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Technique 1:
 As
you will find, most power antenna problems are related to
the antenna mast. Either the plastic has broken, or the
teeth are stripped.
An easy way to check to see
if the power antenna motor is still working is to listen
when the car is being turned off. If the radio was on and
you don't hear the power antenna motor, then the problem
may be in the motor itself. If you can hear the motor, then
you probably have a mast problem.
My mast was halfway deployed
and wouldn't raise or lower. I could hear the motor working,
so I bought a mast off of eBay for $18.99 shipped.
You should also know before
you start that if the seal between your car body and the
antenna isn't recently new, then it will probably get damaged
during this process. The good news is that the retail price
of the seal (at my Mercedes dealership) is only $2.11 and
is part# 126-827-14-98.
If your mast is deployed any
further than the top picture here, then you may have a problem
removing the antenna from inside the trunk.
Start off by removing the antenna
from inside the trunk. Pull back the carpet to expose the
power antenna control unit.
It's secured by one screw down
low, the antenna lead, grounding screw and control wires
up top. Remove the lower screw and slide the unit out.
Remove the grounding screw,
unscrew the antenna lead and detach the control wires. That
should make the power antenna unit completely disconnected
from the vehicle.
The next step is to open up
the control unit. There are several tabs (14) along the
sides of the control unit. Using a slotted screwdriver,
press down into the tabs and loosen the cover.
Loosen the two on the straight
end last. The cover should pop right off.
Inspect the inside of the control
unit for any obvious problems. I've heard that the drive
belt can break, although I've never seen that. If it has
broken, that could certainly be causing your problem.
It may be easier to remove the
mast if you remove the two screws and the plastic cover
along the rounded edge of the control unit. This is where
the mast meets the teeth of the drive unit.
I understand that earlier units
may not have teeth at all.
I didn't take any pictures while
removing the mast and installing a new one. You can turn
the drive belt by hand to aid in the mast removal and installation.
You may be able to connect the
control wires and let the motor pull the mast back in, but
I wasn't so bold. Once the mast is in, installation is the
reverse of these instructions. Good Luck
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Mercedes Benz Model
(107) R107 - W107
Brand
new antenna mast ready to take its place in the
Mercedes.