Reupholstering the headliner on a 700 series (with original Volvo sunroof)

[Sander]

Reupholstering a saggy headliner on a 700 series (including sunroof)

Since the 700 series headliners all go crappy and sag due to the foam rubber that deteriorates, I thought I’ll write this article while doing it myself. It isn’t the most difficult job in the world, but requires you to be a bit patient and not try everything at once. Mine looked like this:

http://i50.tinypic.com/30vfwiw.jpg

I have to mention that this article is written using a wagon, which makes it considerably easier as you can yank the headliner right out the back. For a sedan, you’ll need to remove the windscreen, the rear window or the back seats in order to get the headliner out of the car in one peace.

Tools required:
8mm socket with extension
Ratchet
Flat head screw driver
Philips screw driver
Filling knife

Estimated time to completion:
4 – 6 hours (this time can be greatly reduced if you do this with two people. A pair of extra hands is really useful for this job!!) or double that if you have an original Volvo sunroof like mine.

Materials you’ll need:
Fabric
3 or 4 cans of glue in a spray can
Thin foam rubber (5mm thick max, you can get this at every car upholstery shop, together with the glue)
Double sided tape (only for sunroof)
Nice weather (only applies to the people who have a sunroof). For people in England, get some plastic and tape.

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/5626/stofd.jpg

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/6866/schuim.jpg

Total costs:
About $70

Step 1, removing the headliner:
The first step is to remove the headliner. This is done by removing all the trim around it, the interior lighting, the sun visors, the rear view mirror and, if you have a sunroof, the sunroof crank and trim for that. Be gentile with the trim pieces as they break quite easily (the clips and fasteners brake off)!
The trim is removed by unscrewing the handles (that your passengers use when you are flying through corners) by removing the black cover from each handle. It then reveals four screws on each handle. For the driver’s side, you’ll need to remove the two black caps that cover the holes where that handle should be. This reveals two white plates with a screw in them. You then should be able to remove the first piece of trim on both sides. Remove the trim peace in the back of the car by unscrewing the big round plastic screws with a flat head. Then, disconnect the interior light and it should come loose.
The sun visors and rear view mirrors are bolted to the roof with 8mm bolts. Unscrew them and they should all come off.
Be careful on the interior lights that you don’t let the wires touch each other or the car body, as this will blow fuse nr. 5 (20 amp) and your radio will stop, which is annoying. Even better, before removing the interior lights, take out fuse nr. 5 (located in the white block with fuses behind the ashtray). When the interior light in the middle of the car is out, you can remove the metal bracket that holds the middle of the headliner to the roof (don’t know if it’s there in a car without a sunroof though).
It took me about 20 minutes to get it out. It’s that easy!

Step 2, preparing the headliner:
Hurray!! The headliner is out! As you can see, it looks like crap (which yours is also supposed to look like, otherwise you wouldn’t be using this article):

http://i50.tinypic.com/2j1mrr8.jpg

Now that the headliner is removed, you can start by tearing the fabric off. This should go very easily as the foam rubber is all rotten underneath it.

http://i45.tinypic.com/2u5e0sp.jpg

Now it’s time for the most boring bit, which is to get out your filling knife and scrape all the old what used to be foam rubber crap off. This also goes pretty easily. You’ll need to be a bit careful not to tear up all the cardboard stuff underneath the foam rubber with your filling knife. When you are done, it should look like this:

http://i45.tinypic.com/4hfwae.jpg

Then take an old T-shirt or other rag and give the headliner a good rub. This removes all the little foam rubber pulp that annoyingly sticks to the board. It helps by putting the headliner against the wall and work from top to bottom, as it will all fall to the ground and not somewhere else on the headliner.

Step 3, getting busy with foam:
Now your headliner is ready for the new layer of foam rubber. First, spray in both the foam rubber and the headliner board with glue. Let it dry for about a minute (depends on what type of glue you are using! Read what it says on the bottle and do that) and glue them together. Gently place the foam rubber on the headliner pressing it onto the headliner from the middle to the outsides, following the bumps and curves in the headliner so you don’t get any folds or wrinkles. Remember, when the two glued parts touch each other, they are stuck together for good! When it is all on, push it all together hard with your hands. Still be careful that you don’t create any folds! Then let it dry for 15 minutes or something (again depends on the type of glue). Time for some coffee.
When you have finished your coffee, cut off all the excess pieces of foam and open all holes again.

