Special thanks to Mark R. and Marty for the removal tips and their pillar photos, respectively.
Tools needed: Torx 15 driver
Flexible shafted screwdriver
Phillips head screwdriver
Flat head screwdriver
Plastic Putty knife
Envelopes or plastic bags for storing and labeling hardware/screws
One, or preferably two, helper(s) (in my case it was my teenage children who were recruited)
Parts used (plug: great pricing from Dave Belknap at Gault):
1 headliner
1 passenger side c-pillar cover (optional)
1 driver side c-pillar cover (optional)
1 passenger side a-pillar cover (optional)
1 driver side a-pillar cover (optional)
16 sunroof perimeter clips
10 pillar cover insert clips (you could probably use the old ones)
Raise the sunroof and feel behind floating liner for the long metal rods running parallel to the side edges. Push these outwards gently to disengage the clips and allowing you to push the floating panel backwards until you can see all three torx bolts on either side of metal sunroof panel mount. Unscrew the 3 torx bolts on each side and lift the rear edge of sunroof panel upwards and back to pull front insert “inverted T” out of its spring clip. Set the panel aside.
Pull the floating felt headliner forward again until it snaps back into its clips. Remove rear torx bolt (longer) from cable cover. Next, lower the roof rails by pressing the sunroof switch forward (closed) position. Now push sunroof switch backwards in the fully opened (not raised) position. This will retract the rails and the floating felt inner sunroof panel fully into the roof cavity Unscrew the other exposed torx screws from both sides, and remove the fixed rail cover to expose side sunroof/headliner clips. With a flathead screwdriver push the retaining tabs on the clips outward and down to disengage them all around the sunroof opening. There are 5 on the front and back of the opening, and 3 on each of the sides, 16 in all.
Remove the sunroof motor cover by inserting a putty knife (or fingernails) in the rear edge and pushing forward while pulling gently downward. Tabs are on the rear and sides with a engagement lip at the forward edge. Unclip keyed switch connector. Set aside.
Remove light panel by reaching behind it and pushing down on the right side and walk it out of it’s mount. Unclip the white keyed connector. Set aside light panel. Switch for center light should be on left side on reinstall.
Remove passenger “Oh Sh*t” handle by inserting a flat blade screwdriver at mount seam at either end of handle and pushing mount cover outwards and pulling cover off. Then unscrew Phillips screws. Work handle out of headliner and set aside.
Remove the visor holder mounts, torx screws, be careful pulling out since there is a wire attached to each. Remove the visor swivel mounts, they also have a wire attached.
Remove the visor light panel by working out of headliner with fingernails or putty knife. Socket for connector is facing you on reinstallation.
Remove coat hanger hooks by inserting flathead screwdriver at top edge of screw cover and popping it open. Remove the Phillips head screws and set them aside.
pasted-from-clipboard.png
Remove all the pillar covers by grasping at the inner and outer edges (with two people if possible, one at the top of the cover, and one at the bottom) and squeezing the pillar covers inward (slightly bowing them) while working them off slowly. Perhaps you can do it without breaking the insertion tabs, but mine were EXTREMELY tightly wedged in the mounting clips and the plastic was somewhat brittle. Many of the clips broke on the c-pillar covers, and the a-pillar covers single tabs broke. I had purchased the pillar covers so I was not totally concerned with removing them intact. Perhaps with great care and slowly working them out it could have been done without damaging the tabs, but I have my doubts on my build date of August ’91 car. The plastic gets a little brittle after 13 years. The c pillar cover has four clip engaged tabs that point downward and three tabs along the window edge that fit into the three metal rectangles. See the pics below of the cpillar cover and the cpillar for a better visualization. The trick is to disengage the three tabs from the metal rectangles by bowing the pillar cover and then working upward and out slowly to disengage the four inserts without breaking the tabs that fit into the VERY tight clips.
In my case, I had to also remove the inner cell phone antenna mount. This was attached with double-sided tape, and I just pulled it off by twisting and pulling it. It was right up against the rear edge of the headliner, which must move backward about an inch to disengage from the rear mounting lip, so the mount had to come off. Radio Shack had 3M double-sided temperature resistant double-sided foam tape for reinstallation of the antenna mount. After cleaning the glass and the antenna mount, reinstall was easy. Getting all the old foam tape off was somewhat of a pain though.
The felt door-liner gaskets work as supports for the side edges of the headliner. In order to free the headliner from under the gasket, you can either pull the felt gasket from its slot, starting just in front of the coat hanger holes, or you can work the sunroof out of the gasket by pushing down on it while using the putty knife to peel back the gasket while pulling the headliner out from under the lip of the gasket. If you decide to pull out the gasket, it is best to leave it connected at either end so that you don’t have to stretch it to get it to run the full length of the door opening. By pulling out and down from the middle and leaving the ends connected you avoid having a “gap” at either end after reinserting it and not stretching it enough during re-install.
