’99 Camry query

?99 Camry: The cloth from the headliner has completely unglued itself and is currently held up by nothing more than the dome lamp, pillars & ceiling frame. I can?t believe the amount of stretch on this thing! It?s hanging about 4-6 inches off the headliner, which makes driving this car distracting and very annoying. I?ve read of using glues, tacks, etc. which is fine for a quick fix, but I want to get rid of this problem permanently. I?m a total novice at repair & maintenance so I wanted some advice:

What is an easy, cost-efficient, (and most importantly) reliable way to get this problem sorted out? Should I attempt the fix myself or give it to the shop? Wonder how much they?d charge.

Rob.

Reply to
RO13
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Try a spray adhesive from an automotive parts store.

Reply to
Ray O

Forget the spray adhesives. Call a local headliner installer who will install a new one and the problem will be over with. We called one to install a headliner in a Corolla, and they came by and did in our drive way.

Reply to
offen rong

Perhaps offen rong is! ;)

3M makes an excellent spray adhesive just for this purpose. If you have the time, here's what you'll have to do:

Remove the sun visors. Remove the weather stripping, if it is holding the headliner in partially. If not, skip

You may have to remove the "B-pillar" covers; the plastic trim pieces between the doors on a 4-door, or the door and the windows on a coupe. They snap out. Be prepared to buy new snaps! It will be hard, and will feel like you're going to break something, but firm even pressure will make them pop out. You may need to pry them; some people use a screwdriver, anal people like me use their fingers (ouch!!! it's easy to pinch your fingers this way. I guess I have strong fingers...)

Remove the overhead dome light.

The headliner is held in place with snaps and perhaps trim pieces. If there was a trim piece behind the sunvisors, it is either screwed or snapped into place. Again, if it is snapped in, firm, even pressure will unsnap it. Again, be prepared to buy new snaps.

Make sure there are no other trim pieces and GENTLY start prying the headliner. It is made of some fibrous material and will bend easily; once bent it cracks and you'll have to do a further repair on that. It's not TOO fragile; I have had two of them in my garage for about 2 years now.

Now, gently peel back the fabric and spray the adhesive on the 'chipboard' in even stroke, in an even layer. If you have an assistant for this step it'll really help. Do one section and then replace the fabric and smooth it out. Try not to bunch it up or pull it.

It will adhere almost instantaneously, when done let it cure while you have a smoke and/or a beer, and then reverse the above procedure to reinstall!

Saturday or Sunday afternoon will be a good time for this!

Good Luck...

Reply to
hachiroku

"" wrote: > On Thu, 04 Aug 2005 00:41:03 -0400, RO13 wrote: > > > ?99 Camry: The cloth from the headliner has completely > unglued itself > > and is currently held up by nothing more than the dome lamp, > pillars & > > ceiling frame. I can?t believe the amount of stretch on > this thing! > > It?s hanging about 4-6 inches off the headliner, which makes > driving this > > car distracting and very annoying. I?ve read of using > glues, tacks, etc. > > which is fine for a quick fix, but I want to get rid of this > problem > > permanently. I?m a total novice at repair & maintenance so > I wanted some > > advice: > > > > What is an easy, cost-efficient, (and most importantly) > reliable way to > > get this problem sorted out? Should I attempt the fix > myself or give it > > to the shop? Wonder how much they?d charge. > > > > Rob. > > Perhaps offen rong is! ;) > > 3M makes an excellent spray adhesive just for this purpose. If > you have > the time, here's what you'll have to do: > > Remove the sun visors. > Remove the weather stripping, if it is holding the headliner > in partially. > If not, skip > > You may have to remove the "B-pillar" covers; the plastic trim > pieces > between the doors on a 4-door, or the door and the windows on > a coupe. > They snap out. Be prepared to buy new snaps! It will be hard, > and will > feel like you're going to break something, but firm even > pressure will > make them pop out. You may need to pry them; some people use a > screwdriver, anal people like me use their fingers (ouch!!! > it's easy to > pinch your fingers this way. I guess I have strong fingers...) > > Remove the overhead dome light. > > The headliner is held in place with snaps and perhaps trim > pieces. If > there was a trim piece behind the sunvisors, it is either > screwed or > snapped into place. Again, if it is snapped in, firm, even > pressure will > unsnap it. Again, be prepared to buy new snaps. > > Make sure there are no other trim pieces and GENTLY start > prying the > headliner. It is made of some fibrous material and will bend > easily; once > bent it cracks and you'll have to do a further repair on that. > It's not > TOO fragile; I have had two of them in my garage for about 2 > years now. > > Now, gently peel back the fabric and spray the adhesive on the > 'chipboard' > in even stroke, in an even layer. If you have an assistant for > this step > it'll really help. Do one section and then replace the fabric > and smooth > it out. Try not to bunch it up or pull it. > > It will adhere almost instantaneously, when done let it cure > while you > have a smoke and/or a beer, and then reverse the above > procedure to > reinstall! > > Saturday or Sunday afternoon will be a good time for this! > > Good Luck...

Guys, thank you so much for the advice.

The 3M adhesive sounds promising, but I?m hesitant to go that way while the temperature is still 48 degree C and humidity is 90-100%! A rental car agent I spoke to yesterday told me that the sagging headliner cloth issue was a common problem (especially in hotter countries). His recommendation was to do the re-gluing when it got cooler, or the cloth would just come back down in a few days/weeks in this heat.

Calling a professional in to replace the headliner would be good (if for no other reason than him breaking fewer components that I will), but he?s going to be expensive. And unfortunately, with temperatures like this, the fabric will unglue itself in no time? leaving me right where I started.

In addition to your suggestions, I must admit I?ve read some unconventional ideas (on different sites). Some people have used ?Haberdashery? pins, which I believe, is nothing more than a simple pin with a little colored ball at the end for easy grip. They insist that this will get the job done and doesn?t look very bad. Although, I can?t imagine sewing pins in the headliner of my car, just blending in! I may have to use pins just to get his thing off my head (literally) as driving will be less aggravating. And bear with the ghastly sight of the sewing pins until winter rolls around and I can get it re-glued.

Thanks again for the help, fellas! Much appreciated.

Rob.

Reply to
RO13

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