Sagging headliner...

BoxOnRox · May 4, 2005

In an attempt to make my otherwise fine Cherokee look less ghetto, I was wondering if anyone had a quick (see: cheap) fix for my sagging headliner. Its sagging all over and touches the top of my head while I drive. Flaps around with the windows down.

Anyone know of any quick repair, or do I need to get a new headliner? Can I take mine in and get the material replaced without getting a complete new headliner?

49829 · May 4, 2005

Just remove it.
Once done Rino-line it
Will look cool and not ghetto.

You can replace the whole head liner but you said quick repair.

51955 · May 4, 2005

BoxOnRox said:
In an attempt to make my otherwise fine Cherokee look less ghetto, I was wondering if anyone had a quick (see: cheap) fix for my sagging headliner. Its sagging all over and touches the top of my head while I drive. Flaps around with the windows down.

Anyone know of any quick repair, or do I need to get a new headliner? Can I take mine in and get the material replaced without getting a complete new headliner?

Ha Ha, not laughing at u it's just that I HAD the same problem, I attempted to fix it with some spray glue from autozone, it worked alright, but only for like 8 hours then the liner dropped right back the way it was, so I did it the easy way and RIPPED THE Mother-=-==-=er off, looks hella alot better now, infact no one even notices the liner is gone.

11380 · May 4, 2005

If you have a tan/doe interior...you can just pull it down. The back board is pretty much the same color.

51955 · May 4, 2005

CA4PNY450 said:
If you have a tan/doe interior...you can just pull it down. The back board is pretty much the same color.

Mine is off and the back board is brown, and yup the liner was Tan, his might be diff.

twisted_ed · May 4, 2005

do a few searches, there are tons of posts on replacing your headliner from simple materials that are cheap and whatnot

BoxOnRox · May 4, 2005

My '92 has the tan on green combo. I spose removing it would look better then the drooping, but were there any unsightly marks after doing that? I only ask because even with almost 190,000 miles the interior doesn't have any large ugly marks...yet.

Anyone know how much it would cost to replace the material?

XJ-NoDough · May 4, 2005

What about putting thumb tacks in it and put them in using interesting patterns. Or http://www.headlinerkit.com/j.shtml

11380 · May 4, 2005

Fucy said:
Mine is off and the back board is brown, and yup the liner was Tan, his might be diff.

Was the back board made of a fiberous material?

11380 · May 4, 2005

BoxOnRox said:
My '92 has the tan on green combo. I spose removing it would look better then the drooping, but were there any unsightly marks after doing that? I only ask because even with almost 190,000 miles the interior doesn't have any large ugly marks...yet.

Anyone know how much it would cost to replace the material?

well what you can try doing is pulling the whole headliner assembly out and REgluing the liner onto the board. This will take a considerable amount of time to do, a majority of which is spent in preping the backing and drying time.

51955 · May 4, 2005

jeeps_r_fun said:
What about putting thumb tacks in it and put them in using interesting patterns. Or http://www.headlinerkit.com/j.shtml

Hey jeeps r fun, thanks alot, I saved the page to the PC, ill use that guide when I get sometime to repair the headliner, thanks a Million :thumbsup:

As far as the back board go's it just like the one in the above link, its like a dark brown color board.

twisted_ed · May 5, 2005

Hey Balloo93, EricsXJ, links for this repair should become a tech sticky if not already..

JeepNFla · May 29, 2005

jeeps_r_fun What about putting thumb tacks in it and put them in using interesting patterns. Or http://www.headlinerkit.com/j.shtml

Has anyone actually done the headliner repair referenced here? It looks relatively simple but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew.

BTW, my headliner is grey so I would like to replace it. Someone told me Joanns (?) Fabrics has the exact stuff in stock.

Comments are welcomed...

wolfepack215 · May 29, 2005

I did this and didn't know about that link. Its an easy job, just a PITA to get the headliner out. I removed the complete interior when I did mine, but you do have to remove all the trim pieces. But, yes it is just as simple as the link states. Of Note!! Spray the glue on the back board first and let it get tacky. Use Lots of the stuff!! Summer Heat will sag again if you don't glue it good. Basically use two layers of glue, one as a "base coat" on the backboard, the other to stick the material to it. Now, the material. Depending on what you choose, you can just go to wally world and get fabric, or you can go to places that carry actual headliner material.... It's up to you. For me I chose actual headliner material that had the foam liner backing and when I (my wife) finished the project, it looks factory new! total cost of materials, $55.00, and dinner out for the labor. If you are in Central Northeast Florida (St. Augustine) hit me up and the wife won't mind doing it again. As long as she gets dinner out of it. :rofl:
BTW. While you have your trim pieces out, go to the parts store and get trim molding paint and repaint your moldings! Wow, what a difference, feels like I'm driving in a new XJ! It just gives it that extra... For that matter, as long as your gutting it, go all the way and duraline the floorboard as well.......... Oh, D@mn I'm getting carried away again.....