With all windows open, pull headliner down and free it to where the only thing holding it in is the rear lip. Sitting in car, grasp it at rear of sunroof opening and push it backwards to disengage rear lip. Then have helper maneuver it out of the car through the open windows. Set aside in a safe place, especially if you are going to recover the sunroof sliding felt panel. I used a product called SOF SOLE to clean off the old foam and glue on the back of the headliner fabric and the sliding sunroof cover after peeling them off. Then I washed the old headliner fabric in the washing machine on gentle cycle, warm water, and then let it air dry. Looked brand new. Then I cut it to match the old fabric that I had peeled off the floating liner, and used automotive grade spray carpet/fabric glue to glue it on. The trick is to just spray on enough glue for good adhesion without soaking the fabric. You might want to try it with the old fabric off the floating liner by gluing it to some cardboard, etc. first to see the proper amount. I didn’t remove the floating liner until the headliner was installed and I had the surnroof mounts in the raised position. See my notes later on that.
Install sunroof mount clips on the new headliner with small lip facing inwards towards the sunroof opening, and the larger engagement lip facing away from the sunroof opening.
On my car, I did not need to cut a hole for the light-sensing wire running from the rearview mirror, but from what Mark R. told me about his 8, you may need to do this on your car. Check this after the old headliner is out and use it as a template for where you need to cut if yours has a slot there. An Exacto knife would probably work best. You will also need to cut holes for the “Oh sh*t” handle before installation. I used the Exacto knife to do this, and cut the square hole just a tiny bit smaller than needed to make sure the insert was a tight fit. The new headliner should have a stencil on the backside showing where the cut needs to be made. Be careful, since on mine there were stencil marks on both the passenger and driver’s side, so be sure to just cut the passenger side openings for the handle. The coat hanger hooks’ holes were already cut. You might want to gently bend the rear engagement lip out a little bit along it’s entire edge to make it easier to engage the rear lip running along the top rear of the back window. I didn’t on first try, and found it to be a real pain to get it to engage the lip, so I pulled it back out of the car and bent the lip out a little to make a wider “engagement slot”.
With your helper or helpers outside the car, and you sitting in the car, position the new headliner in the car above your head and pull the wires through the openings for the visors, visor lights, and sunroof motor at this time. Now, have the helper(s) push up on the rear edge of the headliner by reaching inside the car, at the same time you should pull it forward to engage it into the rear lip. Using a bright light source (or sunlight if during the day) your helpers should be able to see that it has engaged evenly along the rear edge, and the sunroof clips should now line up evenly all around the sunroof perimeter. If you have chosen not to pull out the felt gasket, peel it back and push the headliner under it all along the sides while your helpers hold it up from the sides. If you have pulled the gasket out as I did, just slide the lip of the gasket into its slot and push into place starting at either ends in an alternating fashion and working towards the middle at about a foot at a time. I used the heal of my palm to gently “bang” it fully into place. Now push the sunroof clips into their slots. If they are all lined up correctly, then pushing up on the perimeter of the headliner’s sunroof opening will fully engage the clips all the way around. Mine all snapped into place easily. Your helpers are now no longer needed.
Reinstall the visor’s hardware and light panel and all associated electrical connections as well as the coat hanger hooks and the passenger OhSh*t handle. Engage the a-pillar metal tabs inside the long plastic inner edge of the a-pillar cover by squeezing it while pushing it into place and insuring the single tab goes into the clip. The felt gasket holds it into place on the outer edge.
Engage the c-pillar covers by squeezing them and inserting the edge clips (see picture) and pushing the 4 plastic tabs into the 4 rectangular clip holes. I did this WITHOUT using the metal clips since it is held in place by tension after it is no longer being squeezed, and by foregoing the metal clips I should be able to remove the c-pillar covers in the future without breaking the tabs. Replace the cpillar lights.
Replace the sunroof cable cover. The torx screws had evidence of loctite on them, but with how often I remove mine, I didn’t use any. I tightened them down until they were well seated and then did one quarter turn to torque them down fully. Close the sunroof. Be sure the tab and notch line up as per the repair manual. Now use the switch to put the sunroof in the “raised” position. Now, release the floating felt panel again by pushing the metal rods outward, and slide it back out of the way so that you can see along the entire edge of the sunroof bracket. If you are going to recover the floating liner with the fabric off of your old headliner, you will need to push the floating liner towards the front (while lifting on the drive cable/gate that holds it usually. Remove the front torq bolt and lift up the front gently on both sides and remove the floating liner by working it out. When reinstalling it, just do the opposite and be sure that you reengage it to the gate (see section 54 of the repair manual if you have it for specifics). Be sure to reinstall the torx bolts when done. Also be sure the “bore and notch” line up before you put the metal sunroof back on.
Insert the inverted metal “T” under the metal spring clip on the sunroof bracket, and make sure the metal sunroof screw holes are lined up with the bracket screw holes on each side. Tighten the front torx bolts fairly tightly, and and the other two fairly loosly, but tight enough to hold the sunroof (barely). Close the sunroof to see if the sunroof lines up with the roof of the car. If not, then align it by pushing down or up on the sunroof gently until even. Put in raised position and tighten torx bolts fully. Close again to check alignment. Redo procedure if needed to align. In raised position, pull sliding felt panel forward until it clips into place. Test sunroof by opening, closing, and raising.
You’re done. Have a beer or two or three.
Before:
After:
The “wrinkles” you see above the driver’s side were impressions from the protective plastic sheet pressed against the fabric during shipping, and have disappeared since install.