http://i46.tinypic.com/124d6vk.jpg

Step 4, reupholstering the headliner:
For this bit, you can really use an extra pair of hands in order to get it right. Firstly, make sure the fabric you bought doesn’t have any folds in it. I bought a big piece of black cotton, as this can be glued easily and is cheap. It had a couple folds in it, so I got out the ironing board and ironed it. You then spray both the fabric and the headliner with glue (don’t go crazy with glue, otherwise it will soak the fabric and shine through, which will ruin the headliner). Then, get two friends/parents/brothers or sisters/neighbors/homeless people or anyone who would like to help you, and let them hold each end of the fabric. Let them hold the fabric just above the headliner in the way it should be placed, while you gently push the fabric on to the headliner, starting in the middle and working your way outwards following the curves and bumps nicely, so you don’t create folds or wrinkles in the fabric. Because of the glue, you would never be able to get rid of folds or wrinkles if they appeared! When this is done, it should look like this:

http://i46.tinypic.com/10shv81.jpg

Then, fold over the excess fabric on all sides and glue that to the back side of the headliner. You can also staple it if you run out of glue or have a really cool staple gun.
Cut out all the holes again, but leave an edge in the side for the sunroof. This will be held together with the sunroof with the trim bits. If you don’t have a sunroof, go to step 7.

http://i48.tinypic.com/fpatc5.jpg

Step 5, removing the panels from the sunroof:
Firstly, you’ll need to remove the sunroof. This is where the nice weather comes in, and for the English people the plastic and tape, as the weather mostly sucks over there. You’ll first need to remove the four drain pipes in each corner. Then, unbolt all 14 bolts and the whole mechanism should come down on your head, proving that friends are useful.

http://i46.tinypic.com/amvpx.jpg

Now that it’s out, you’ll have to remove the two panels for reupholstering. You start by sliding the sunroof all the way back and removing the flap that comes out and redirects the wind over the hole in the roof by sliding it sideways. It is held on by two pins with a spring on it.
Then, unbolt the rails on which the roof slides and remove the panel covering the cranking mechanism. When everything is unbolted, pull the rails upwards on the front.

http://i47.tinypic.com/2rylwfb.jpg

Lift out the entire assembly. Put the crank back and crank the sunroof all the way forward and in the tilted up position.
Now twist one of the rails and move it outward a little so you can take out the front slidy bits of the top panel that needs to be reupholstered.

http://i49.tinypic.com/fusy1v.jpg

Lift the smaller panel up on the front. You’ll see two springs attached to the bottom of that panel by two hooks. Pull on them to disconnect them from the panel.

http://i47.tinypic.com/rhlqf4.jpg

Pull the big panel backwards to remove it. It is held on by two clips on the bottom (see the red circle).

http://i48.tinypic.com/hwz7m8.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/35d5mit.jpg

Remove the panel from the slides by rotating it.

http://i49.tinypic.com/35i860x.jpg

Remove the smaller panel from the bigger one by sliding it sideways.

Step 6, reupholstering the sunroof panels:
Now tear off all the old fabric. Volvo used some weird double layers of fabric with some foam in between, taped to the back of the panels with double sided tape.
I used thin double sided tape on the top of the panel to stick some thin foam rubber on it. I used double sided tape and not glue because the panel isn’t flat.

http://i49.tinypic.com/t0gvh4.jpg

If you would glue the foam to the panel, it would follow all the curves of the panel, which would show when you upholster it. Apply double sided tape only to the “higher” parts of the panel, and then stick foam rubber to it. You do this for both panels.

http://i49.tinypic.com/2iuweq.jpg

Apply glue to the fabric for the panel and to the foam on the panel and glue it on (same thing as in step 4, only on a smaller scale).

http://i49.tinypic.com/2443d4n.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/2ajcopj.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/pt1yg.jpg

Reassemble the sunroof in the reversed order of step 5 and put it back in your car.

http://i50.tinypic.com/i5xijr.jpg

Step 7, put it all back together:
Put the headliner back in and install all the trim bits (Step 1 in reverse). If you have a sunroof, you now need to reattach the fabric of the headliner to the sunroof surroundings

http://i48.tinypic.com/s5i6bp.jpg

You do this by cleaning all the old sticky stuff of the edge of the sunroof part where the fabric will be attached. Then, apply thin double sided tape again.

http://i50.tinypic.com/2ugezv6.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/2j44kyo.jpg

Now cut the excess of fabric you left on the edge of the hole for the sunroof on the headliner to the right size for it to be pulled over the edge and stuck to the double sided tape, and attach it.

http://i45.tinypic.com/xndlis.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/oi6hs.jpg

Reattach the trim piece around that edge and you are finished.
Once it is all in, it will look like this:

http://i47.tinypic.com/142lnk.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/awx0me.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/2zinhcn.jpg

Quite an improvement over the old saggy headliner!

