????

Hello all...

Bear with me. This is my 1st thread. I just registered.
I just bought my first bmw a few weeks ago. It is a 1987 528e. I noticed that my antenna does not fully extend when I turn on my radio like I see on other similiar models. Any of you ever had this problem?

Congratulations on your acquisition! This is a very simple fix and all that it requires is a new antenna mast. I'm just about to do this on my car (just ordered it yesterday) and have done it to my previous cars (325e and 528e). The antenna is pushed from the inside via a plastic cord but over the years the antenna sections accumulate dirt and they start to jam. I've tried pulling them out and spraying them with penetrant without any luck. First thing to do is to confirm that you have the original Hirschmann antenna. Pull down on the trunk inner liner and you will see a huge black plastic box. If it isn't the original antenna you might need to get a new one (cheap on Ebay). Now if you do have the original antenna you need to find out what type of the plastic cord it has: smooth or toothed. I think that our cars all use the toothed one since I haven't seen a smooth one yet. I bought one fron an Ebay seller that had a pretty good piece of information. If you look at the tip of your antenna (if it is the original) you will see a lower case h with a number (e.g. h 04); toothed cords have either a 3, 4 or 5 here. Find your replacement mast either on Bav Auto or on Ebay.
Once you get your replacement mast, using the appropiate wrench, loosen the hold down nut (between the tip and the chromed spacer with the BMW logo) and then tell someone to turn the radio on. Grab the antenna mast as it comes out and keep pulling it all the way out. Sometimes the plastic cord breaks and you might need to open up the antenna to remove it. Make note of the way that the teeth are facing so you install the new one in the same direction. If everything went well you just push in the new one until it stops and then turn off the radio. This will pull the new mast in (with your help), replace the nut and tighten. Voila! Perfect reception with your new antenna mast!

Good Luck!

Thanks Jimoreno I will give it a shot!