Hi All,

Having extracted the headliner a while back, finally got round to buying the material and cleaning the old crud off.

Quick questions

Is it normal to have all the electric cables and water pipes glued to the board? using generous amounts as well

I have been rubbing the old foam off and found that this leaves a residue i guess of the original glue - suggestions of how to remove before spraying new glue on?

I have also seen some crack running across the rear of the board, I guess either i did it or a previous owner/mechanic did it to get into that space for some reason - Suggestions for glues etc to strengthen the board, looks like a fibre glass resin mix.

All suggestions gratefully received.

 

Not an estate but here's a DIY I posted a while back.

Biggest two things is using a metal bristle brush for the old foam and making some air-dry clay or plaster molds to weigh down the material in the tighter areas.

I have tried to repair and build up a headliner on another car using fiberglass mat and resin. It did work but ended up being too thick in the grab handle areas which created issues with the mounting hardware.

 

Hi 95naSTA,

thanks for that, really useful, had not thought about the indents.
How quickly does the glue set?

 

The glue will grab and not want to come off at first contact wherever it's flat but I let it sit overnight to ensure those weighted/radiused areas get good adhesion.

Keep a steamer or iron handy. You can use them to release and reset tacky glue without damaging anything. This will only work if the use is limited though.

 

Since you have the headliner out, now would be a good time to see if you need to seal up your antenna base's gasket or replace your lift struts for the tailgate glass if they are weak at all (Stabilus 3246YB). My memory is imperfect but I don't recall noticing anything heavily glued glued to the rear 1/3 pf the headliner when I had the rear portion of the headliner down a few inches to replace those glass struts a few months back. From what I recall the wiring was mostly clipped to the metal with plastic fir tree clips. I had a pic of the underside of the roof just ahead of the tailgate so I included that in case it helps.

 

Hi Red, Thanks for the suggestions, ahead of you, replaced the struts, I would have really struggled if I had to do them with just dropping the back end.

Having a bit of an issue with the Ariel seal, not found a direct replacement, may just have to silicone it

Should have it all done by end of the weekend

 

Having extracted the headliner a while back, finally got round to buying the material and cleaning the old crud off.

Quick questions

Is it normal to have all the electric cables and water pipes glued to the board? using generous amounts as well
Yes. I've done 2 Estate headliners now and they both, as you say, had generous amounts of glued lines. The purpose of the glue, I assumed, was to position the cables and hose while setting the headliner in place. I went a different route and used duct tape to position and hold them.

I have been rubbing the old foam off and found that this leaves a residue i guess of the original glue - suggestions of how to remove before spraying new glue on?
I used a wire bristle brush to clean the residue. It is messy. I then wiped down board with denatured alcohol. I laid the new headliner material as one solid piece over the board with at least 4 inch overlap on all edges. I did not cut out any openings (fixture points and moonroof) beforehand, instead, cutting them out after the new headliner had been fully fitted and the glue dried. I used a good quality headliner glue (3M) and glued up the headliner board and the new headliner in sections, not all at once, as the glue dries quickly. Make sure you have adequate headliner glue on hand. I think I used 3 cans. I started at the back and did 12 inches at a time to ensure proper form and contouring. I used a seam roller to apply pressure. Take your time and do not skimp on glue in the radius and curved areas. As Red mentions, I also used weights (sand bags) to maintain pressure on the radius areas and left them overnight while the glue dried. You need good adhesion there, as those areas will be the sections that come unglued due to tension if not properly addressed.

You may be too far along at this point, but I did something that addressed what I believe to be the root cause of headliner failure in the first place. I believe the cause is that Jaguar did not apply adequate heat shielding on the inside roof (reduce cost?). There was just a single 18 X 30 inch piece of reflective insulation that was behind the moonroof (to protect the glass when retracted, I assume). I believe the lack of insulation resulted in the sun heating up the roof and the resultant heat deteriorating the glue. I added 1/4 inch sound and heat insulation sheet (similar to firewall insulation) to the roof beforehand to take up the gap between the headliner board and the roof and to reduce heat transfer. The insulation will help secure the position of the cables and water line. It also help make the interior quieter.

I have also seen some crack running across the rear of the board, I guess either i did it or a previous owner/mechanic did it to get into that space for some reason - Suggestions for glues etc to strengthen the board, looks like a fibre glass resin mix.
I had one similar crack near the back quarter edge and felt that the headliner board would remain sound using just duct tape to reinforce the crack area. If yours appears to be unstable, perhaps instead of fiberglass, use a piece of thin aluminum and tape to reinforce the area?

I echo the concerns of Red in that now is the time to replace the back window lift struts and the seal on the antenna. (which you did). For others, before my headliner failed, I was able to lower just the back end of the headliner to replace the struts and the antenna seal. Had to remove the B and C post hardware though, to allow the headliner to lower so I could reach in to get at the hardware. But it was very doable. I had to buy the whole antenna in order to get the seal from Jaguar. I did some research and found that the same antenna was used on Volkswagon or Mazda (can't recall properly) and was able to buy just the seal from one of them.

Good success with the install.

 

Hey Squito,

So Alcohol, is the way to go?

Interesting you mentioned the insulation, I noticed that too and thought to buy some material to increase insulation and reduce cabin sounds, so with you on that point.
Like the idea of the aluminium and tape to reinforce the tail end section.
I am thinking that there was either a full leak through the ariel seal or heavy condensation as I found 2 large desiccant bags in the spare wheel well. Not spotted during buying the car

For the wiring and water pipes, rather than glue them again, I thought I would use sticky back cable tie bases or clips?

And to confirm I did change the struts already - just need to get the old tailgate switch off now

Thanks for you advice, all appreciated