antenna grommet availablitliy

[handsomejackuk]

Hi, Anyone got a source for antenna grommets for z3 the outer ones please ?

[mrscalex]

There's normally someone selling on eBay for £10.

I bought one last week from a dealer hoping it would be cheaper. But that was £10 too.

Interested to see what others say. But I would just scoot along to the nearest dealer although a phone call first is advisable as it may not be a stock item.

Very worthwhile job. Virtually every non-enthusiast Z3 I've seen has a perished one. And they really can rain in water.

[Alan W]

I got mine for a tenner off eBay and if they are about the same from a dealer I'd go there..

Haven't had the time to fit mine yet.. I've heard someone say that its a really simple job, and another say that its a fiddly PITA job?

Any comments on ease of doing this?

[Southernboy]

It's fiddly, but a little vaseline makes it a breeze

[Alan W]

Thanks Barry.. sounds like a top tip

[Alan W]

Will have a go at the weekend

[handsomejackuk]

foned two dealers today none in stock, but can order £6.10 plus vat so will get on when i get chance to get to dealer...

[mrscalex]

foned two dealers today none in stock, but can order £6.10 plus vat so will get on when i get chance to get to dealer...

Shows you how prices vary across dealers. I paid 25% more at Dick Lovett in Swindon.

Which dealers did you phone? I see you're in Gwent and I spend a lot of time in Swansea and hence passing through Gwent and would be happy to find a cheaper spares source.

[bertiejaffa]

Always remember to mention this site for a discount at a BMW dealership

[colb]

Changed mine a couple of years ago obtained mine from Synter at Cardiff, if I remember it was only a few pence at that time, seems the price has been inflated since then.

I am also here in Newport for those in and around South Wales in need of any help, Diagnostics available if you don't have your own kit.

[handsomejackuk]

foned two dealers today none in stock, but can order £6.10 plus vat so will get on when i get chance to get to dealer...

Shows you how prices vary across dealers. I paid 25% more at Dick Lovett in Swindon.

Which dealers did you phone? I see you're in Gwent and I spend a lot of time in Swansea and hence passing through Gwent and would be happy to find a cheaper spares source.

yeah i foned newport sytner, and hereford both quoted me same price went down to my independant today in llnhilleth bmw and mini centre, and they have ordered me one to pick up monday, think it was about £7.00 same as other bmw dealers got to say i think i will be using them quite a lot for parts.. to save me the trip to cardiff or hereford, or newport...

[handsomejackuk]

Changed mine a couple of years ago obtained mine from Synter at Cardiff, if I remember it was only a few pence at that time, seems the price has been inflated since then.

I am also here in Newport for those in and around South Wales in need of any help, Diagnostics available if you don't have your own kit.

good to know you have some diagnostics there.. what sort of stuff do you have out of interest...?

be good to get a south wales meet going is there anyone else about here doing wales z3 meetings...?

abertillery here..

[colb]

Hi only down the road from you in Rogerstone, got INPA on a Laptop, Airbag Reset and service light reset. Also run Engine Check Pro on a Laptop and Dash Command on an Ipad or phone.

Colb

[handsomejackuk]

Hi only down the road from you in Rogerstone, got INPA on a Laptop, Airbag Reset and service light reset. Also run Engine Check Pro on a Laptop and Dash Command on an Ipad or phone.

Colb

awesome see you a biker too... i got a few bikes as well....TRX850 Yamaha, and amz baghira Supermoto. i have an obd tool but bought it ages ago not sure whether it will wokr with bmw not really looked into it... the air bag reset tool may be handy if i ever remove my steering wheel... though... keep i ntouch we have to arrange a meetup sometime... my bother and his mate both have Z3s too.. so be good to get a few together from the vallies...

[handsomejackuk]

OK.....

so i have a replacement antenna grommet.... and looking to replace it...

when i bought the Z3 then antenna was a long stainless steel rod with a short rubbery plastic piece at the bottom with the genuine bmw grommet at bottom !!

i wondered whether its either a replacement antenna mast, or someone has removed the black coating in an attempt to remove the mast previously...

over the weekend i decided to cover the stainless rod in heat shrink, and twirl some cable around the stainless post in an attempt to make the aerial look original...

now before i did this i did try with a pipe grips on the tapered plastic with some force to unscrew the mast as i knew i would have to remove the antenna mast to replace the grommet..

anyway heres my dilemma...

should i remove the antenna with force and end up breaking the mast and possibly the whole antenna in order to replace the tatty grommet....

leave it as it is or is it known that the antenna mast seizes in to the bottom part and will break if i apply loads of force...

is it possible to remove the whole antenna with the mast through the boot compartment so i can take a good look at it i see there are some very small posidirve screw on top of the inside antenna part can these be undone to make pulling the whole thing out easier... ?



can these or the top nut be removed to make it easier to pull the whole thing out through the boot..?

[handsomejackuk]

i assume by putting loads of force on the plastic outside of the antenna i either end up like this



or this...

[mrscalex]

Procedure is:

* Unscrew the aerial mast
* Pull the boot side carpet out the way removing any trim clips first
* Take the cables off the aerial base from inside the boot
* Unbolt the aerial base from inside the boot
* You're pulling/pushing the base away from the grommet - not the other way round
* If you can't get the tip of the aerial base through the grommet with your fingers put an M5 bolt in place of the mast. Borrow one from the wing mirror mounts if they swivel - don't force them if they don't want to turn - that's a different problem for another day! Otherwise try Halfords. That should allow you to get a bit more purchase on it
* The grommet should come out now. A perished grommet will come out easily enough
* When you're putting the new grommet on make sure it's oriented such that it matches the line of the wing as it has a profile
* Push the aerial base back up from underneath. It could be hard work. Just keep applying force from underneath until the ridge sits on top of the grommet. You may need to push a bit harder than you're comfortable with but the ridge must come through the top of the grommet
* Replace base cables and bolts.