[Tamnakz]

This is awesome!

[Hagar17]

Very nice job! you gonna paint those visors etc?

[Gabe244]

The two tone still looks awesome.

[tommysvolvotime]

is that the headliner fabrick standing next to it? OOOOO FUR headliner. LOL

[Tom85]

Very useful article. Going to redo my headliner next week or so aswell.

[llama]

you sir are my new hero. my headliner looks like crap and has been known to attack my friends sitting in the backseat. as soon as this winter bs is over i will be doing this!

[Andrew9578]

+1, I am going mine in the spring also. Has anyone done a sedan? If so, how hard was it to get out of the car? I did one on my old buick century and it wasn't to bad to get out through the passager rear door.

[llama]

couldn't you fold the seats down and finagle it out of the trunk?

[Typhoon]

Save yourself a lot of time and use a wire brush to remove the old foam. Leaving the headliner out in the sun for a few hours also helps remove any remaining foam, it doesn't like UV light and breaks down very readily.
Also, either buy material already foam backed(teh foam backing often has a light knitted cloth on the back, making it much easier to use), or use one of the newer light carpet/lining materials.
I used lining material on my headliner that has a lot of stretch, it has a texture similar to a fine carpet. It is similar to the material on the back of the rear seats on a wagon.
This does not require any foam underlay and is the way to go in my opinion.
I would also recommend buying proper contact adhesive and borrowing a spraygun to apply it. 1 litre will do it. I've seen too many spray can adhesives fail.

Regards, Andrew.

[Tom85]

+1, I am going mine in the spring also. Has anyone done a sedan? If so, how hard was it to get out of the car? I did one on my old buick century and it wasn't to bad to get out through the passager rear door.

I heard of people redoing their sedan. All i know that it is possible to get it out through the front door, without removing seats.

[dgseel]

Nice job. I like the two tone too.

For the sedan, I was told you have to put the all the seats down as far as possible and bend the headliner a little to pull it out the door. I was also told that a helper is a good thing to have. I will be removing one from an 850 sedan parts car and installing it in my 850 T sometime this week, so I will know all about it soon.....

[Sander]

What i have been told about the sedan is that it should be possible to remove it without having to take your car appart, but i don't know for sure how. Would be nice if someone did it and posted here how he did it so i can put the description in the article.

Save yourself a lot of time and use a wire brush to remove the old foam. Leaving the headliner out in the sun for a few hours also helps remove any remaining foam, it doesn't like UV light and breaks down very readily.
Also, either buy material already foam backed(teh foam backing often has a light knitted cloth on the back, making it much easier to use), or use one of the newer light carpet/lining materials.
I used lining material on my headliner that has a lot of stretch, it has a texture similar to a fine carpet. It is similar to the material on the back of the rear seats on a wagon.
This does not require any foam underlay and is the way to go in my opinion.
I would also recommend buying proper contact adhesive and borrowing a spraygun to apply it. 1 litre will do it. I've seen too many spray can adhesives fail.

Regards, Andrew.

It took me about 30 minutes or something to take all the old foam crap of with a filling knife, it was really rotten. The wire brush got all full of foam crap and damages the surface of the board as it is only cardboard.
The reason why i didn't use the lining material is that it is impossible to find here. The spray can adhesive i got from a proffesional car upholstery shop in the area which use it themselfs. It's the industrial stuff they put in a spray can themselfs :). But if you can find the lining material stuff in your area it would be nice, yes. Although i don't know what it costs (i expect it would cost quite a lot?).

[Mortar]

I went for this option:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j190/Nangle/carpet_interior.jpg
:-P

[TIPSP]

I went for this option:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j190/Nangle/carpet_interior.jpg
:-P

:omg:

[dgseel]

I don't know if the back seats fold down in the 700/900 sedans, but I just did an 850 headliner by removing it through the trunk! It was cake. It only took about 1/2 hr to remove it from one car, and maybe an hour and a half at the most to remove mine and install the donor. I had a helper though.

