[xj40] aerial not retracting

XJ40
1

Hello all

I know this is a perennial, but its good to talk…

Problem: My aerial was sticking even after cleaning. So I took it out as per
haynes, and cleaned the nylon teeth which were gunged up with black oily
stuff. That fixed it for 3 months, but its stuck once or twice again
recently.

My questions: Would lubricating the nylon teeth thingy help? If so what would
people recomend? Silicon, petroleum jelly?

Martin
92 xj40 3.2 UK

2

At 02:09 PM 4/20/02 -0400, you wrote:

Hello all

I know this is a perennial, but its good to talk…

My questions: Would lubricating the nylon teeth thingy help? If so what would
people recomend? Silicon, petroleum jelly?

I would use Lubriplate Aero white grease for the gears. Silicone is not that great a lubricant, and petroleum jelly is just a mixture of mineral oil and paraffin wax, and does not seem to stay around long in the hot boot area.
For the antenna mast itself, I have found the best, most permanent water-displacing penetrating lubricant to be “Rem-Oil”. I believe it is a fluorocarbon. It has even fixed the door locks, on occasion.
I am not sure you can get it in the UK; It is sold here for firearms, but maybe the tip will help people over here. It has an uncanny ability to follow little recesses and crevasses, so a drop sliding down a door lock plunger seems to eventually find its way to Important Bits.

J&M, “Gloat Grade” white XJ40, Massachusetts.

3

Martin,
My antenna started having problems a while ago, and I found
the little wheel that holds the nylon cable against the teeth
that drive the nylon cable (and antenna) up and down
had a flat spot worn on it, and was allowing the cable
to jump teeth.
You can hear this happening inside the car if its quiet.

I made a new wheel up, tricky, as it needs to have
sharp grooves on the outside to grip the cable so it turns
as the cable runs up and down.
Anything smooth will tend to not turn and wear in one spot.

I found a piece of material that was designed to be pressed into metal and
hold a screw.
I cut it to size, drilled out the center and fit a spacer
that fit the pin it rides (spins) on.
Its got very sharp edges to grip the cable.

You can also have belt that can cause trouble, and
some people have problems from the mast being slightly bent.
A new mast is about $30.00.

Brett
1990 XJ6>

Hello all

I know this is a perennial, but its good to talk…

Problem: My aerial was sticking even after cleaning. So I
took it out as per
haynes, and cleaned the nylon teeth which were gunged up with
black oily
stuff. That fixed it for 3 months, but its stuck once or twice again
recently.

My questions: Would lubricating the nylon teeth thingy help?
If so what would
people recomend? Silicon, petroleum jelly?

Martin
92 xj40 3.2 UK

4

Martin,

Jukka’s advice was good: even though his car is rather
old, his mast always retracts.
Currently, my mast doesn’t come all the way up. I know
this is only because I have neglected cleaning it.

For the best cleaning result, take out the mast as you
have done and wipe it with gasoline. It’ll dissolve
all accrued dirt and after thin lubrication it’ll be
easy to keep clean and, thus, operable.

This advice also applies to more modern models; I have
seen several X308’s with only partly retracting
aerials.

Keep it clean!

Lubricating the plastic teeth doesn’t help too much
since the problem is the grit on the mast itself.

  • Lasse Schauman
    '89 Sove w/ usually working aerial> Problem: My aerial was sticking even after cleaning.

stuff. That fixed it for 3 months, but its stuck
once or twice again
recently.

My questions: Would lubricating the nylon teeth
thingy help? If so what would
people recomend? Silicon, petroleum jelly?

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5

In reply to a message from schauckis sent Mon 22 Apr 2002:

I’m a little confused on this subject. Per Jag reqs, it appears
the only maintenance that is to be done to the mast is to
occasionally wipe it (upwards) with an alcohol pad. Nothing about
needing to lube it. ??–
&:-)) Paul '88 XJ6 VP 127K miles (black on doeskin)
Garland, Texas, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–

6

Paul,

I add some 3-1 oil to clean it. The oil attracts the dirt making it easy
to collect and wipe off. You really do not need to lube it. On the
other hand if you drive in an area with a lot of fine dust like Iowa,
you find you need some way to get the dirt off the antenna so the 3-1
oil does a good job of that. Usually have to wipe it 2-4 time to get
all the dirt off. At least that is how I keep my antenna working fine

Jay

AttyDallas wrote:> In reply to a message from schauckis sent Mon 22 Apr 2002:

I’m a little confused on this subject. Per Jag reqs, it appears
the only maintenance that is to be done to the mast is to
occasionally wipe it (upwards) with an alcohol pad. Nothing about
needing to lube it. ??

&:-)) Paul '88 XJ6 VP 127K miles (black on doeskin)
Garland, Texas, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–