Headliner repair

[Hwy1Strat]

All

I did not have to remove the moonroof assembly (just the metal panel) or headliner to remove the fabric shuttle. After looking at several write-ups and photos here's how I did it.

1. Press the moonroof "back button" to move the sunroof by an 1/8th of an inch, this releases the fabric shuttle from the actual metal roof panel. You will have to move it front and back to find the "sweet" spot. You should be able to move the fabric shuttle easily. IF NOT then you haven't found the sweet spot.

(Optional, Remove the fabric covered trim "welt" the surrounds the opening)

2. Push the fabric shuttle far enough back into the roof to expose three 17mm nuts holding the metal sunroof panel in place. These are on the black metal assembly that lifts the moonroof at the rear when it's in the "vent" position. Unbolt those.

3. Unscrew the T20 screws along the front edge of the sunroof on each side....and push back the pin. The pin is cast part of the cadmium plated front pivot arm that the T20 screws thread into. They detent onto the angle bracket on the metal moonroof about 1 inch in front of the T20 torx screws (they are tricky to get at). This free's the moonroof from the car. lift it out carefully. I put towels on the roof to keep from accidentally scratching anything.

4. From the top, slide the fabric shuttle back forward to expose all 10 (5 on each side) of the T20 screws along the guide rails that hold the sides of the fabric shuttle. Remove those and remove the fabric shuttle from the top.

Assembly is the reverse procedure.

Notes:

Getting the front pivot cadmium plated arms to locate / detent back into the moonroof was a bit of a pain. It took a flat head screw driver and a lot of patience but I was able to get it. The trick is to locate and get one side partially screwed in but not tight. Then you can still move the moonroof to get the other side in. Small fingers help.

There is no need to remove the entire moonroof cassette assembly to recover your headliner. If you do the procedure above you won't need to re-adjust the roof to get a good seal. It should mount exactly the same as it came out.

A side note, I had to use denatured alcohol, a razor scraper, blue shop paper towels, and a lot of patience to remove all the adhesive from the factory headliner fabric on the shuttle. Took about 3 hrs for everything including putting the new tweed on the fabric shuttle and getting it back in. I only did the fabric shuttle today.

I did the fabric shuttle first because I didn't have enough time to complete the whole job this weekend. Next weekend I will complete the entire headliner. I am re-covering them in a silver "heather gray" style tweed. It looks very nice. I will re-cover all the pillars, not just the front A pillars. It should look great. I will post photos when I get it all completed.

~M Rench~

[Hwy1Strat]

BTW, It cost about $86 for all the materials. I got enough extra to do other parts in Tweed. Here is the company.

http://www.yourautotrim.com/prestigesteel.html

They sell a very high performance contact spray adhesive. Same procedure as the 3M stuff. Spray both sides, wait 2 min, check for it tack, then lay the fabric down.

I divided the area in 1/2. Roll back one side and spray both. Then when the 2 min as passed just carefully roll the fabric onto the headliner backing board. The tweed works nicely and is very tough.

Photos soon.

~M Rench~

[bovilexic]

Just ran across this link to a scheme for re-attaching sagging headliners...just wondered if anyone had ever tried this...

http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/649174

[Mopho]

Hey, that's totally Kewl. I will give that a try with the steam and a roller. My Green '96 has the sunroof, so it is only sagging in a few spots. Just needs touchup.

[bovilexic]

Originally Posted by Mopho

Hey, that's totally Kewl. I will give that a try with the steam and a roller. My Green '96 has the sunroof, so it is only sagging in a few spots. Just needs touchup.

Yeah, much as I'd like to spring for something nice in, say, alacantra, I'd rather fix what I've got (a few small sags), and put the $$ into, say, ZKW headlights or the like... :-)

[Mopho]

Originally Posted by bovilexic

Yeah, much as I'd like to spring for something nice in, say, alacantra, I'd rather fix what I've got (a few small sags), and put the $$ into, say, ZKW headlights or the like... :-)

YES INDEEDIE.
I was thinking more along the lines of lepardskin, but.....