Hope this helps, but I never had a 700 sedan so I don't know if the back seats fold down.
If they don't fold down, the easiest way may be to remove the rear seat back and just go through the trunk.

Dave

[VQ]

That won't work as there is a frame in the way on the 7's and 2's. You need to pull out a seat, on my 760 I pulled out the passenger seat and it came out pretty easily. Now I need to do the sunroof too.....

[Silver]

Looks good. I did mine a while back but I still need to re tuck the fabric around the sun roof hole. This job is definitely easier with a helper.

[b5254t]

You can get actual headliner material fabric. I got it at JoAnn fabrics. It comes with the foambacker already on it and in a variety of colors also. Also great article will come in handy when I do mine.

[Lucky the Smiling Pirate]

looks real nice. im not sure i could do better:-P

well written article.

[supraboy]

suggestion: I used to do headliners, and a quick way to get that goopie foam crap of is an airtool with a soft wire-wheel attatchment.:)

[Sander]

say what?

[VolvoForLife]

I'm trying to get my headliner out tonight. This thread gave me the extra confidence i needed :oops:
Thx!

[supraboy]

This
http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr97/Supraboy_2008/wirewheel.jpg

+

This
http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr97/Supraboy_2008/High-Speed-die-grinder.jpg

[Matt]

I'm trying to get my headliner out tonight. This thread gave me the extra confidence i needed :oops:
Thx!

Don't use that avatar please, it was specifically made for Mr. Borrie.

[Typhoon]

What i have been told about the sedan is that it should be possible to remove it without having to take your car appart, but i don't know for sure how. Would be nice if someone did it and posted here how he did it so i can put the description in the article.



It took me about 30 minutes or something to take all the old foam crap of with a filling knife, it was really rotten. The wire brush got all full of foam crap and damages the surface of the board as it is only cardboard.
The reason why i didn't use the lining material is that it is impossible to find here. The spray can adhesive i got from a proffesional car upholstery shop in the area which use it themselfs. It's the industrial stuff they put in a spray can themselfs :). But if you can find the lining material stuff in your area it would be nice, yes. Although i don't know what it costs (i expect it would cost quite a lot?).

The lining material isn't too costly, on a par for teh foam backed specialty headlining/upholstery materials. It's just super tough stuff and eliminates the foam, so the only thing to fail is the cardboard or the glue.
The trick with the wire brush is to drag is along the foam sideways, not scrub at it. It clogs the wire brush but it doesn't lose it's effectiveness.
Anyway, that job you did looks great. With the beige edging, it reminds me of an early 80's Daimler VDP or similar
I wasn't tryng to degrade the job you did or your post, just offering some more info.
Sometimes, a high quality spray adhesive in a can is not readily available, you just have to buy contact adhesive, thin it and go from there. It's certainly an option if you have a compressor and even teh cheapest of spray guns (in fact, cheaper is better, as you'll possibly ruin it with teh glue!)

Regards, Andrew.

[supraboy]

OH! i forgot to tell you , KICK_A$$ writeup. :nod:

[crazycannuck]

Great write-up! Looks awesome. Did mine in all black. I pilfered all the black visors and trim of a 940 at the JY.

One thing that I discovered when I did mine last year: The shell gets very brittle with age especially the narrow part on each side of the sun roof opening. Mine was cracked on both sides. So On the top side, I reinforced both cracks some fiber glass and brushed on the whole some fiber glass resin. The shell actually soaked up a whole can!
Once it dried, it was once again rock solid.
For the sun roof, you do not need to take the whole thing out. Simply undo the back bolts and the side ones, pull it down and slide the panel out. Works like a charm.
The instructions on the IPD website are really good for those who want more info.

Cheers!

[dalek]

That won't work as there is a frame in the way on the 7's and 2's. You need to pull out a seat, on my 760 I pulled out the passenger seat and it came out pretty easily. Now I need to do the sunroof too.....

Do tell me more about how to take the headliner off a sedan. We tried in mine -- passenger seat out -- and managed to destroy it while pulling it through the rear right door. We can find other headliners but I do not want to even try until I know what to do.

