Hi....

So, my antenna broke. My repair guy told me when I buy a replacement
mast, the white part, that the gears grab onto, that it be smooth, as
opposed to grooves in it.
So I have the smooth one and it will not grab.
I put in the old one, and it actually has tiny ridges, and it grabs fine.
Since it would cost more to ship back.
I'm thinking of making some tiny grooves with a knife to see if it
will help.
Anyone heard of doing this?...They appear to be the same thickness.
Thanks
Linda

Linda no it wont work .If you look on the very end tip of your old mast ,the one that broke .
. it will have a number on there ,this is the type you need . But you unit in the car boot will need cleaning out in case the bits of the old mast is still inside .Remove it from the boot ,if you are unable to get some one to remove it for you and clean it out .So the new mast will work on the gears inside it and not get damaged on them. The new mast will have slots all the way down .In the carton it comes in you will find all instructions .Look on youtube videos to see how its done..

I think both smooth or groove ones would work. Smooth one may be more difficult to feed into the box and pick up by the pinch roller. You can try to open up the antenna box and feed it by hand. The roller is held in place by a screw and is about 3/8" in diameter. It is time consuming and a PITA to hand fed unless you do not want to return and exchange for new one. Cutting some grooves may help the initial uptake but you void the warranty. The plastic is long and the end is not used even if antenna is fully extended so cutting a few notches at the end does not hurt much.

__________________
Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

These masts come to size no need to remove a part of plastic drive or do anything to them .I have done this job . So if you purchase another mast , all you need to know will be in the packet .Or i can post up on here just what you have to do.

The old mast, the white plastic part had little ridges, the replacement
i got is Smooth (my mechanic was mistaken).
So when I put the old mast in it will grab. But when I put the new
smooth mast in, it will not grab.
Well i putt little grooves in with a knife and i will try, to see if that works.
It was more expensive to send it back, and i don't believe there is
anything caught in the gears inside. Bugs me when I put on the radio and
its just static or some strange language i've never even heard.....
I'll let you know if it works.
Thanks

My antenna was flaky on my old '85, so I disconnected the motor and set the antenna height by hand to about 12" high. This was fine for local FM stations.

__________________
Charlie

---------------------------
'66 VW 1300 96K miles
'97 E300D 239K miles
'85 300D 203K miles (sold Sep 2012)

Good to keep in mind...

You dont just change something to fit .It must be made for the job .You go doing silly things with it and you will end up replacing with a new one in the end.

Either grooved or smooth will work. Just get the remainder of the old mast out of the motor.

My antenna is now manual. Oh well.

__________________
1987 300E

rob never mind mate you can listen to good music in the end like us all .As they say in rip off Britain , more than 2 ways to skin a cat.

Yeah and at least 4 ways to filet a mignon!

__________________
1987 300E