Electric Aerial Makes Noise but Won’t Move

[NedPowell]

Hey guys,

Looking for some help with the electric aerial on my rev 3. A while back I replaced the mast as the one fitted when I bought the car was bent and wouldn’t retract all the way. Following the KY2 repair instructions, I cleaned all the old grease out and replaced with fresh stuff. However, I think this is where I made a grave mistake.

When cleaning out the old stuff, I took out the big white gear that the nylon cord wraps around and split the two pieces apart to see if this needed grease. Inside was a complete mess of what looked like a badly corroded spring type piece, which crumbled apart when pressed. I’m assuming this spring was making the gear act as some sort of clutch mechanism to stop the mast when it reaches the end of its travel, and breaking this has stopped this mechanism from engaging. Now, when I turn the car on, the motor makes noise but the mast doesn’t move at all.

Does anybody have any more knowledge of these electric aerials, and what I might be able to do to fix this? I’ve searched the forums but to no avail… I’ve found it’s very hard to come by a replacement aerial unit, and I would really like to get it functioning again as I think it’s a pretty cool mechanism. If anyone can help me repair my foolish mistake I’d be very grateful.

Thanks in advance,
Ned

[jimi]

Have you seen this article ? https://mr2oc.co.uk/know-your-2/mk2/mk2 ... erial.html

[NedPowell]

Hi Jimi,

Thanks for getting back to me. I have indeed, as mentioned in my post I used that KY2 article as a guide for rebuilding/repairing my aerial, however my issue is specifically about the clutch gear inside the aerial which is not covered in that article. I’m looking for advice on obtaining a new clutch gear or repairing my broken one if anybody has that knowledge.

[jimi]

Sorry skimmed over the KY2 part
AFAIK none of the internal parts were available (apart from the extending drive) new, never seen a part number for the drive gears or motor.
I suspect your only hope would be to take a chance an getting a second hand (even a non working ) antenna and using the parts to make one good working one.
Or possibly LINKY

[jeff]

for £50 i would go for that option, you could spend time and effort trying to fix your original mast and still be no better off

[jimi]

Wot he said ^^^^^

[NedPowell]

Thanks for your replies both. I guess I’ll peruse the auction sites/get in touch with some breakers to see whether anyone has any aerials for sale!

[TonyleFrog]

for £50 i would go for that option, you could spend time and effort trying to fix your original mast and still be no better off

Agree. I wouldn't go the s/hand route tbh. Buy new, as it's sure to work. Per jimi's link, or this.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/260918252062 ... SwduZac3QN
Which is what I bought when the plastic toothed rack on my Rev3 aerial went belly up.
I preferred the look of the chrome cap and securing nut on my existing unit and simply swapped them over.

As it's not OEM you might need to fabricate a simple bracket to help anchor it in place.

[jimi]

Nice find Tony