Vacuum Antenna

[Shelly Harris]

With emory cloth and some sand paper I cleaned up the antenna. WOW... is it long enough? The mast rises and lowers freely by hand, but sad to say the motor only lifts it about 6" and stops. Doesn't do anything with switch for down. Not too hard to get a hand in there and connecting the vacuum lines. But theres a third long vac line that goes into the fender through the hole and down. A long one down into the fender and I'm wondering where it goes? It would be nice to get at that motor without unbolting the fender.

[Barry Wolk]

Not gonna happen. Trust me. I have the longest arms you've ever seen and I couldn't do it through the opening.

[Shelly Harris]

How about removing the passenger side heater core and fan... looks like you can get to it that way?

Also... the motor lifts the mast about a foot then stops, height doesn't hold and it drops down when under way... no motor down movement. Still think its the small disc thingy?

[Mad Scientist]

Originally Posted by Shelly Harris

How about removing the passenger side heater core and fan... looks like you can get to it that way? Nope.

Also... the motor lifts the mast about a foot then stops, height doesn't hold and it drops down when under way... no motor down movement. Still think its the small disc thingy?

I had mine out to clean and check the core for leaks and no that will not give you access. Also you really do not what to take out the heater core unless you really have to, at the time I did it I had the engine out and was able to walk into the engine compartment to get at it and it was still a pain in the butt to do.

The fender has two mounting bolts at the bottom corner near the door. If you remove them you might be able to pull the fender out enough to get your hand in there. Also there is another mounting bolt on top behind the hinge for the hood that you might try loosening.

However before you do that I would check out the vacuum switch under the dash. If the antenna is going down all by itself it could be a leaky switch/valve.

The way I got my antenna out was I first removed the engine and exhaust system and was then able to reach my arm through the opening for the exhaust pipe and put a wrench onto the nut and screw holding the clamp. Naturally when I try to unscrew the nut the screw turned right along with it. There was literally no way to hold the screw and turn the nut at the same time. I wound up tie-wrapping a small die grinder to a length of threaded rod and ever so tediously ground the nut off of the screw.

Once the antenna was out dissembling, cleaning and putting it back together was not a problem.

[Barry Wolk]

You can not get the fender to move enough unless you take out all the bolts I spoke of. Trust me.

[Matthew]

I have read other posts with regards to the Mark II vacuum system, and related devices. The power antenna on my '56 Mark II will go up without hesitation, but when I push the activator switch the other way (ie to retract it), nothing happens. Have any others out there experienced this problem? Thanks for your input.

[Nick DeSpirito]

Matt,

If it goes up without hesitation like you say, I would check the vacuum hose connected to the bottom of the antenna housing to see if it's connected and also at the switch. and check the hose for deterioration or leakage. Also, check to see if you have vacuum at the antenna end of the hose and the hole at the connection on the housing is clear. If the hose is OK and you do have vacuum, then you might want to check out the switch itself.

[Barry Wolk]

I'll bet the hoses are installed incorrectly on the switch. Find the vacuum hoses and remove them. Start the car. You'll have suction at one of the hoses. Install it on one of the ports on the switch. Flip the switch to one way. You will always hear vacuum with the engine running. Now flip it the other. If you hear vacuum the vacuum hose is on the right port. If you don't hear vacuum at both open ports, move the vacuum hose to another port and repeat. There are only three so you'll have to try this only once more.

Once you determine the proper vacuum hose is on the proper port , it doesn't matter which hose goes on the remaining ports. That's a matter of personal preference. Some people have them set up so that pulling the switch handle towards you raises the antenna, I've seen it set up the oppoite way, too.

Trial and error will get you there. But this method always work, and explains why yours doesn't.

A vacumn hose may deteriorate onthe inside.
It may look just fine on the outside, but it may be all clogged up on the inside.
Blow thru both ends to make sure it is clear.
Or just replace for the hell of it.

John.

[naifmakol]

Hi, can anyone recommend a good vacuum antenna rebuilder wih contact info for the MK II? Thanks.
Naif Makol