I usually post over in the W123 forum (since I own 3 of 'em), and work in a Mercedes parts department. I thought y'all might be interested in this little tip. If the rubber tip comes off your roof mounted antenna, instead of buying a whole new cover for +$100, do this.
1.Have your dealer order a Euro antenna tip (part number 202-827-00-31) for about $10.
2.Remove the painted cap from your car (small hex head screw) and slightly ream out the hole with a 15/32" or 1/2" drill bit.
3.Insert the new rubber antenna into the hole. You will have to mark how much excess you have on the inside, and cut it off.
4.Put back in place, and secure with a drop of epoxy or super glue from the inside.
5. Reinstall the cover onto the roof, making sure you get the gasket in place.
We've done dozens of cars like this, and haven't had any problems. It sure makes the customer happy to save $100. Hope this helps somebody out!
Jamie
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I usually post over in the W123 forum (since I own 3 of 'em), and work in a Mercedes parts department. I thought y'all might be interested in this little tip. If the rubber tip comes off your roof mounted antenna, instead of buying a whole new cover for +$100, do this.
1.Have your dealer order a Euro antenna tip (part number 202-827-00-31) for about $10.
2.Remove the painted cap from your car (small hex head screw) and slightly ream out the hole with a 15/32" or 1/2" drill bit.
3.Insert the new rubber antenna into the hole. You will have to mark how much excess you have on the inside, and cut it off.
4.Put back in place, and secure with a drop of epoxy or super glue from the inside.
5. Reinstall the cover onto the roof, making sure you get the gasket in place.
We've done dozens of cars like this, and haven't had any problems. It sure makes the customer happy to save $100. Hope this helps somebody out!
Jamie
Hey, Jamie.
Thanks for the tip...mods, let's add this to the sticky thread, what do you think?
And Jamie, you'll be sorry you admitted to working in an MB parts dept, your PM box will fill up in no time.
Take care and enjoy the ride,
Greg
__________________ If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under. Ronald Reagan
When you learn from your own mistakes, that's experience.
When you learn from the mistakes of others, that's wisdom.
When you fail to learn from any mistakes, that's government.
I usually post over in the W123 forum (since I own 3 of 'em), and work in a Mercedes parts department. I thought y'all might be interested in this little tip. If the rubber tip comes off your roof mounted antenna, instead of buying a whole new cover for +$100, do this.
1.Have your dealer order a Euro antenna tip (part number 202-827-00-31) for about $10.
2.Remove the painted cap from your car (small hex head screw) and slightly ream out the hole with a 15/32" or 1/2" drill bit.
3.Insert the new rubber antenna into the hole. You will have to mark how much excess you have on the inside, and cut it off.
4.Put back in place, and secure with a drop of epoxy or super glue from the inside.
5. Reinstall the cover onto the roof, making sure you get the gasket in place.
We've done dozens of cars like this, and haven't had any problems. It sure makes the customer happy to save $100. Hope this helps somebody out!
Jamie
you rock.....it looks great thanks for saving me 110 bucks.....i owe you a drink
Hey, folks. About to do this, noticed that mine was broken when I washed the car today. I'll go ahead and snap some pics, post a pictorial DIY to complement Jamiek's great idea. Just waiting for the quote from Duval for this and a few other things.
greg I broke mine with a car cover, be very very careful when using car covers don't move around. I paid 100 at stealer already painted.
Hey, benzzn55.
I'm not sure how mine broke, I noticed it while washing. I may have been a little heavy-handed with the wash mitt, supposedly they get pretty brittle with age and then break easily.
At any rate, that's why I'm thrilled with JamieK's post. It will take a bit of time and attention to fit the Euro part properly, but it cost a whopping $7 plus shipping at Duval. Leaves me enough for a tank of gas and a dinner date.
I'm sure it will also look a tiny bit different, but that bothers me not at all, and I can document it for others so they see exactly what to do and can save significant bucks as well. Plus we need another simple DIY. (Just glad I'm on the forum so I knew about it.)
Take care and enjoy the ride,
Greg
in this discussion is to ask about a simple (and inexpensive) fix for the gasket that sits between the painted antenna cap and the roof of the car. Mine is cracked, brittle and little bits of it come off every time I wash the car. Has anyone found a good fix for this?
Now that the E is back from the body shop and the ugly parking lot dent is gone from the fender, I finally got around to repairing the antenna tip. (To be honest, all this time I've had part of a drinking straw, flattened at the tip, covered in electrical tape with some silicone at the bottom...it worked fine for the interim and didn't look that bad. A friend of mine who knew it was broken thought I'd already fixed it until I told him to take a closer look.)
Okay, while I said I'd take pictures and do a DIY, I didn't plan on doing this today, but I was over at my sister's house for Easter and got into it after washing the car. So I didn't take pictures. That said, I'm not sure exactly what I would take pictures OF (except perhaps the end results). It's pretty self-explanatory, so I'll just expand on Jamie's cursory tip.
Remove your antenna cap and CAREFULLY remove the gasket (as Ed mentions, it's pretty brittle, if you break it I'm not sure that is separately available, but mine is looking a bit peaked so I'll inquire at my stealer) and then remove the bottom piece of your old rubber tip from the inside of the cap.
You'll ultimately need a half-inch drill bit, but I started with a 7/16, then to 15/32 and then I noticed that the bit had moved a bit off-center (which made me glad I started smaller, had I started with the 1/2 I would probably have ruined it). So I used a small blade on a pocketknife to even it out, then used the half-incher. Even that was not quite enough, so the pocketknife finished the job. I also ended up cutting off about 1/4" from the bottom of the new tip where it flares so greatly; otherwise the assembly will not seat properly on the base.
The only real issue is that it is barely too short; in order to reach the next ring/rib (see close up shot) on the new tip you would have to drill bigger, then you'd be off of the top and into the body of the cap, which would ruin the cap. Thus it puts a small bend into the antenna. But since the antenna's usefulness has passed and it's only for show at this point, it's no big deal (plus the little bend shouldn't affect it anyway).
There are two pics so you can see the results, one from a bit farther away and a close up that shows the rings/ribs on the euro design. It's not perfect but for under ten bucks it looks better than an exact replacement -- and it's plainly better than a drinking straw, electrical tape or not.
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You too Greg
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