[tiFreak]

I'm probably going to do mine in plaid

[Jovela]

hrmmm black with silver meshing or black with red stitching?

[tiFreak]

I was thinking black and dark gray, I have a black interior so I think it will match pretty decently

[Hwy1Strat]

I know it's been forever since I posted (did it this past Aug) about the headliner. I WILL get photos up soon.

I have to remove the A and B pillar covers to re-do the tweed covering. The reason? The crap adhesive that JoAnn fabric sells is junk and doesn't stick after 6 months of exposure. The industrial strength stuff I got from YourAutoTrim.com works great!!! The rest of my headliner is still perfect and I get compliments all the time (even from the local BMW dealer!). I had to use the JoAnn crapola after I ran out on the headliner and moon-roof panel. Lesson learned.

It's not so bad. Just peel off the old stuff, clean off the old adhesive with mineral spirits, sand, clean with denatured alcohol, and recover. I will take photos of these steps (this time) since I am not in a rush to get the car back together.

I have to do the JB Weld trick with my door panel cards anyway. I am also taking the seats out so I can use a fabric dye to make them black again (they faded blue). Soon the interior will be like new again. ECS Tuning also carriers the rear cargo cover in stock!!! WOOT!!!

Laters

~M Rench~

Hwy1Strat

[JunpoweR]

I got a black interior also.
I have about 10 yards of 2k Carbon Fiber weave I plan on covering mines with.
Going for the dry look. Should go well with my new CF steering wheel and CF theme I am going with on the interior.

Also I am going to use "3M spray adhesive", I have used this stuff for years on speaker boxes and felt. Never had a problem with the elements.

[Hwy1Strat]

Recovered the pillars with the steel grey tweed. Recovering them wasn't so bad. Sanding off the original adhesive (not the JoAnn stuff) that BMW used was a PITA!

Photos to come soon.

~Mike R~

Hwy1Strat

[Hwy1Strat]

OK! As promised, Photos of the finished product!!!

I can e-mail out higher resolution photos. I also put higher resolution photos in my album.

In general it was an easy project. Hardest part was getting the headliner out of the car. Contrary to popular belief, it was easiest to remove the headliner out of the passenger door and not the hatch. The reason is that the hatch opening is too narrow and the headliner backer is extremely brittle and thin fiberglass.

Tips!

1) Scrub scrub scrub with a stiff brush (not wire!!) with denatured alcohol to get the old adhesive off. You need to have a clean, dry surface.

2) Get a bunch of cheap plastic drop cloths. The spray adhesive goes everywhere.

3) Tap off whatever you don't want adhesive on with Blue Painters tape.

4) Do the main headliner in 3 sections. I centered the tweed fabric where I wanted it and rolled back the rear section. Cover the other areas with plastic and tape. Spray both sides (the headliner backer and fabric back) and wait a full 2 min.

5) Work in the shade when using the adhesive. You don't want it to set up too fast!!

6) Use long cardboard strips to keep the fabric from touching until it is in position and lined up. Slide them out one at a time as you press the material into it's final position. Once it's down its stuck!

7) When doing the valleys towards the front, get help to hold the fabric!!!!! Press the tweed into the deepest parts FIRST! then smooth it out from there.

8) Use a hair dryer on HI to help smooth out the valleys.

9) Cut large allowances of over lap. Don't skimp as you won't really know how much it takes to wrap a 3D object with a 2D fabric. Once wrapped, make relief cuts at the radius edges and fold / wrap around.

If anyone lives near the Detroit Metro area and wants their headliner fixed, drop me a line. We can work something out. At the very least I can help you out and you can buy the beer!

~Mike R~

[Hwy1Strat]

And just to remind everyone, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REMOVE THE SUNROOF ASSY to get out the fabric shuttle. Believe it or not, getting out the fabric shuttle is the easiest part. Takes like 5 min!

Cheers!

~Mike R~


Ugh, now all I have to do is get my seats re-dyed. They are supposed to be black, not blue! ;-)

[JunpoweR]

Tits ( . )( . )!!!
I like your work.
I am doing my headliner in CF weave!