Power Antenna Sticks

[Mark.Granoff@Software.com (Mark Granoff)]

I've written about this before. The power antenna on my '94 90CSQ sticks on
the way down. The previous solution (suggested by a fellow lister) was to
clean and lubricate with silicone spray. I did this at the time and I've
done it several times since. Its effectiveness is waning however.

Now, the antenna consistently sticks on the way down. Each of the upper
sections comes down, but the last (bottom) section then fails to retract
into the body. A gentle nudge laterally (not vertically down) usually makes
it go the rest of the way under its own power. Is there anything else I can
do to fix this (short of replacing the antenna, which I assume would be
more than $100, no)? If I were to remove the antenna, is there anything I
could do then to fix it? Or, can a new, good power antenna be had
inexpensively (e.g. under $50) and is replacing it something a non-techie,
hands-off, don't-change-my-own-oil kind-of-guy can do himself? :-)

On a related note, I *think* the antenna does not extend all the way. Are
there supposed to be 4 sections or only 3? It appears that that the 3rd
section (from the top) is not extricating itself from the bottom-most
section. I can't remember though if there are supposed to be 3 or 4
sections visible on the fully extended antenna. I've tried grabbing the
antenna just above the bottom-most section and gently pulling up, but to no
avail.  Any ideas? (My radio reception is fine, btw, but I would like the
antenna at its peak performance level).

Thanks,
-Mark
--
Mark H. Granoff                                 Mark.Granoff@Software.com
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