. Let it soak while I worked on the antenna. I opened up the antenna case and removed the reel housing that the cable winds up in. At this point I removed the new mast that I had replaced. Found the culprit! See picture. The lubrication seemed to be dirty and hardening, so I re-lubed the internal parts with lithium grease. Re-assembled the antenna and washed the drain tube and grommet.

Long story short, I re-installed the antenna, re-installed the antenna mast and it now works as it should. About 4 hours, a lot of cussing, some blood and I now have a working antenna.

 

Congratulations on your patience!

 

now you know why I charge 1 hr labor to do one

 

I would charge more than 1 hr!!!!!!