I'm so f'n sick of this g.d antenna not going down, or up.

Being the whiz that I am, I searched the forum for instructions after speaking with Lew (hlgeorge) a little bit. I am no further ahead.

I can't pull the mast out through the top and I can't pull it out through the bottom.

According to this pdf that Lew posted, it should simply come out of the top. Too bad there's some black thing with a wire stuck to it that makes it bigger than the hole it's supposed to pull through.

So I tried the "pull it out the bottom" option. Unfortunately, the mast is stuck extended too far to do this. Great.

I have no way of moving the mast. With my bright ideas, I pulled the motor apart while it was still in it's position. I pulled the teeth belt thinger off the roller thing and the motor began working (not that I care anyways). the problem is still the fact the mast is stuck in an extended position, it can't be removed from the motor apparently and I can't removed the teeth belt thinger from the mast... I even tried pliers.

If only I had a hacksaw.

 

This might be a stupid question, but did you remove the chrome nut from the antenna top on your fender. It's not really a nut but it has two flat sides to fit a open ended wrench on. Once that is removed the antenna pulls out the top.

 

I did. It was the first thing I removed. I'm about to try standing on the car wearing gloves and just tugging on the thing until it comes off. Or until I lose my grip and fly backwards... whichever comes first I guess.

 

Can you have some one in the car push the radio on button while you trying to pull out the antenae? With the chrome nut off, the shaft and the plastic gears should come right out. Jack

 

I tried man. The antenna/mast does not move at all. I pulled the entire assembly apart at this point... the only thing left to disconnect is the mast and it will not budge. Nor will what's left of the tooth belt. It's stuck in there too. I'll see if I can load up some pictures.

 

I must have missed the lead up to this, but if the antenna is stuck up, why not just break the mast off and pull the motor assembly out through the bottom? You can probably break it with one hand. No hacksaw necessary.

 

Here we go.

The gold part is the thread where the chrome nut was screwed.


As a reference, you can see the gold thread. You also see the black thing preventing me from pulling the mast up any further.


And finally, you see the mess I made of the motor assembly.

 

I'll end up doing that. I just want the bloody thing down. It looks silly stuck up 6-8 inches. Before I take my anger out on it, I'll be calm and cool and ask for help first.

 

It looks to me like you should be able to take some snips and cut the little cog thingy on the bottom right of the photo. That would release the mast and you could just pull it out. But then you're stuck without a working antenna. You'd have to remove the motor assembly to get out the remaining piece of the cog belt, then you could install the new one.

 

A telescoping antenna is not necessary. I just want the thing permanently down. I've soaked it in WD40 a couple times... tried to move it, no luck. I'm thinking I may just need to eliminated the middle pieces: keep the base where the connections are affixed and the top to cap off the nut piece. But then I'll need to search for replacement of some sort.

 

I think the mast is just corroded. If you can get it out, (it is not supposed to come out with the gold threads, but from them) then cut out the plastic chain drive. A new one can be easily fitted if the motor is working.

[ In hind sight, I would have clipped off the antenna and removed the antenna assembly and laid it on its side before opening it up. Many parts to loose in there. ]

 

Thanks Lew. I would've laid it on it's side but I couldn't get it out. I angled it a little so I wouldn't lose any. I cut the plastic chain drive when I tried to pull it out with a pair of pliers and it made no difference. Was still stuck.

Good news though. I hammered the antenna back into itself with a socket wrench... I can now pull it into the trunk. So I'll go from there and see what the issue is... or just leave it. Not sure yet.

Either way; radio works and the antenna is down. Problem solved (half-assed).

 

How good is the reception?

Try locking a pair of vice grips on the mast and then tapping upwards on the vice grips with a hammer.

And once it's out ... question for you, could one of the euro style masts be threaded in?

 

Upon further experimentation and with some hindsight...

Reception for the stations it can get is excellent. Prior to tearing it apart, it could get only the Sarnia stations. In the Camaro I can some London, Detroit and Chatham station (1hr away) plus a few other stations in the nearby vicinity. In the XK I could only get the stations from the immediate area and a popular station just outside of the city was spotty. Now, I can only get a few local stations (missing the most popular one of course).

If this happens to you... use a rubber mallet... not a socker wrench (scratches the antenna), a hammer (same as previous) or your head (hurts you more than you hurt it!).

By using pliers I can get the antenna to move up and down a little bit, but it's extremely tough. I have to use a lot of muscle to do it.

Plumsauce, I will check that out for you.... once I'm able to get the thing out. Still won't budge from the assembly.

 

Sorry Plum, that thing just isn't coming out. After using enough WD40 to allow a tectonic plate to slide halfway around the world, all I could get to move was the bottom section of the mast... and very easily too I might add! I sprayed the stuff on the interior, all over the teeth and I'm sure some got inside the mast itself. Now it takes no effort to move up and down.

Reception has improved. I reconnected the ground and I can now pick up a few more channels.

Car looks better now too.

A piece of advice from a guy who knows little about anything: if you're bored, remove your antenna and motor and grease it up yourself before you run into problems. Each time I pushed it back in, it came out black... it was filthy.

I'm going to assume the previous owner failed to maintain it properly, thus causing it to seize or just get stuck with all sorts of dirt.

Whenever it is I get around to finding a replacement everything, I'll ensure I do that each spring or fall.

 

Jag antenna # UA4120AB shows a cost of $359 list. You can buy a complete universal antenna replacement for between $50 and $65. There are not that many sources for electric antennas, and it's just another example how Jaguar is ripping the heads off their customers. Electric antennas are just generic items.

Just order you a new antenna and take the 5 minutes to install it. Then, you can go enjoy your day.