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Headliner help??? (and dash)

alpinetiburon04

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Severn, MD
I can't figure out how to get the center door-light out of my headliner. I've got a 91 XJ sport. The light has no switches to it, so it's on when i open the doors, and off otherwise. I can't get teh headliner out without removing this. Also, how do I get the headliner out from those metal clasps over all four doors? I got one off towards the back, but it crumbled the headliner in the process. And the whole reason for getting it out is to reupholster the thing.

On a side note, how do I remove the dash? I swapping to a black one and I don't even know where to start.
 
Take the lense off of the unit , if you give it a little presure on the sides it should come off. Under that there is a cap nut that you should be able to remove easy enuff. As far as removing the headliner, the light holds it in place a bit. It should be easier to get the headliner out.
 
On my jeep it was held by those little washers that push onto a shaft and stay there by digging into the shaft, theres one on each side of the light IIRC. Use a pair of needle nose pliers. Thos clips you are speaking of are slotted and slide down about 1/2'' they also are bendable. One thing to note is on my jeep there was velcro holding the very front of the headliner to the ceiling. Good luck with the reupholstering, dont use 3M supper 77 spary adhesive, didnt work for me and I even cleaned the headliner board prior to application.
 
yeah, I've got the aforementioned metal washers and pins. What am I doing with the pliers? bending the washers off? What will i replace them with? And I'm surprised with your Super 77 results. I saw one member used it on his headliner in Texas; 110 degree weather year round and after three or four years no sagging. What else is there to use?
 
I don't know if that's me you are referring to but 110 degrees may be a bit of a stretch (just didn't want to be accused of the classic Texan excesses). My Jeep does sit out year round unprotected in temps up to 100 or so and the temps inside are no doubt often far in excess of 110. Note in my post that I used a heavier duty 3M spray, designated at that time as # 8090, about $16 a can at O'Reilly (only place I could find it locally) and I used three cans. I have no personal knowledge about the relative merits of the various 3M sprays but at the time I did mine, I found a primitive forum where several posters emphasized that you should use the heavy duty spray or risk short term sagging and ultimate total failure of the job. As I stated, I probably used too much of the stuff but decided that if I was going to go to all the trouble, I wasn't going to risk having the whole mess fall down in a month or so just to save a few bucks. Others can chime in if they have had success with the 77 spray but I would not scrimp on the amount used in any event.

Anyway, I don't know how designations have changed over three years and how they compare to what I used, but my new Parts Express catalog includes the 77 adhesive @ 9.96 a can and Foamfast 74 @ 13.40 a can. Also a Hi-Strength 90 adhesive @ 14.40 apparently for laminates with no mention of fabrics.

I expressed doubts in that I didn't have a clue as to how to do this job to the saleslady at the fabric store where I got the foam-backed material. She said she had recently helped her daughter do her headliner and she would pass along to me the only necessary and classic advice: preparation, preparation, preparation.

BTW I don't remember exactly how to get the washers off of the little studs but you do not need to destroy them -- they are reusuable.

Good luck!
 
You pry a screwdriver under it to work it down enough to bite it with the pliers, then gently work back and forth and rotate while pulling down.
 
I'm pretty sure you were the one I was referring to, but I couldn't find the post for accuracy. Thanks for help guys. I'll try to find the heaviest stuff 3M makes.

Does noone have any ideas on getting the dash out? I'm really into now because I think I want to try and do a dash swap to a late model. By the way, are there any cosmetic differences between 97 and 2001 XJs?
 
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