[Banvolvo740tic]

This has helped quite a bit. Even though I have an electric sunroof. I hope that part is the same. They way I took mine out well.....it broke in half. Which sucked by the way. :lol: But it did make it easier to get out of the car. I'll prolly use gaff tape to fix it.

[joe90]

Is it possible just to take a headliner from a 940-960 to fit?

[dalek]

I am going to find that out. THere is a 940 in my friend's yard and we will try to get its headliner without destroying things.

[TIPSP]

You really dont need to remove the entire sunroof tray. If you move the sunroof to the "fully" opened position, there are six screws you can see on the rail, and a couple which are hidden by the black metal wind shield thing that pops up and down. after you undo the screws. you can move the sunroof back to the closed position, and pop it out, and it will slide out through the top. only thing is you wont be able to do any cleaning in there if it is still in the car. you will need to re-caulk it for a good seal. Works on the 700, should work for all models with the sun/moon roofs.

[WindowsBreakerG4]

Damn, the pictures are down! I want to do this in the next week or 2 on my 744

[thebornotaku]

Can anybody tell me if this procedure is pretty similar for a 245 or not? No sunroof, if it matters.

Cheers,
Mike

[Sander]

Damn, the pictures are down! I want to do this in the next week or 2 on my 744

They work perfectly fine over here. If you still can't see them and need the pictures, I could send them to you.

[WindowsBreakerG4]

Works fine now. Thanks! I am, going to try to do this on my 744 soon.

[don hodgdon]

Excellent write up.

I would also recommend the Volvo Headliner Replacement article (http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/InteriorHeadliner/InteriorHeadliner1.htm) in the Brickboard FAQ and, as crazycannuck mentioned above, the instructions on the Ipd site.

[WindowsBreakerG4]

Ok so i am looking to do this very very soon and I found this http://www.wlsheadliners.com/cut-yardage-of-headliner-material-60-inch-wide-p-17.html which is rather cheap and eliminates a step. It says the foam backer is 3/16th of an inch which is .1875". 5mm is 0.1966" do you think this stuff would work? Brickboard's FAQ says use 1/8" don't use 1/4" but there is no mention of 3/16" foam.

Also, is this (http://www.amazon.com/3M-Aerosol-General-Adhesive-Clear/dp/B00086I666/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1248734190&sr=8-2) what people have been using for glue? Or is there something better? The place that has material linked above recommends 3M Hi-Tack 76 Spray Adhesive, or this stuff (http://www.blowoff.com/adhesives/trim_spray_adhesive.htm).

Thoughts anyone?

[davashcow]

Is it possible just to take a headliner from a 940-960 to fit?

yes

I did this last week.

[WindowsBreakerG4]

So i started working on mine today and all i can say is wow, someone redid it before and broke (in 3 places) the card. It is a pain in the ****ing ass to try to put back together. I have no way of getting another one. Any advice anyone?

[davashcow]

Why can't you get another one? Junkyards are absolutely full of these things around here.

[WindowsBreakerG4]

Junkyard around here would have it but wouldn't let me pull one (they'd pull it and break it and then still make me pay too much for it). Closest place to get one that would be reasonable is probably 100+ miles away and I have no way of moving it back down here right now short of installing it. I am just going to try to fix it for the time being.

[Sander]

I reinforced mine by glueing some thin (about 3 or 4 mm thick I think) but wide strips of the same sort of material (actually it was more like pressed woodpulp or something) to the back of the headliner. There is a little bit of room between the actual roof and the headliner. Don't stick it too close to the edge though, otherwise the plastic trim inside the car would be very hard to put back as the headliner is squeezed in at the edges between the plastic and the car and glueing something on would make it thicker. You can kind of see the outlines of that strip beneeth the black fabric in this pic (I outlined it in red):

http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/3112/81700558.jpg

Holds up nicely, you should be able to fix your headliner this way. Just make sure it all is in the position you want it to be in before you glue it on.

[stylngle2003]

yeah, both of mine have broken there, and that's how i repaired them

[WindowsBreakerG4]

I used some thing balsa wood, my isn't holding up great in that spot, i have a small wrinkle but the people before me broke it though completely in those spots and they broke it near the mirror and sunroof hole. I have it in it looks like it will work. I have a small wrinkle where it broke on one side but for now it is holding.

Never again will i do a sedan. It's worth paying someone. If my card had been in better shape, it would have helped a lot though.