[handsomejackuk]

unscrew the aerial mast is the problem............ Grrrrrrr

i have had a pipe grips on it the bottom plastic part, and it wont come off... this is why i wondered whether i could pull the whole thing out with the grommet even if it means cutting the old grommet...

then once its out i can dismantle it and maybe get a better hold of the aerial mast.

or undo the big nut on top of the antenna base or the 2 pozi drive screws to disassemble it on the boot area....

grrrrrr

Al...

[handsomejackuk]

got it just went up the back and removed it wey hey... i was a but to gentle with it thinking it was gonna snap bit of wd40, and a thick rag and my small pipe grips got it off... just waiting for it to clear up a bit now to remove the trim inside the boot and remove the antenna base thanks...

[handsomejackuk]

got it just went up the back and removed it wey hey... i was a bit to gentle with it thinking it was gonna snap bit of wd40, and a thick rag and my small pipe grips got it off... just waiting for it to clear up a bit now to remove the trim inside the boot and remove the antenna base thanks...

[mrscalex]

It should come out very easily. In fact if anyone fancied it it's a serious theft/vandalism risk like the windscreen wipers are.

It sounds like it may be either corroded in or there is a crossed thread. If either are true the aerial base might not be useable afterwards anyway. I'd risk breaking the mast (at £10-£15 to replace) before risking breaking the base (£50-£70 to replace).

I'd put a cloth round the base of the mast with a pair of pliers/grips on it and go for it. The worst you'll do is break/damage the mast which doesn't sound much worse off than the position you are in now. The masts are quite plentiful on ebay as they are used on early Minis too.

If you try and draw the whole thing in through the boot (cutting the outer grommet) you may get stuck coming through the considerably larger inner grommet which has a narrow exit point that may not let the mast pass through.

[handsomejackuk]

thanks for the picture its all sorted now well at least the antenna is off once it stops raining i take the rest off.. its not stopped raining all day its doing my nut in.. i want to get up there and finish this off....

[mrscalex]

I haven't been able to do much for the last week either. Very annoying.

At least it rains less in England than Wales. Well it must do as my Welsh other half is always saying the English couldn't cope without the Welsh as that's who sells them all their water

[handsomejackuk]

still on for tomorow Rob ?

i emailed you my mobile if theres any problem please let me know...save me a wasted journey...

can you private message me you mobile so i can contact you ?

I be leaving here about 5.00 to meet with you at mcdonalds at the coldra.... i prob take the Z3 if its a nice evening...

bring the bonnet vents too, as i cant get hold of the fella local to me that has some...

thanks Al.....

[handsomejackuk]

got the antenna off and mopped out the bottom of the boot well.. it was pretty wet and oily and that plastic box thing i think its the alarm sensor was pretty drenched...

hoping the grommet may help with the water issues here, unless theres other problems to look for...?

[mrscalex]

Yep. Will be there Aiming for 6.00. Will email my mobile to you.

The aerial grommet is a very typical source of leaks. The 3rd brake light gasket is the next thing to watch out for. And usually a longer shot is the tail light gaskets. I guess the boot lid seal too but not come across a rotten one of those yet and not heard anyone else complain.

The 3rd brake light gasket is only about £3. But it is a bit fiddly and not easy to get the thing clipped back in properly.

The tail light gaskets are extortionate, about £25 each for a self-adhesive foam strip cut off a reel. The old gasket is a b*gger to get off. And the new one needs careful lining up and application. Don't go there unless you have to. The offside gasket was split on my brother's 1.9 so I had to change it.

[handsomejackuk]

yeah ok... see you there....

funny enough the third brake light inside cover fell off and was lurking in the boot when i bought the car, so suspect someone else had a look at it and didnt proceed....

i just thinking if thats the amount of water thats in there may have beeen in there ages it cant be that bad and i did give the roof a good soaking the other day with a hose and with the roof partially down so maybe i caused a bit of it...the oil i suspect may have been me cleaning all aorund the boot edges inside with my oil can cleaning away all the debris... it will be garaged in the winter months anyway so dont see it as too much of a problem....

[Warrior]

I feel fairly certain that the softtop motor prevents me from removing the aerial? Will check tomorrow.

A note of caution. The rubber aerial grommets are different for facelift and pre facelift cars, each having a different angle underneath to account for the camber. I learnt the hard way

[handsomejackuk]

i think the soft top motor has to be removed to gain access to the aerial mine has not got a motor so don't have this problem

[mrscalex]

My soft top pump just swung out the way. I'm not sure it's meant to do it like that but it did.

Write-ups usually talk about unbolting it but keeping it connected.

[handsomejackuk]

Rob,

email me your mobile...

i be leaving here 5:00....

to meet you at 6:00

thanks Al....

[handsomejackuk]

Thanks Rob, for sorting yesterday was very good of you to come over for me so sorry you had to wait... if i can be of any help to you in the future do not hesitate to let me know...
look forward to meeting you and possibly a few others on the forum quite shortly...

Al...