Electric Aerial repair - Old Ford Sierra.

[shmooauto]

Hello,

Has anyone repaired one of these, replaced a snapped mast? It's off my old Ford and replacements on eBay (If you can fine one) run at £200. Really want to try and retain if possible rather than replace with a copy.

Any help would be great.

Many thanks,

[E-bmw]

Pardon me but from the pic it may not be obvious, what is the problem with it/where has it snapped/is it clean etc.

[shmooauto]

It's broken right at the top as this pic.

[E-bmw]

I think they are reasonably standard, try having a close look at those advertised on the "bay that is e" for a few examples.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Maverick-1993-1998-...

[shmooauto]

Thanks. Having never taken one apart before, am I taking the screws out at the bottom of the metal pole/sheath or is it accessed from the black plastic section at the top?

[E-bmw]

Not sure about yours specifically, but most bottom ends split in two & that will give you access to the snake that elevates/drops the mast.

Be careful though as it may go boing & spread itself all over the garage floor if you aren't careful.

[shmooauto]

Yep,that's what worries me. Thanks for the info and I'll have a crack at it.

[paintman]

Get a large clear plastic bag. Put the item in it & your hands & do your dismantling inside it.
Anything going ping will be retained in the bag.

Edited by paintman on Tuesday 21st June 19:46

[northwestrecover]

Hi i have done loads of these over the years .Take the cover off ,screws and nut you will see a metal cone held on with a few screws /take that off and the mast will be coiled around a white plastic cone. the mast should be held on with a small split pin, take the pin out and pull the mast out /to refit put mast in and connect pin then spin the cone to retract it slightly put the metal cone on /leave mast up /put metal cover back on dont over tighten 10mm nut or it will crack cover . connect up and turn on and off to reset mast .

[shmooauto]

Thanks very much,

Do you know where I can get a new mast from that would fit this, or are they all pretty much the same?

northwestrecover said:

Hi i have done loads of these over the years .Take the cover off ,screws and nut you will see a metal cone held on with a few screws /take that off and the mast will be coiled around a white plastic cone. the mast should be held on with a small split pin, take the pin out and pull the mast out /to refit put mast in and connect pin then spin the cone to retract it slightly put the metal cone on /leave mast up /put metal cover back on dont over tighten 10mm nut or it will crack cover . connect up and turn on and off to reset mast .

[cambiker71]

This may be the same as the Vauxhall ones of the same era, if it is we used to change the mast by pulling the metal part upwards out of the body so it's slightly loose then get somebody to switch the radio on while you pull up fairly gently and the whole mast and plastic geared coil would feed itself out of the body. Take note of which way the teeth on the plastic coil face.
To refit it you had to feed the plastic coil back in making sure the teeth face the correct way and get somebody to switch the radio off, this would make the motors gear collect the teeth on the coil and wind itself in while you carefully guide it, once it was fully home the motor stops.

Hope this helps

this video explains it simply....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQMBmJ7OJCM

[Stegel]

Like the previous poster, I recall replacing a broken mast on a 1989 Cavalier, in 1989, by loosening the nut at the top of the housing (outside the car body) and turning the radio on which ejects the mast and plastic "rack" which drives it, with reversal of the process fitting the new mast. More recently I've done the same on a Mercedes r129. Search "Car Masts UK" on eBay - that's all they do, and they list a number of masts for Fords. I think disassembly of the mechanism would be a last resort with a high chance of failure.

[shmooauto]

Thanks very much guys for all the help on this one. I'll tackle it next week and fingers crossed it'll be a success.

[55palfers]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/car-masts-uk?_trksid=p20...

Try these guys. They are very helpful.