Thanks for this write up! (and now i have a working sunroof again)

Also, the greenbooks show the headliner coming out the front passenger's door in a sedan with all of the seats in and the gearshift in 4th or all the way back if it is an auto (i didn't try this way and I hadn't looked till today). The gear position seems to be important as they were very clear on that. I'll try to scan it some day soon.


For now to bed then I will be back at it tomorrow getting it trimmed for the sunroof and all the rest of the trim back in the car.

[TIPSP]

i used cardboard and pieces of paper with wood glue to fix/reinforce mine.

[WindowsBreakerG4]

My issue was the fiberglass was actually coming apart. Anywho it's back in the car and looks like it is going to hold fine. I'll post pictures later.

[typebox]

Can anybody tell me if this procedure is pretty similar for a 245 or not? No sunroof, if it matters.

Cheers,
Mike

I did this on my 240 sedan (non-sunroof) and my first attempt was a failure. Before i was able to put it back on, the headliner board was totally destroyed.
There's no other alternative way to remove the headliner besides taking out the windshield. The board stretches 6 more inches wide than the door.

Im going to the jy and get another one and this time I'll cut it in two sections; front and rear section. That should make it fit through the door without bending and tearing.

I'll keep ya posted. :-D

[typebox]

I finally finished my headliner today on the 240. I divided the headliner into 2 sections and it worked like a charm. very satisfied with the results. i skipped the foam part and glued the fabric directly onto the board. i used the "3M general adhesive." if you have questions let me know.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v179/lantis_17/volvo/IMG_0310.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v179/lantis_17/volvo/IMG_0316.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v179/lantis_17/volvo/IMG_0319.jpg

Imma try and get a like some sort of trim that would go in between the front and rear headliner to make it more clean.

and to the OP. thanks for the writeup!!!! :-D

[WindowsBreakerG4]

http://wecanprintit.org/Alden/volvo/740-headliner/DSC_9375.jpg
Mine all done! Thanks!

[slovo240]

looks good and i love that crank handle sunroof

[JLEAD740]

doing is on a 700 sedan- i'll take pics of how we had to do it, dunno if we'll be doing the sun roof or not though at this point. we'll see once we start.

[jet_brick]

i want to do a black pleather seats-matching one, personally. Seats and headliner pleather together n stuff

[WindowsBreakerG4]

doing is on a 700 sedan- i'll take pics of how we had to do it, dunno if we'll be doing the sun roof or not though at this point. we'll see once we start.

It's a pain i wish you luck :)

[Cornercase]

doing is on a 700 sedan- i'll take pics of how we had to do it, dunno if we'll be doing the sun roof or not though at this point. we'll see once we start.

I recommend putting the front seats all the way backward, folding the headliner at the sunroof cover area and the right back of the sunroof opening. Then you can sorta rotate it out of the car through the front passenger door.

Eamon

[Mr.Borrie]

working on mine right now, i just not sure how to remove the next piece and not braking the plastic

- rear view mirror
- both trims on the windows
- do i need to remove the backseats on the sedan and the plastics..

[Sander]

working on mine right now, i just not sure how to remove the next piece and not braking the plastic

- rear view mirror
- both trims on the windows
- do i need to remove the backseats on the sedan and the plastics..

The rear view mirror has a plastic piece that you need to shift towards you (i.e. to the back of the car) if I remember correctly. What trim on the windows are you reffering to? I don't know about removing the seats for a sedan, maybe someone here can help?

[Eviltwin]

...
working on mine right now, i just not sure how to remove the next piece and not braking the plastic

- rear view mirror --Theres a plastic "c" shapped tab you simply pull to expose the screw.
- both trims on the windows remove the plastic covers from handles, remove screws, trim slides under a-pillar trim
- do i need to remove the backseats on the sedan and the plastics..no

[deetmar]

Did mine yesterday, it's a huge improvement. I would let the headliner dry for at least a day. I went by the instructions on the adhesive and ended up with a couple of fingerprints in the headliner. At least its not noticeable.


http://s1008.photobucket.com/home/deetmar/allalbums

[nathaninwa]

Back from the dead....I have new headliner in, and am trying to reinstall the sunroof headliner now. I pulled it out by pulling down a little and moving the powered metal roof back....I wiggled it out. Well its not going in, in the same manner. Do I understand that I need to have the body panel in the vent position and fish fabric headliner back in?

