replacing the headliner

[itsabugslife!]

my headliner is starting to come apart where my little storage compartment is up in the front. is it best to take it somewhere to have it fixed or to get one of those kits and do it myself? does anyone know about the price of replacing it?

tia!

[Deserion]

The most cost-effective route would be to have an upholstery shop recover it, versus replacing it.

-Des

[hyakugojyuuichi]

I was wondering the same thing. My headliner is beginning to blister around the storage compartment and it's driving me nuts!

[LeilaniRL]

Have you tried spray adhesive? Mine's coming down around my passenger window!!!

[goteebug]

My '98 is having the same problem, the spray adhesives will work... for a while, then the sag comes back, especially here in the Florida heat and humidity! I'm thinking the only solution is replacement, probably re-upolstering? I checked once on a totally new headliner piece from VW and it (as you would expect) is rather pricey.

[Storm Shadow]

Have an Auto upholstery shop re-cover it.

I just had mine re-upholstered for $100 and it was totally worth it. My '99 headliner was sagging horribly (Texas heat), and now it looks brand new. I also had mine done in black...it looks pretty sweet, I'll try to post some pics here when I get home.

Just call around to get prices...a couple of shops said they wouldn't do it because it was too hard with the curved roof (read: those guys were lazy). I also took my headliner off myself and dropped it off...they had it done the next day. But just about every shop will take off all of the trim and do it for you if you don't want to hassle with it yourself.

[lady bug]

i'm redoing mine in the next few weeks...but i'd suggest getting it done somewhere but get creative...i'm doing burberry fabric...and if you're already paying for it to be redone why not customize it?

[GatorBeetle]

Had mine done in black...looks SWEET!! I also removed and put it back in myself...saved a few bucks, and this way, I know everything went back in as it came out!!

[GatorBeetle]

The removal is not really that bad. You take everything connected to the roof down, visors, sunglasses holder, Jesus Bar...etc. The mirror is a bit of a bugger, and I do not remember how to do it right now, but found directions on the ORG. Then it is a matter of pulling down the plastic pieces of trim around the edges, most are connected with the typical trim doo-hickeys that are plastic and ribbed, so they stay in place (no jokes here, please, this is a family show...)

You have to maneuver the headliner board out the back hatch, I tipped it one way to clear the trim, and then the other. It comes out at an angle. Took about an hour to take out, about 2 to get it back in just right...alingment is a bit of a pain, but you just have to be patient.

[GatorBeetle]

You don't have to remove the plastic trim, just losen them a bit at the top.

[Storm Shadow]

Aligning the headliner wasn't bad at all for me...pretty much you slide it into the three tab holders near the rear hatch and then press up into place.

The rearview mirror IS a pain to get off. I'd suggest taking off the sunglass holder first. Then you pop the clock/thermostat trim down and rotate it to the side. Then you will see the base of the mirror which is metal, and it is snapped in with a spring clip. I had to almost stand up in the bug, and with a long flat head screwdriver, reach thru the opening where the sunglass holder was so you can get more leverage...you then just have to use force to pry the base of the mirror down. It will pop out, but make sure you either have some towels sitting on your dash to protect it if it falls down, or have someone with you to hold the mirror when it comes off.

All of the visors, grab handles, etc come off pretty straightforward. I then went ahead and took off the plastic trim pieces...Gatorbeetle's method of just loosening the tops of them may work just as well. I think you'd at least need to remove the top rear center trim piece near the hatch that covers up the 3 tabs that the headliner is sitting in.

Then you pull down the gray/black rubber weatherstrip from the top of the door opening, as it is also holding the headliner up. Then it will just come on out and you can remove it the way Gatorbeetle described.

In general, just be careful and take your time...some of the pieces may seem like they won't come out, but eventually they will with some work.

Also, if you ever wanted to replace your faded antenna base (which you can find on ebay), now is the time to do it with the headliner out!

[GatorBeetle]

Absolutely, I forgot about the back trim piece, it does have to come out completely. It has been a few months since I did thism and my memory is not good.

If I had someone to take pics I would have posted a "How To" but my wife thinks I am crazy enough as it is...

[GatorBeetle]

And I didn't take the weatherstrip on the doors down, either, I just pulled the headliner out of it. That is possibly why I had alingment issues?!?