Sagging D2 Headliner

[Hillbilly]

Hey to ya'll. Happy to be a part of your forum.

My 1999 D2's headliner is starting to sag in a few spots. It ain't rubbin on the top of my head just yet, so I'm not too worried about it right now.

However, for future reference, I would like to hear from any of ya'll who have ever put a new one in - just exactly how much of a pain in the rear is it to do?

[FlyWheel]

I would be interested in a solution as well. My '01 D2 just opened up a small sag to the right of the front sunroof.

[JAYMONEY]

Originally Posted by FlyWheel

I would be interested in a solution as well. My '01 D2 just opened up a small sag to the right of the front sunroof.

x2

[guitar588]

same here

[DiscoMedic]

I had to have mine replaced here in tennessee. It cost me about 300.00 + tax but looks good as new. make sure they order the wide material or it wont work. Mine began to sag around the front sunroof and about 3 months later it was on my head. It can be done just, just is expensive!!!

[RageRover]

I once had to do a headliner to my mom's old Buick, and it was a real pain in the ass, let me tell ya! Took me a few hours to do a simple sqaure peice.

My RRC's healiner sags not too bad but now noticeable in the back. It doesn't obstruct my views or anything, just looks like a then inside of a safari tent in the back.

What I did for the Buick's headliner, was remove an ass load of plastic trim, coat hooks, visors, and doom light. For the RRC, it seems simple as removing all of the above and some "Oh Shit!" bars, and it all comes out the back tail gate. I dunno, I haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

I carefully pulled the felty material off the cardboard/fiber board backing of the structure and nicely set it down somewhere where it wouldn't collect dust. I bought a can of this headliner cement, that is applied when you spray a coating, very thin on the board backing. Then stretch the material back over the board, being sure not to have it sag in spots, and that no air got in. It was real hard. I also got out a staple gun and started at each corner and put a staple like every, I wanna say 6-8 inches apart so that the old material would not stretch back and sag again. After letting sit for an hour (instructions on the can), I put it all back in the car. It worked, but since it was old material, it started to sag, after sitting, since my mom got another car. It didn't sag as much as before, just a little lump. What I would do is get some new material to work with so that is is less likely to sag again. Since the DI and II headliners are like sloped in the back, doing it will probably take two or more people, plus it is a bigger headliner, probably one of the biggest since it is an SUV.

Good luck man!

[Drewfuss]

I've replaced headliners before on other vehicles. It's a fairly straightforward process, but it's time consuming. Plan on spending a saturday afternoon (3 hours or one 6-pack of beer) to do the removal and glue the new fabric. The next day, re-installation should go pretty quick (1-2 hours).
First, you take out all the plastic trim, probably seatbelts too in order to get all the trim off and remove the headliner through the back of the vehicle. You might want a hand taking it out of the vehicle since it's a bit awkward.
Then, take off the old fabric. You'll find that the headliner fabric has a foam backing on it, and much of that will still be stuck to the headliner. You need to be sure you remove all of the foam before you try to glue on new fabric. To do this, sand it with a piece of course sandpaper. Just make sure you don't go nuts and sand through the headliner itself. It's okay if there's still dried glue on there, just make sure the old foam is all off.
Now you can get out your new headliner material. Roll it onto the headliner (no glue yet!) and fit it up as best you can to plan out how much you'll need to trim (but don't trim yet!).
Now flip the material back and lay it face down next to the headliner. Get ready with the spray glue (3M stuff works pretty good). The important thing to remember is that you have to spray the headliner and back of the fabric. If you spray one and not the other, it won't stick and will only last a week or two. Spray the headliner and the material and wait a minute or two (read the directions on the can for exactly how long to wait) before you lay the material onto the headliner.
At this point you might want an extra hand while laying the material on. Careful, this stuff is really sticky now and once the two glued pieces touch, they won't be easy to move or slide around. To put it on, think of it like a big sticker. Start in the middle at the back of the headliner and while the other person holds the material up, you can stick it on working your way out. The best thing to do is avoid (if you can) stretching it into the contours. Try to lay it into the countours as best you can; this will prevent the material from pulling away on the foam backing.
Once you have the whole big piece on, you can trim away any excess, leaving a few inches (1-3) to pull around the edge and glue to the back.
Now, if you have a sunroof, you can cut that material out of the opening too. Be sure to leave enough to wrap on to the back just as you did the sides.
At this point finish any unopened beers and wait until tomorrow to install the finished headliner!