[nathaninwa]

I figured it out....open sunroof, start it in, pushing it down whiel jiggling and moveing sunroof forward....lock the clips in and use your skinny needle nose to reattach the lifting springs.

[mikehawk]

Just did mine, looks awesome. Couldn't get my power sunroof back together. Something broke off inside, I spent so many hours trying to fix I finally said F it, no more power sunroof... Headliner looks great though.

[dalek]

I myself am yet to do mine. Well, I took the old one out and managed to destroy it. So, I need to go to the J/Y and get another one.

Honestly, I have read this thread over and over and still do not know how to remove (or install it) without destroying it.

[WindowsBreakerG4]

Did it break into several pieces? Sedan or wagon?

[Rectilinear]

just not sure how to remove the next piece and not braking the plastic
- rear view mirror


When working on a 240 series.....
The rearview mirror "breaks away" from it's mount in the event of an accident. Grab the mirror and pull down on it in one swift move. The mirror will pop off with the trim piece in place and most often in tact. Then it is easier to safely remove the plastic trim from behind by squeezing the tabs together. To reinstall, remove the 3 screws on the mount to drop the assembly and then remove the large screw on the mirror itself. Put the large screw between the small steel pins and fasten it back to the mirror. Now it is ready to install back in the car and snap the plastic trim back into it.

[dopski]

Did it break into several pieces? Sedan or wagon?
Tried it once on a banger car, to save it for a 740 of a friend. Result; 1/2hour of fuddling and coursing, made us furios and kicked it into several pieces:rant: , and car al over the foam pulp.

My experience sedans with sunroof are terror. But i still want to try it.

Are there more advises, other than already given in this topic?

[ivid1940]

Just a wild thought ! how about injecting an adhesive and sticking the original headliner back up ???

[Sander]

Just a wild thought ! how about injecting an adhesive and sticking the original headliner back up ???

The problem is that the foam rubber that's between the roof panel and the lining deteriorates over time, it just turns to dust. It wouldn't work trying to glue something on it.

[dalek]

I found out some VWs used a plastic headlining backing. Why couldn't Volvo do the same?

[CerebralAilment]

Great - this got me started! I got my headliner out - but I found it came out best in 2 pieces. I'm planning on making a polymer mold & making a new one.

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/6364/20120228174612241.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/834/20120228174612241.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

[harribert]

Pics aren't working :-(

[michal740TI]

Great - this got me started! I got my headliner out - but I found it came out best in 2 pieces. I'm planning on making a polymer mold & making a new one.

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/6364/20120228174612241.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/834/20120228174612241.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

Mine looked almost the same when pulled out from the sedan.2 pieces,but there is way to save it.If you cut it in the thin part by the sunroof before pulled,its easy from there.All you have to do is put down a new fabric on both pieces individually and then make the fabric overlap the cut,then fold it.You'll end up with barely noticeable "seam" on each side when installed.I did mine like that and the result was an easy install and it looks great.Did mine in light gray cloth with foam backing.

[WindowsBreakerG4]

Great - this got me started! I got my headliner out - but I found it came out best in 2 pieces. I'm planning on making a polymer mold & making a new one.

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/6364/20120228174612241.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/834/20120228174612241.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

Mine did that but it was 3 pieces. I put it back together with a staple gun and balsa wood

[Sander]

Pics aren't working :-(
I fixed the pics. If they stop working again, just send me a message and I'll upload them again.

[WaterPumper]

Awesome write up, I would have never tackled this without it!

A few things to note if you are planning on doing this:
1.Buy your stuff first. I had a hell of a time fining fabric wide enough, foam thick enough and spray adhesive sticky enough. So if this is your everyday car, definitely gather your materials before you tear it apart
2.The sunroof does not have to be removed to take out the panels(I found out the hard way, no fun by yourself)
3.Every single interior piece is held on entirely differently and they're all paper thin, be very careful when removing them and take your time to avoid reassembly confusion.
4.Make sure you have at least one artsy friend who's done this before help you out.

After everything It didn't come out that great because I overused the adhesive in some places and thought it was a good idea to put it in with dirty hands. It's obviously a lot better than it was, and if you take your time it could come out a lot nicer than this
Here are some pictures that I'm not going to imbed because they're huge and I don't feel like resizing them

I'll look for new visors next time I get to a junkyard
http://24.102.150.185:8080/head1.jpg

Pretty classy
http://24.102.150.185:8080/head2.jpg