1: first, thanks to whoever told me about the block in the entry way to
the antenna take-up reel. i’ve misplaced your note, although it was out
at the car as i dealt with this today.
2: '89 xj40 new to me. mast would not retract the last 2 inches. (saab
external bracket with gasket under it, also potential source of trunk
leak.)
3: replacement mast from hal rogers mounted properly, but after 2 weeks
would not extend/retract. brass fitting atop nylon takeup reel separated
from last piece of the mast. hal sent a replacement gratis, with dead
parts to return to him. first he’d had.
4: old nylon takeup reel on trunk floor. pulled old mast, undoing the
external brass plug from the internal mast part atop the motor. removed
motor. installed new mast through the hole. it would not thread any
further than the old one. removed cover. found that threading it 180
degrees off proper first got me past the block at the bottom of the mast
area atop the motor. rotated it back 180 to proper position. would not
thread past the gears. removed the round threading quarter-circle part
that drives the mast down to the bottom gear (2 small phillips). drove
nylon almost all the way into the takeup reel, sometimes using the drive
motor to pull it up (turning drive belt to let the rack/pinion pull the
line in.) carefully reinstalled motor and closed cover (opened earlier
with a few busted sealing teeth) lifted motor and snugged down the
external mounting bracket.
4: external mast now snugs down flush with top of the Saab bracket on
the exterior. first retract showed the last (lowest) mast piece was
slow to retract. ran it back up. got some wd40, sprayed it on a paper
towel, then rubbed it all over the mast as it retracted and went fully
flush.
5: after 3-4 attempts, let us pray.
eliot brenner
annandale, va
89 xj40, 44,180