Update: I had a chance to work on this over the weekend while I was finishing the remote opener.
Frank the areas I sealed:
You can see at the 12 o'clock position that either on initial installation or subsequent install, the conduit was not correctly seated. This has allowed water to seep in, along the cable that feeds the boot solenoid and number plate lamps.
If your lining is out, it can be felt here, labelled in yellow.
Labelled in green we have where the water was apparent that was leaking via the antenna mount (don't know if this is applicable to your model)
I used (as per V8 Chimp's recommendation) Sikaflex 221. This cures via reaction to atmospheric moisture, has a minimum recommended application temperature of 5C (cold air is drier) and comes in black and white.
Latex gloves are recommended. No seriously, I mean it.
For the conduit, I removed the rubber and cleaned all the surfaces with methylated spirit. I then applied a large blob of sikaflex onto some plastic sheet, then used a cocktail stick to apply a moderately thick amount of sealant to the mating surfaces of the rubber conduit. The conduit was then re-inserted. The visible kink has been there too long to allow the rubber to mould back, so I applied further sealant to the rubber / steel surface. It doesn't look *that* neat, but needs must. It can be smoothed with a latex gloved (ooer) finger, but it's mostly sticky.
For the antenna:
The cables for the antenna exit via the 'bolt' that protrudes from the base. This bolt is hollow, and additionally has a slot cut in it so the cables exit at 90 degrees after passing through the body. There is a 22mm nut on the bolt, with a clever sleeve that prevents the cables from being crushed.
My nut and bolt were pretty corroded. Access was hard, and 22mm sockets tend to come with quite large handles. I couldn't get an extension bar past one of the boot structures, so eventually managed to get the nut off by using the socket parallel to the ground, pointing towards the front of the car, in the wing. Take care. I had visions of the socket slipping and me denting the outer wing from the inside
You may also need to hold the antenna firmly while getting the nut off.
Once off, the antenna can be withdrawn upwards without disconnecting the cables (see note later). There is a rubber seal at the base of the plastic antenna mount, wich had perished white badly. This only goes on one way, so make a note of it. I removed the seal, and cleaned all surfaces (and the wing) with methylated spirit again. Having let it dry, I used the cocktail stick method to apply sealant around the lip of the seal in which the antenna sits (sorry no photos, but sealant covered hands and EOS cameras don't mix, and I had no assistant). Having refitted the seal to the antenna and cleaned up a bit (tissue soaked in methylated spirit works well, but take it easy, you don't want to dilute the sealant) I then applied sealant to the base of the antenna and the seal unit. This seals simply by compression to the wing, so I wanted enough that when I refitted the unit, I had sealant squeeze out all around the base.
I quick dab of copper grease was applied to the mounting bolt to help prevent further corrosion.
I dropped the antenna back through its hole, in the correct(ish) alignment, and carefully re-attached the nut (it has a tongue which may make things trickier) after having applied copper grease to the threads of the nut as well.
Doing the nut up was not too bad, but the antenna unit will again need holding as it's now lubricated by a film of sealant.
Clean up with paper and methylated spirits got rid of the excess, and then it was left to start the cure. I'd advise not doing the nut up *too* tight initially, and then revisiting after as long as possible. Any excessive vibration or movement during curing isn't going to help make a good seal.
As for the cables. Since I did this, I *seem* to have lost some FM radio sensitivity. The variable nature of this (Heart SX is fine, Radio 4 bloody awful) leads me to suspect this is atmospheric issues rather than my doing, although I'll keep an eye on it. I had similar reception issues on the Alfa GT.
There appears to be no earthing via the wing or body of the antenna so I assume that one of the three cables must be an earth. Equally I think it's safe to assume that the application of sealant should not have had an impact as the original rubber seal prevented base <> metal contact *and* the wing is painted. The connections from antenna into main wiring loom would probably do with cleaning as they have been clearly subjected to some years of moisture exposure and if the condition of the securing nut / bolt is anything to go by will be quite corroded
Any questions, as ever, give me a shout
Tools:
Sikaflex 221
Selant gun
cocktail sticks / toothpicks / matchsticks
latex gloves
22mm socket and ratchet or ring.
copper grease
C
