DIY:Removing the headliner

[Shaetoon]

I'm not sure what you want to do. If you are talking about only removing the fabric shuttle from the sunroof itself, you can do this without removing the entire sunroof.

You can peel off the inner rubber seal around the sunroof as long as the sunroof is open.

Yeah, thats what i wanna do, my friend burnt my sunroof fabric with a cig. so i want to go over it with something to cover it up.

would i be able to apply over the fabric that is already on the sunroof with out running into complications later on?

[old skool]

Yeah, thats what i wanna do, my friend burnt my sunroof fabric with a cig. so i want to go over it with something to cover it up.

would i be able to apply over the fabric that is already on the sunroof with out running into complications later on?

Well, honestly, I would pull the fabric shuttle piece out of the car.

Then you can do a better determination. It probably would be simpler to just pull the old fabric and re-cover it.

[Shaetoon]

I did this today, It turned out Really nice!
I just ended up putting it on-top and useing some adhesive sparay. I used this nice suede & velvet black material and it blends in nicely to the interior and with a clean look from tucking in the courners to get it on smooth.

[Uncle Shorty]

First post here... really do appreciate the work that has gone into this forum, you guys are awesome.

So I have everything out of the car. Question is about re-covering the pillars. Factory material is proving to be extremely difficult to remove. Would I be an idiot if I simply glued & covered (new material to match the headliner) over the factory covering? Or should I do whatever needs to be done to get the factory stuff off? Anybody got any tips there?

US

[bigbrent88]

Read this write-up a couple times before the attempt, everything went almost perfect. I did have fun removing it with the drivers seat recline gear broken, but it worked and the rear decklid rivets came off very easy for me. I would add a couple of pointers:

-Don't push any of the loose wires through the holes, some back right to the metal frame and can get lodged. I "lost" two for a few minutes, finger fishing retrieved the wires.

-Double check other wires while your at it, found one of my antenna wires had disconnected explaining my poor reception.

Now I wait for my material and prep the parts.

Thanks again,
Brent

[HandOfFate]

How do you get the sunroof switch off?

I've tried to pull and pry everything I can think of, but I'm afraid I'm going to break something.

[old skool]

How do you get the sunroof switch off?

I've tried to pull and pry everything I can think of, but I'm afraid I'm going to break something.

Sunroof switch just pops out. It snaps into the plastic ring and that ring slides into the fabric insert. On the back there is a plug that just pulls out.

Just put your fingernail under the edge of the plastic trim and pull down...or you can remove the entire fabric insert that is the motor access and simply disconnect the switch then.

[HandOfFate]

Thanks, worked perfectly, I was just scared about breaking the switch...

I've taken all of the interior out except the rug and the dash, and I've broken so many old plastic tabs.

My car is a '92, but the plastic seems to have deteriorated badly.

[mdf3554]

Can you tell me how to remove the fabric shuttle from the sunroof.

[old skool]

Can you tell me how to remove the fabric shuttle from the sunroof.

I have a DIY on that as well, just do a search under my name.

[adriancscott]

Hello,
Thank you for this: very good. I am trying to install the two rear screen hooks and am having to do a bodge job cos the screen is too big. Am I right in saying that even to pull down the rear of the headliner I have to pull the headliner forward: so have to free it all points just to get at the back? ? Do you see what I mean?
Thanks.

[old skool]

Can you post a picture of what you are talking about?

[TheNorthWaves]

dude you're awesome. My saggy headliner is off. Thank you.

[Anthrax]

Thanks for the info, i wonder is the 4 drs is a same progress???

This is what I would like to know as well.

Would the headliner still fit through the front door? It should be a lot tighter since the doors are a bit shorter.

Are the rear window glued, as this would otherwise be the only other solution?

[Tobias]

Old Skool, this is the best DIY write up I have followed from this site. Very detailed, good pictures. Thank you for taking the time to write this. It's appreciated.



I put up some Alcantara (micro suede) I bought on eBay. Looks very good. I guess I need to do the sunroof next. The old fabric stands out. Will be looking for your DIY for that too.

One comment regarding the rubber seal along the windows and doors. I took down some of the rubber seal on one side of the car. On the other side I just pulled ithe headliner out from under it and pushed it back in when I was done.

[jordanmc]

just completed it now, getting too dark, so im gonna roll around tonight with a bare ceiling, and remove the foam from the liner and spray it in the morning
THANKS A BUNCH your write-up rocks!

[Emils97bmw318i]

Great write up. It helped me a ton when I replaced the headliner in my car

[brunp]

Seems like a complicated process. this is my first DIY car, and everytime I read instructions like this, it puts me off, but I guess, one has to start somewhere.

Actually, the headliner,rear parcel shelf will be tasks for next Spring, but this is a create write up for sure...

Paul

[99EmThree]

It's not hard to get the headline out, I did it in less than 5 minutes. However, I am about the sell the car over the fact that by the time I started to reuse the material it shrunk and wont glue back worth a damn. The stuff that they sell at Pelican Parts comes in running yards? lengths of 3' wide? WTF...the width of the headliner is more than 3 feet so does that mean I will have a seam?
If so, screw it, I will use black spray paint on the fiberboard and put it back in.

[brunp]

actually, the pieces I ahve are complete w/ the fibreboard. So the process of re-installation should not be difficult. I just need to snap the fibre-board into place again.

Paul

[brunp]

After completing the 18-button OBC DIY and installing the Microfilter (PITA), I am right now about to embark on the interior swap.

The only suggestion I was given was to remove the seats for the headliner swap as I was told it makes it easier to move about in the car and also remove the old headliner....

So....I will probably tackle this "next" Saturday and let you all know how it goes.

Paul

[Frank THE TANK]

i removed mine yesterday and am planning on doing black suede on the headliner, sunroof, and the pillars...how many yards should i get?

[LuvMy328is]

Just used this thread over the last two weeks to redo my headliner and pillars. I went with fabric and a shade darker than Dove Grey. I really like how it turned our, except a few spots that look darker because the damn adhesive was a PITA to spray evenly. One question for you guys, how do I get the freakin' C pillars back in? I have tried for over an hour to put them in.
~Phil

[rao]

Very carefully or you will break the tabs and be buying new ones

[kalumia01]

Hey guys, new to the forum! Thanks for the great info. I just bought my first BMW, a 318is for only $1000. The guy before me got sick of the saggy headliner hitting him in the head, so he tore it all off. That ended up leaving a nice sticky orange foam mess all over the car! Anyways...I followed your post and in about 30 minutes I had mine out and ready for recover. I went to Walmart and bought about 4 yards of material that was a REALLY close match to the factory color. I recovered the headliner, all pillars, sunroof switch panel and repainted the deck lid with duplicolor fabric/vinyl paint while I was in there. The project came out GREAT, I was so happy with it! Anyways...thanks for a great post, and to everyone else....this really isnt as big of a project as you think. Just be patient and go slow to not mess anything up!