Ted,

FCP Groton...I think 15 or 16 bucks for the mast.
Best,
Adam
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'92 244GL silver-metallic, 141k, Hella 550 Front Fogs, K&N filter w/modded box (no thermostat, and screens), Bilstein HDs w/strut plates, IPD anti-sway bars and upper and lower chassis braces, Volvo 240 OEM rear wing/spoiler, Unitek cam and header sooooon

Hi Ted -

BTDT. Found out that the first 15 inches of the new mast have to be real straight, I could not get a used to fit in. Some guys have done that, I have had -0- luck. If you undo the housing, there is a hum-dinger of a spring in there. Be careful as thingies and grease can fly about.

When fully retracted, the antenna tip should stop where it is flush with the fender surround. Tends to reduce water getting in. There is a drain tube on the bottom of the housing, so they must expect some to get in there.

I rigged up a sort of switch while working on the thing. Found that of the two wires in the connector neither is ground. When both wires are hot, antenna extends. Just the green one hot, it retracts. One of those rare places on the 240 where black, aka SB, is NOT ground.

Regards,

Bob

:>)

Yes, completely possible to replace the antenna mast (and common if your mother likes to buy Camrys). You can generally find them for <$20 online. They are actually pretty much universal, so a decent local parts supply should have some.
The metal antenna is actually moved by a plastic cord with notches cut into it, and the wheels of the motor use those notches to move it up or down. If that cord is broken (or possibly broken) you'll need to open the motor housing itself and make sure to remove it all. Otherwise its a simple matter of feeding the nylon piece down into the hole and operating the antenna untit it sucks the whole thing in place and you're back in buisness.
This is really hard to describe, but very easy to do.
--
1981 242GLTi 1967.5 122S Automatic (Project)

Yes you can certainly replace the mast for about $15 if you shop carefully. It is simple to do.