Headliner

[Greg Morgan]

The headliner in my 85 GW is starting to sag. It began on the passenger side and rubbed the passenger's head. Now it sags on the driver side. This elevated the problem from "Quit b@#$*ing" to a "real" problem. When it is hot (which will be the next 4 months here in texas) the liner seems to pull itself back into place. But when the humidity is high or raining it really sags.

The existing liner is in good shape; no cuts or tears. Can this liner be re-glued or does it have to be scraped off and replaced?

[gbarrett]

I went to the local auto trim supply and purchased exact match fabric and the industrial strength spray adhesive to redo mine. It took all of an hour and cost about $35 to do. It looks great and I have enough fabric left over to do the kick panels and whatever else I need to do. It's an easy job - and you can hide whatever additional wiring behind the headliner.



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84 GW
Driveline is
Stock 360/727 combo.
New paint, carpet, stereo. Rhino grille, etc.
http://home.earthlink.net/~getoverit/index.html

[Ralph]

I'm with gbarrett on that. Not a difficult job at all. And while you're at it you can paint the trim pieces that retain the tailgate and windshield ends of the headliner, as well as the cargo area window bezels.

And to answer your question, no you can't repair the old stuff. What happened is that the cloth separated from its foam backing. The foam backing is still on the headliner board and must be scraped clean -- it's probably very dried out.

By the way, mine went from minor sagging to major on a trip to The Woodlands a couple years ago. And I remember the same phenomenon where the headliner would become a bit more taut in hot weather.

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J ust
E mpty
E very
P ocket

[gc4x4]

Greg,
if you decide to have an upholstery shop do it, you can save some money by taking it out yourself... had both headliner pieces and both sunvisors recovered for $120... I repainted the trim pieces while the headliner was being recovered...

[Kaiser Volfe]

You might also want to try J.C. Whitney, I was pleased with their headliner, but not the kit the cover foam backed board.

[Blue Woody]

You may want to check your roof rack Well-nuts while you have the headliner out. Chances are you have a water leak which is why the fabric separated in the first place.

[jeepbob]

My 65 had a cloth headliner that had roof bows sewed in it and those are a real pain in the butt so I replaced it with one painted to match from a 78 cherokee chief. Those are embossed particle board and will not sag unless you have a sever roof leak.

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65 wag. 360/edelbrock rb4/t400/20 t-case/4:10 d27/d44 broken power lok/onboard air/onboard 110v power(no inverter)/1999 Lincoln t.c.leather buckets/Lincoln ctr console/winch/33x12.50/tunes/water proof door pads
soon to have new motor/d44frt/d60r(4:10)welded diff/custom bumpers
see ya in da mud

[BobBarry]

I just did this very job last Friday (actually, through Sunday; I couldn't get the foam scraping done all in one shot). I bought the foam-backed headliner fabric for $10.99/yard (I bought 3.5 yards, though 3 yards could have done it) and a couple 16oz cans of interior trim adhesive.

Getting the old foam off is no fun, as it is crumbly, but also sticky; make sure to do it over a dropcloth you won't mind throwing away, and don't try to sweep up the foam particles, as they'll just gum-up the bristles of the broom (AMHIK).

A regular scraper is of limited use in getting off the foam; a regular dry kitchen sponge works perfectly for getting it off, though- the sponge must be completely dry, though.

Make sure your hands and your work area are ASOLUTELY CLEAN if you are using tan headliner material; any dirt will show up VIVIDLY (luckily, I didn't get any dirt on the visible sections.

If you are ever thinking about installing rear shoulder seatbelts, this is a good time to locate the upper anchor point and install the bolt, even if you don't use it immediately.

When installing the trim pieces, MAKE SURE that your phillips-head screwdriver doesn't slip and poke a hole in your brand-new headliner.

After the installation, the material on your visors will look grungy; if you have a shop replacing the headliner, ask them to recover the visors as well.

Everything else about the job is covered on the FSJ tech sites.

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Bob Barry<UL TYPE=SQUARE>* '78 Cherokee 4-door
* '88 Grand Wagoneer[/list]http://studentweb.providence.edu/~rbarry/wheels/

[MH3]

My girlfriend and I put a new one in a week ago. Got the material from a fabric shop in town and got 3M "Super 77" spray adhesive from Lowes hardware store. When you finally get all the old foam brushed off and the new fabric and foam on the board, take a plack marker and mark where the clothes hangars go. It will save some grief once you get the headliner back up. Good Luck!!!

Veronica and I will attempt thee TFI conversion soon!!

[jeepbob]

The spray dyes work well on sun visors to renew them.

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65 wag. 360/edelbrock rb4/t400/20 t-case/4:10 d27/d44 broken power lok/onboard air/onboard 110v power(no inverter)/1999 Lincoln t.c.leather buckets/Lincoln ctr console/winch/33x12.50/tunes/water proof door pads
soon to have new motor/d44frt/d60r(4:10)welded diff/custom bumpers
see ya in da mud