Vehicle: 2004 W220 (S430) ; 2001 R129 (SL500) Sport
Location: Alabama Gulf Coast--formerly Charlottesville, VA
Posts: 1,094
It's the white nylon gear strip that feeds through the motor gears to bring the antenna up and down. Put the antenna up, clean it well with a solvent (WD-40 works), then lubricate it with spray silicone white lube. If that doesn't make the problem go away, you're looking at replacing the antenna mast. Cheap part, DIY if you like.
If that's not it, the mast may be bent or the gear on the motor may be missing a tooth or two. There aren't that many things to go wrong.
__________________ "Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you."--John Steinbeck
Vehicle: 2004 W220 (S430) ; 2001 R129 (SL500) Sport
Location: Alabama Gulf Coast--formerly Charlottesville, VA
Posts: 1,094
Quote:
Originally Posted by bearone2
this is the 1st time i've watched it and i see 3 segments and i don't hear the ratcheting sound until all 3 are extended.
how many sections are there? these 3 are 7-8" apiece.
i cleaned it with wd40 but didn't have any silicone spray.
retail on the mast/chord is $184 from the stealer, anyone cheaper?
Go to any one of the vendors that support this site, and you'll find it for 1/3 that price or less. I use Discount Auto Parts Online - Mercedes Parts, BMW Parts, Volvo Parts, Volkswagen Parts - PartsGeek.com New Auto Body Parts because I have found them to have the lowest prices (nearly always), they have a flat rate for shipping, and they usually ship the same day and I have my stuff in three days, tops. The other vendors are good too, and I use them from time. Almost anyone can beat the stealer by a ton on this part. If you look at it when you get it, you'll see it's worth about a buck and a half.
Vehicle: 2004 W220 (S430) ; 2001 R129 (SL500) Sport
Location: Alabama Gulf Coast--formerly Charlottesville, VA
Posts: 1,094
Sorry--do a thread search on this forum (or nearly any other) and you'll find a thread that shows how to replace the mast (look at the top of this forum in the Valuable R129 Threads). It may be you can take the old mast out and rethread it so you don't get it trying to extend the mast longer than it is.
- Remove mast (do a search, I believe RoadKing had the best description)
- The top section will most likely have the most resistance to movement. Using a mild abrasive cleanser, clean the top (phone) section of mast. This will remove the black, but it is chrome-color underneath.
- Clean & oil/grease mast so that all three sections extend/retract without any resistance. Don't forget to do the same to the nut atop the mount.
- Soak nylon gear strip in hot water, then 'bend' it straight
- Reinstall mast
After previously having to oil the mast every week to keep it moving, this procedure (performed over two months ago) has made it work like new again, and I haven't done anything to it since.
The antenna troubles that I have seen, all started from a litlle wheel (smaller then a dime)
in the gear mechanism the nylon cord with the teeth by going up/down it wears a groove in that little wheel and that kills the mast.
And nobody sells that wheel as far as I know.
I had the same clicking at the extended end, cleaned, greased and it still clicked. If that doesn't fix it, simply pull the whole unit out and take the unit apart to see where the pieces are slipping or broken, as stated above.
My little wheel had split in half at a couple of plastic connection points, couldn't find the part either and didn't want to replace the whole unit. Ended up screwing in two or three screws (it's been a while) to keep the pieces together and reinstalled. Trying to recall, I dont think there is much room for the screw to bite into the inner piece, or the tip of the screw caught on something. I just cant remember exactly but seems I had to snip the end off the screw and then super glued it to ensure it stayed. Still works great.
If it's a mast tooth problem on the coiled gear strip, looks like it is $45 ish at Parts.com
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