If it's a sedan you can use any good quality aftermarket antenna. Wagons are more difficult, due to the angle of the body where it mounts. I converted mine (wagon) to a one piece fixed mast. The mast I used came from a junkyard--I think it was off of a Ford of some kind. It is a stainless steel rod with a little ball on one end and a threaded socket on the other. I found a bolt with matching threads and ground the head down to the point where it would fit inside the part where the original mast comes out. Doing this requires removing the antenna assembly from the car. There are two parts to it---the motor unit at the bottom, and an upper mounting piece. They are connected by the tube that the white nylon gear strip runs in. There is also a smaller hose that drains off any moisture that gets in. I don't remember all the details of how I did it, but I got rid of the motor and connecting tube, and kept the top mounting (which includes the cable connection to the radio) and the drain hose. After getting the bolt in place, and making sure it was making electrical contact, I sealed everything up with JB Weld. It now has good reception, looks OK, doesn't let water into the car, doesn't bend or break off if I drive under low hanging branches, and can be unscrewed easily if I want to remove it for whatever reason.

Hope this helps. Sorry I can't be more specific, it was a year ago or so when I did it, so I don't fully remember all the details.

I am not normally one to advicate getting stuff off of ebay, but I have gotten 2 antenna masts off of there for about $10 each. I bought the car with the antenna stuck about half way up and wouldnt move, but the motor still ran. If the motor still runs it is just then plastic shaft that runs inside the actual antenna mast that broke and no longer will run on the gear inside the motor. Replacement is really simple, the one I bought even came with instructions on how to do it. And for $10 it works great. The only reason I bought 2 is because about a year after I replaced it I wacked the antenna on something and broke it, so I just bought another $10 replacemene and was on my way.

Hope that helps

Since I rather like the retractable antenna, I have removed the "rubber ducky" or whatever type aftermarket antenna tha came on the 240s I have owned, where possible.

That means I have re-juvenated several Volvo retractables. There is an easy replacement, which really is easy unless one screws it up. BTDT Read and follow the instructions, make no assumptions.

The mast kit from a dealer, was not cheap, but had the right parts and the great Volvo instructions. It works very well if the problem is a bent or broken off mast, not so good if the white nylon "gear" has a broken off bit left down in there.

Yours will work, since you have pulled out the nylon gear.

The only tool needed is an adjustable wrench to fit the chromed nut at the fender. I use adjustable because I can get a tight fit on the nut, no slippage means minimum scratching.

The new mast has the new nylon gear integral with it. That gear MUST be straight as an arrow for the first foot or more.

Get the remants of the old mast out, including the brass piece that fits smoothly on the largest segment and catches at the fender level. It is that piece that collects the signal and feeds it into the housing and thence to the RF cable to the receiver.

Helps if you have a helper to turn the radio on and off as needed.

The RF balance with the receiver will be as good as before. An aftermarket antenna may or may not be balanced. The ones I removed had their RF cable plugged into the factory cable, making the total cable double the stock length, and reception suffered.

Find out from a dealer the cost of a mast replacement, see how it compares with an aftermarket, and factor in the problems with aftermarket installation and reception.

Good Luck,

Bob

:>)