00xjsebb · May 29, 2005

When I had to repair the one on my 90 Grand Wagoneer, which is much larger than an XJ, I removed the headliner and ripped the old material off. I then took the back board to an upholstery shop.

They had the new material in stock that was a perfect match, they stripped the old glue/foam residue off with a wire-brush drill, applied the new material, and even cut out the holes for the overhead console and lights. Looked brand new! They also gave me enough material to do the visors and the OH console and a can of the 3M adhesive. They really didn't want to mess with those parts and it would have been expensive.

Total cost: $60 :banana:

I had to reinstall it, which took about an hour. Some things are just not worth doing yourself. I'm sure if they had to remove the headliner from the Jeep and re-install, it would have been much more expensive.

52014 · May 29, 2005

When I heard my uncle was selling his XJ (the one I now own) he "warned" me that the headliner was coming down. I said, "S'ok... I got a staple gun."

RG050308 · May 29, 2005

I ripped mine down in my 88 wagoneer and found there was no backboard. I have a power moonroof that is obviously not a factory install! Looks like they just cut the board out to put the moonroof in and stuck the fabric back up there. Was gonna go without a headliner but there are to many wires and unsightly stuff up there...no clue what I'm gonna do now.

47503 · May 29, 2005

its an easy fix. take out the headliner, rip off the old material and foam off of the headliner. buy some matarial, and thin sheet of foam. use 3m spay glue and put it back together took me about 2 or three hours.

JeepNFla · May 29, 2005

Thanks for the replies! I think I'll try tacling this this weewkend.

wolfepack215 - thanks for the offer but I'm in the Tampa bay area. I'll muddle through it with my wife and kids.

I'll let everyone know how it goes...

JeepNFla · May 30, 2005

Took on my headliner replacement today. Very pleased with the results! I tried to read all other experiences here and wanted to share mine as well...

Bought the material at Joanns. They carry the headliner material - the foam rubber backed stuff. The grey color our store had was an identical match for my '97! My wife had a 40% off coupon so our cost was $22 for 3 1/2 yards. This was a little more than needed but wanted to be sure - I have the rear console for the speakers. A can of the 3M spray glue was $13. Had to buy a second can (see below), so net cost was $48.

Taking the headliner out was pretty easy. No major gaffs. I started at the front and worked back. Worst part was removing the rear seat belt bolts. Fortunately I have a version of tool-man-Tim next door and he had the correct size "star" nut removal socket.

In removing everything, just stay with a "pattern". I started in front and worked back. Left screws and trim pieces in approximate location they came off.

Removing the old foam was a little messy and I am very itchy as some of the fiberglass headliner board was also removed in the process. I recommend brushing LIGHTLY and try not to remove any of the old glue!

To glue the new material down, I tried to follow directions on the can which stated to leave the adhesive dry for at least 5 minutes. It said adhesion can be made up to an hour later. THIS DID NOT WORK FOR ME. The glue dried very quickly and I wasted 1/2 of the first can. Had to make another trip out to get a second can. Wouldn't have needed if I had rolled out the material immediately after spraying. Maybe its the weather here in Florida (performed this step at dusk - 82 or so out with 80% humidity) but rolling the material out while the adhesive is still fresh and wet is the way to go.

My rear speaker "console" was a bit tricky to re-cover as it has some sharp angles. I didn't see any other references to this so I want to recommend if you have this to allow for some material overlap on the edges. The extra can be tucked underneath upon re-install for a cleaner look.

Re-intallation was fairly smooth. We forgot to pre-cut the holes for the sun-visor clips (not the main attachment but the small holes near the rear view mirror) so had to play around a while to get the clips re-attached. Also found the grab rails above all passenger doors to be ackward to re-install. Just a matter of lining up the holes but the funky vinyl (polyurethane?) connectors were difficult for me to re-align.

All in all, a great job! Now the headliner looks new.

If you are considering doing this yourself, I highly recommend it.

Sagging headliner...

BoxOnRox

49829

51955

11380

51955

twisted_ed

BoxOnRox

XJ-NoDough

11380

11380

51955

twisted_ed

JeepNFla

wolfepack215

00xjsebb

52014

RG050308

47503

JeepNFla

JeepNFla

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