Tools needed - Phillips head screwdriver with a long reach and a few other smaller screwdrivers, 4mm socket wrench and a small adjustable, flathead screwdriver or panel popper, two new sun visor clips from your local LR dealer ($14 total), brand new BBQ wire cleaning brush, 3 cans of spray primer, 3 cans of spray paint a semi-wet kitchen scrubbing pad and a dry kitchen scrubbing pad. 2-3 hours to remove liner, few hours to let paint dry and about an hour to put it back together.

First decide how complicated the job will be for you. This is where you wish you didnt have dual sunroofs, rear A/C, or a sagging headliner in the first place.

OK, the real first step. If you have sunroofs. There is a clip that slides forward allowing you to pull the trim from around the edge of the headliner off. It is one piece rubber and should come off fairly easily.



don't forget to label where everything came from it will make it a lot easier when putting it back together.

next, pop open the tabs on the oh **** handles. two bolts one under each tab. remove all 4 handles and mark which came from where. that way when you put them back you don't end up with the dry cleaning hook on the driver seat handle.



next pull out the alarm system boxes. one behind driver side head, and one behind rear passenger seat head. you should be able to just wedge it out with your hand and it will pull straight out. once out there is a small clip to undo the wiring. again mark which came from what side.



next pull the rear gate trim off. it will pull straight off a few metal clips holding it secure. make sure to use two hands spaced out you don't want to crack it and don't hit yourself in the head when it comes out.



next its time for the sun visors. first unscrew the three screws holding the mount in place. there is a wiring harness you will need to untab. its the power to the mirror light. after each visor is down and labeled.



next we move on to the worst and most frustrating part. the sun visor tabs. these tabs are extremely hard not to break. i suggest just breaking them and replacing them with new ones. if you want to try and reuse them then you need to undo the tab to access the screw. the tab is hinged with only a thin piece of plastic on the top. if you are able to unhinge the plastic without breaking it then all you have to do is unscrew it and the anchors will close in enough to allow you to pull the clip free. OR as I did you can just yank the wholc clip out and replace with a new one.




next we move on to the front electronics panel. first start with the homelink. it will pull out with a little maneuvering. there is a wiring harness that will need to be untabbed and a screw behind the homelink system. Next is the dome light. pop the lens cover off and you will have access to the screws that mount it in place. once that dome is out you will be able to reach in behind the sunroof switches and push them down and you will be able to disconnect the switches from their wiring harnesses. the screw behind the dome light needs to come out as well.



Finally you can start on the map holders on each side. There are 5 screws in each side that you will need the long phillips head screwdriver for. once those 10 screws are out the whole plastic trim will pull out in one piece.



next the mid-dome light. pop the lens unbolt it. disconnect the wiring harness. when that is out it will allow you to reach in and push out the rear sunroof switch from behind. you can then untab the sunroof switch wiring harness and set all the pars aside.




this trim piece will not come off the headliner. the nets will not come off either. they need to be taken off with the plastic nuts holding them on from behind the headliner. be careful when taking these plastic square nuts off the back of the headliner. they break easily and if they get stuck they can twist and snap the plastic bolt they are attached to. rendering it useless. *tip. if you do accidentally break one try flipping the nut upside down and screwing it on to the bolt when replacing the trim and netting. you might be able to get it on and tight enough to hold.



next we will move on to the rear dome light. this one is easy. just pop the cover and two small bolts and its off. just disconnect the tab on the wiring harness label it and you are good.



Your headliner is almost near finished. Now we just need to loosen some trim panels. Including both rear trim panels. the key is popping the trim where the fastners are located. you don't need to completley remove the trim as the headliner is fiberglass and has some flexibility. if you like you can remove them and clean behind them. i only loosened the tops and was able to pull the headliner out from behind them as well as the trim at the front seat belts and the A bars at the windshield.



You should now be able to wiggle and wobble your way out the gate with your headliner in hand. next lay it upside down and undew the plastic square nuts holding the cargo nets and center trim on. once that is off put the nuts and trim aside and you can now remove that old nasty headliner.

your truck should look something like this now.



use the wire brush to get the foam off. it should work pretty easily scraping the foam off and bringing you down to the fiberglass. once you have nearly all of it off it is time to switch to the dry scrubbing pad and get as much as you can and finally the wet scrubbing pad.



give it a little time to air dry and you should have all of the foam and backing off. once dry you can not start to prime.



once the prime is dry you can paint. once the paint is dry. its time to put it all back together inside the truck.



when putting it back together it might be easiest to start with the oh **** handles to hold the headliner in place. make sure you have all the wiring accessible before you start replacing the trim. use the new visor clips from the dealer you will see why they were so hard to remove. the last step should be the sunroof trim and clip.

finally, enjoy the peace of mind that you will never again have fabric sagging over your passengers heads.

 

sticky please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Doing this myself today. The write up was great help getting it out!

Trying to clean my sunroof drain tubes but they don't want to come off. Any advice?

 

So did you paint the headliner or recover it?

 

Painting it. Probably one more coat in the morning and then ready to go back in. Couldn't get the sunroof drains on to save my life, so I just cut the ends off and cleared them. Had plenty slack in the tubes.

 

I really like this option! I have a question though before i do it. Can you see all the little fiberglass pieces after painting it?

 

I sprayed mine with rubberized undercoating for some extra sound deadining.You cant see the fiberglass at all. I followed hilltoppers instuctions and it took me 4hrs from start to finish including paint and prep. Definetly a good project.No more saggy headliner ever agiain!

 

Done. Great info! I painted mine too a while back... Never another sagging liner...

http://picasaweb.google.com/jycsalas/Headliner#

 

What type of primer and paint did you guys use? Do you need special coatings for plastic? Did you just use a spray can or did you paint with a cup gun?


Thanks

 

i used rattle cans, regular rattle can gray primer, and then rattle can chalkboard paint, but you can use anything you want. i would suggest priming it before painting it as it is fiberglass and you want a nice finish. you can use roll on if you prefer but no need to get expensive.