Auto Headliner

[roo_ster]

The headliner inside my 13YO Nissan pickup is drooping.  I am 6' and it is driving me nuts.

It has been since the 1980s since I recall my dad pricing headliner replacement and I wonder what a fair / decent price would be?

[Monkeyleg]

You may have to replace the headliner. Many manufacturers have used a fitted piece of plastic-like material with the fabric already glued on. The entire headliner shell slips into place.

An auto upholstery shop wanted $500 to replace the drooping headliner shell on my beater Saturn. I used a staple gun to attach the offending areas. Not pretty, but functional.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

i rip em out and drive on

[AZRedhawk44]

I did it myself, and the fabric and glue cost me about $30, IIRC.

It was a dirty, nasty job but only took about an hour.  Worth the savings, IMO.

Wear goggles.  The dust/crap that falls out of the remnants of the headliner fabric you rip down will get in your eyes.

[Tallpine]

i rip em out and drive on

All that soft stuff is for sissies anyhow 

[Declaration Day]

3M makes an aerosol adhesive for that.  Pull the entire headliner out of the car, peel back the cloth, spray adhesive, re-attach the cloth, let it dry, re-install!

[roo_ster]

3M makes an aerosol adhesive for that.  Pull the entire headliner out of the car, peel back the cloth, spray adhesive, re-attach the cloth, let it dry, re-install!

That sounds like a good idea.

I really don't know the allure of a cloth headliner.  They get dirty, are harder to clean, and then drop.

[Declaration Day]

This is it:

http://www.shop3m.com/60980044394.html?WT.ac_id=POW_3MAAD_GS-Tab

[coppertales]

Be sure to clean the footprints off it first........chris3

[alex_trebek]

A friend of mine ripped the headliner out when it happened to him. He then spray painted the exposed metal roof black, hid a holster in one of the crossmembers.

Food for thought...

[lupinus]

You can remove the entire headliner, peel back the cloth from the backing, spray, and put back. You may well get something that's sorta lumpy but it'll work. Another trick if caught early is to just nip a small hole, insert the straw of the spray adhesive into the hole, spray all around, and pat it back up. Much easier then yanking the hole damn thing down.

[Monkeyleg]

Just a caution. The type of headliner I described can't be fixed with adhesives. Once the fabric separates from the plastic base it can't be reattached.

[Tuco]

I like the idea of Rhino-Liner, but I'm a barbarian on most things automotive. 

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

hmmm wonder what it would cause to rhino a cab after i pulled the seats   clean with a power washer

[Brad Johnson]

Hmmm

I like the idea of Rhino-Liner, but I'm a barbarian on most things automotive. 

Actually not a bad idea.  Pull the form, rip off the cover, and have it Rhino Lined.  You can have it done in pretty much any color you want, including factory matches.  If nothing else it would cut down on interior noise.

Brad

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Hmmm
Actually not a bad idea.  Pull the form, rip off the cover, and have it Rhino Lined.  You can have it done in pretty much any color you want, including factory matches.  If nothing else it would cut down on interior noise.

Brad

I thought interior noise reduction was the reason they used foamed fabric headliner in the first place.

[Tallpine]

I thought interior noise reduction was the reason they used foamed fabric headliner in the first place.

Huh?   

[AJ Dual]

I thought that the foam headliner was for Wisconsin road safety. To protect the driver and passenger's heads.

[crt360]

I thought that the foam headliner was for Wisconsin road safety. To protect the driver and passenger's heads.

 

An eighth to a quarter inch of cheap foam covered by a cloth-like material that's insufficient for any other purpose?  Maybe it's to keep the Wisconsin kids from getting their tongues stuck to the frozen metal, or the Texas kids from melting the bottoms of their shoes.

Has anyone else noticed that headliners became increasingly crappy in American "luxury" cars from about the late 70s on?  It's almost like the automakers thought, "hey, these cars all have standard a/c, who's ever going to drive them with the windows down?"  Having driven Cadillacs and a Town Car that developed a/c problems, I found out quickly that the headliners were not sufficiently tested for windows down driving.  And that foam.  What a mess.  Sticky little crumbs swirling around.  It's like the same foam that companies stuck in battery compartments on old radios and toys twenty or more years before.  Everyone knew that stuff was cheap and didn't last long.  So they hid it under ten cents worth of cloth.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Has anyone else noticed that headliners became increasingly crappy in American "luxury" cars from about the late 70s?  It's almost like the automakers thought, "hey, these cars all have standard a/c, who's ever going to drive them with the windows down?"  Having driven Cadillacs and a Town Car that developed a/c problems, I found out quickly that the headliners were not sufficiently tested for windows down driving.  And that foam.  What a mess.  Sticky little crumbs swirling around.  It's like the same foam companies stuck in battery compartments on old radios and toys twenty or more years before.  Everyone knew that stuff was cheap and didn't last long.  So they hid it under ten cents worth of cloth.

Splain please?  What's headliner got to do with putting the windows down?

[crt360]

Splain please?  What's headliner got to do with putting the windows down?

The strong breeze coming through the windows at driving speed disassembled the cheap fabric/adhesive/foam setups in a very short amount of time.

The first sentence of the second paragraph should have "on" at the end.  Sorry, I didn't mean to limit it to that short period.  I'll fix that.

[Jamisjockey]

DIY:  Herculiner.

[Hawkmoon]

An eighth to a quarter inch of cheap foam covered by a cloth-like material that's insufficient for any other purpose?  Maybe it's to keep the Wisconsin kids from getting their tongues stuck to the frozen metal, or the Texas kids from melting the bottoms of their shoes.

You'd be surprised. The headliner is glued to a fiberglass shell. I have two older pickups, same make and same model. One of them came to me sans headliner. The difference in how much road and wind noise I get through the roof panel is significant.

JoAnne Fabrics sells the fabric (with the foam backing) and the adhesive. It's not terribly difficult to remove the old panel, brush off the old foam & adhesive, and glue on new fabric. It's a bit messy/dusty, but not difficult.

Unfortunately for me, the second PU didn't even have the mold board. Just the bare steel roof. :(

[chefman]

Hawkmoon got it right! I used to replace headliners(foam-backed type). Pull out the old headliner board by removing enough trim to slideit out. Be careful with it though the are fairly easy to break. Rip the old fabric off and rub all the residue left on the board with a leather-gloved hand. It should rub right off. Lay out enough of the new foam-backed liner, foam up, on a flat surface. Spray both the material and the board and working kind of quickly lay the foam on to the board on gently smooth it into place with yor hands. If you use a very light touch you should be able to reposition any wrinkled places. Once you get it just where you want it, smooth it down firmly. It will not come off again. Using a razor blade be sure to cut any holes you might need for visors or coat hooks. If there is a portion of the liner that isn't covered by trim be sure to leave a little extra fabric, about 1 1/2 inches to fold over to the back(top) so you will have a smooth edge. The bodyman that taught me could do these in 20 minutes. I could do them in about an hour. It really isn't as complicated as it sounds, once you see it.    George