Headliner removal tips DIY

[acspecialists]

I finally pulled my headliner. A little forum review and then I just dug in. He's some pointers to maybe help the next person.

Tools, small picks or pry bars, #2 phillips screwdriver, T-10, 20 screwdriver, T-10,20,45 and 8mm sockets, ratchet.

A pillar, Pull the small plastic cover remove the screw. Pull and wiggle and jiggle it out. Most of the clips will break if they are not broken already.

B pillar, Wiggle and giggle the bottom out and then pull down. This applies to the lower and upper piece. You will have to remove the seat belt bolt in the seat to get the upper piece out. Most of the clips will break if they are not broken already.

C pillar, Remove the porn lights by prying out on the top. There are four 8mm bolts underneath that hold the trim in. Wiggle and giggle it out. Most of the clips will break if they are not broken already.

O Crap handles, pull the handle down and pry the bump stops from the top. Two phillips screws each.

Motion sensor cover in the middle of the panel, just start in one corner prying it off.

Forward center light and switch panel just pop out and then you can remove the switches from the panel.

Sun visors and lights, the sun visors and clips have two T-20 screws each. Use a small pick or pry bar to uncover the screws. The lights pry out from the front edge.

Now for the big one that caused me to do this write up, the sunroof. Open the sunroof in the vent position, the rear up. Slide the shade back and there will be two T-10 screws on the corners. They hold down the guides that prevent the shade from sliding forward of the glass. Remove the screws and guides. Now close the sunroof from the vent position. Open the sunroof about halfway, pull the shade forward of the glass. Now open the sunroof the rest of the way. You will see four phillips screws and spring plates, remove the screws and lift the shade out. At this point you can remove the T-10 screws around the premeriter of the opening. Now close the sunroof and reopen it in the vent position. You will see a small rubber flap mounted to a plastic trim piece. It is just clipped in, pry it out of the clips and wiggle and giggle it out. Now you will be able to see the remaining T-10 screws for the trim ring around the opening. After you remove the remaining screws you can reopen the sunroof and remove the trim ring.

Now the headliner is ready to come out. I got mine out the rear passenger door with the seat backs down and the seats all the way back.

I hope this helps someone out. If you haven't done your headliner yet you will. I found plenty of threads on recovering the headliner(I'm sending mine out) but very little on how to get it out. If I find a good way to fix the clips I'll post it.

[DoriDori]

Good info, thank you. Any before and after pics of your headliner? I have tan interior with brown pillar, dash, headliner. Soon going to be removing pillars and headliner and recovering them in brown micro suede. Going for the "King Ranch" look lol.

[Frankie]

My experience:

• Headliner Notes

Good luck. You'll need it.

[fmalik00]

what size are the torx bolts? please someone link me to all the bolt sizes for this installation because I have a headliner and NO SCREWS

about to swap the Casette into my M5 and I need to install the headliner properly for the next person.

[SilverIris]

My apologies for the thread resurrection, but such information needs to be preserved/archived as this is a common occurrence on E38s that most are nervous about handling.

ACspecialists, answer me these questions three, the other side ye shall see...

How did you extract the headliner from the car via the rear passenger door in terms of geometry/angles/etc?
Was it with the finished side facing the driver's side doors and tail light, or was it wiggled through another way?
Also, in terms of geometry, what should be expected when extracting the headliner on an I instead of an IL?

Since the whole Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic has hit everywhere, I'm getting my ducks in a row to tackle this on both Iris (fix sunroof cassette cables, redo headliner) and Marina (fix drains, redo headliner) in the near future. Needed a break from translating service manuals...

[clarkitect]

http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/566588

[acspecialists]

That's a better write up than mine. You can see the seat set up and it comes out the passenger rear door.

[oldroller]

Preparing to recover the headliner on the 01 Sled. Good tips. I also plan to use wide masking tape on the edges of the headliner as they become available, wrap the edges to prevent the goo from contaminating everything. I also have the unusual (or maybe not so unusual) task of dealing with a broken stuck closed sunroof, no manual movement either. Likely going to have some breakage at some point, unless I can access the glass panel screws. A replacement cassette is on hand and waiting.
Most places for material will have unlined material for application to the shade. Makes movement of the shade much easier after install.

[SilverIris]

Preparing to recover the headliner on the 01 Sled. Good tips. I also plan to use wide masking tape on the edges of the headliner as they become available, wrap the edges to prevent the goo from contaminating everything. I also have the unusual (or maybe not so unusual) task of dealing with a broken stuck closed sunroof, no manual movement either. Likely going to have some breakage at some point, unless I can access the glass panel screws. A replacement cassette is on hand and waiting.
Most places for material will have unlined material for application to the shade. Makes movement of the shade much easier after install.

Good idea on containing the trump dandruff . I know we can get gray, black and tan headliner material at places like Joann Fabrics, but what about the less common colors like Oyster Pearl Beige (matches Ecrue leather)? Suggestions on matching these are much appreciated.

[Frankie]

Don't waste too much time worrying about fabric and colors. No upholsterer can match factory quality or color. Their fabric is simply an approximation. Like it or lump it.

oldroller's advice should be heeded regarding use of no-liner fabric for the sunroof panel. However many shops will not have no-liner fabric to match, and you'll have to install fabric with a liner. It will work, but the sunroof panel will gather indentations in the material when the roof sits tilted or full open. Absolutely nothing you can do about it.

Fact is, your car will never the same after headliner replacement.

[Manny G.]

Tried to find an E38 done with Grey Alcantara headliner... cant find any. Rather than replace mine with the black that everyone does, I want to do mine in grey... interior is grey. Anyone know where i can find pictures of this or know someone with it?

[DIEGOBMW]

Tried to find an E38 done with Grey Alcantara headliner... cant find any. Rather than replace mine with the black that everyone does, I want to do mine in grey... interior is grey. Anyone know where i can find pictures of this or know someone with it?

Try: headlinermagic.com