Mercedes-Benz Forum banner

antenna mast replacements

6K views 44 replies 15 participants last post by  khomer2 
#1 ·
so the Mercedes antenna mast is stupid expensive because of the no-longer-usable cell phone feature. is there any more generic Hirschmann antenna mast that will fit these? wife's wagon needs one soon, even with lubrication the mast is acting sticky going up and down.
 
#2 ·
Did you remove the mast and lube the cable, or did you just lube the shaft?

I was just mulling this over recently because the worn plastic tip was bugging me, and it was making noise and sticking a little when the top plastic segment would retract. After balking at the price of the replacement and reading reviews of the URO, I put some JB Weld on the tip, sanded smooth and round, and and primed and painted with plastic trim paint. I lubed with the toothed plastic cable with synth grease and it's smoother and quieter than it's ever been.
 
#3 ·
yeah, I was just hoping there was some standard Hirschmann non-Cell that would fit. I do note that FCPeuro has the cell phone Hirschmann non-MBZ branded for half the price of the MBZ antenna but thats still 2-4X more than the generic hirschmann which fit my old Volvo.
 
#4 ·
Is that the $70 mast?

I'm willing to bet that there is at least a cheaper Hirschmann for another model that will fit, but what sucks is that the retaining nut isn't removable on most that I've seen other than the cell antenna. So it isn't possible to see if it'll thread into the antenna assembly mounted to the car. I think that the non-cell antenna from the earlier W201/124 will work. I was fighting with a broken antenna from an older car at the JY to get the chrome nut off for a spare until I realized that it was cupped for the big chrome tip and wouldn't look right on my car w/ the cell antenna. But other than that it looked identical.

I take it there's an obvious reason that the mast from the Volvo won't work on the MBZ? If not, why not give it a go?
 
#5 ·
I don't have a volvo anymore, so I can't measure it to see if its the same base outer diameter, and stuff. on my volvo 740 wagon, the antenna came out of the TOP of the roof above the D pillar, so it had an extra long tail... you can see the (retracted) antenna here... the hirschmann motor is down below the rear deck, the deck is the level of the top of the bumper, it has a flexible tube that reachs up to that antenna port.

 
#7 ·
I don't bother replacing masts anymore. More often than not some part of the mechanism fails a short while later.

I fit all my 124's with new antennas as per the pic. I get these for £45 ea so it's a good option! Using the lube / cleaning wipes keeps them going. My 300E-24 has been running one of these for about 10 years no issues.
 

Attachments

#9 ·
Yes it fits the stock MB Grommet. Indeed with the chrome cap on top it makes for a better seal than the original ‘ball’ inside the grommet. (I did have to trim a little of the rubber from the bottom of the MB Grommet but it doesn’t matter – only surplus material inside the trunk)

As for fitting a Wagon I’m not sure as I only have sedans.
 

Attachments

#22 ·
JC's point was that at this point, 20-30 years after these cars were made, their antenna motors are likely worn out. I'd be inclined to install that new motor with the non-cellular mast, then just replace those masts in the future, although I'm not finding a part number for them.
 
#24 ·
That's a fair point, but the universal looks bulbous and a bit truckish IMO. It has the appearance of a CB antenna base.

If your OE motor is still going strong and hasn't been strained pushing up a sticking mast or damaged by corrosion, it's prolly got quite a bit of life left.
 
#28 ·
Really it’s a non issue but you could always leave off the chrome disc too (Or paint it as Volvo says). I liked how it fitted on top – totally watertight seal vs the OE ball socket setup. For me it’s also about the function of the antenna. I have been unlucky in that of 4 original antennas I have they all had defects but at circa 30 years old I guess that’s no surprise.

From a different angle- (What CB radio? :) )
 

Attachments

#30 ·
I did see a manual pull-out antenna on Hirschmann's site, the Auta 4000 with various submodels. they don't have very good US distribution, so I'm not sure where you'd find one. the random version I looked up on amazon germany was more expensive than the complete power antenna assembly that JC220 listed.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top