I figured this job would be a snap and of course I was wrong

I pulled out the old mast and mysteriously its plastic cable was missing entirely (work of one of the previous owners). I expected there to still be pieces inside the housing so I took off the cover and I can't see any pieces left.
Inserting the new mast, the motor catches it and starts to pull it in but it just gets stuck right after the curved yellowish (with age) plastic piece. I have the teeth facing towards the front of the car.

Any reason it would be getting stuck and not pulled all the way in?


There must also be some safety feature built in because about every 3 times I raise and lower the antenna, the motor then stops working until you wait a good while and try again.

__________________
-Dan
1983 240D AT, 163K running on VO, "The Patience Tester"