Hot Rod Forum banner

Minor Headliner Sag

5K views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  DougMN 
#1 ·
I've read through quite a few headliner threads on here but they all seem to refer to major sags in current headliners.

I have 97 Dodge Ram with two sags, one in front of each fold down shade.

Is it necessary to remove the entire headliner to repair just those two parts? Or can it be done with it still in the car?
 
#2 · (Edited)
If it is the typical sag for headliners there is nothing you can do for it short of pulling it out and re-upholstering it. What is happening is the foam is degrading and is separating from the material allowing the material to drop down, it's a very common problem. It will only get worse over time.

Vince
 
#3 ·
Yep, to fix that you will have to drop the headliner and recover it. If you try to make simple repairs, you will find more as time passes. The thing that causes most headliners to fail is cigarette smoke and perfume, they tend to degrade the foam causing the fabric to fall.
 
#5 ·
Everybody is right, once it starts to come down it will only get worse. If you take down the headliner board, you can clean off the old fabric and foam combination and replace it with new stuff. It's not that expensive, and you don't need that much for a pickup.
 
#7 ·
It is not that difficult, usually the headliner board comes down in one piece. Clean all the old junk off, get a piece of fabric the size to fit. Use a good grade contact cement (this is the most important step). Do not use 3M #77 or most anything you can get from a home improvement store in a rattle can. Most if not all will fail in the heat of summer and the headliner will sag again. If you can go by an upholstery shop see if you can buy a quart of DAP Landau Top adhesive from them( bring an empty can). Spray both the headliner board and the back side of the headliner material. Allow time to dry then starting from the middle apply the fabric and work outward.

Vince
 
#9 ·
used car dealers around me drop the headliner down, seperate it and use spray adhesive in between and use a large airbag to hold it up while it dries... this is the only way I know of 'fixing' what's there, short of completly redoing it, but I question how long it will hold
 
#10 ·
That would be O.K. if the headliner material separated cleanly from the headliner board. In actuality, that would be extremely unlikely so they would just be prolonging the inevitable.
 
#12 ·
You can do what my son did to his 1984 celebrity. He took an air powered roofing stapler and stapled the headliner back up to the roof. He said it fell down so he had trouble seeing the road. Also don't forget to bend over the staples and put silicone on them to prevent water leaks. Worked good, the guy he sold it to didn't seem to mind.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top