| Author | Message | ||
     Bruce Potier (Brucep) New Member Username: Brucep Post Number: 14 Registered: 06-2003 |
Called around few places to repair my D1 drooping headliner. I was told the thin layer of fabric has pulled away from the foam backing. The foam backing is still adhered to the roofline. So, since the fabric layer is so thin, poking a little hole in the fabric, spraying adhesive behind it and trying to get the fabric to stick back to the foam will cause big ugly wet-spot and later will get brittle and crack. Ok, what’s the cost for a new liner, double sunroofs. $425! Nope, don’t think so chum. Anybody got any ideas on how to repair this irritation? I have seen some use pins, others use hat-pins, plastic bolt-like buttons, etc… $425, how crazy is that and only for cosmetic relief, give me a freekin break!!! Your clever ideas would be appreciated. Thanks, Bruce | ||
| Jeremy Katka (Jkatka) Senior Member Username: Jkatka Post Number: 267 Registered: 02-2002 |
Bruce, Awhile back in the archives someone brought up a company(I think it was headlinermart) where you could buy a new foam and the fabric that is the right color for your interior. You can remove the whole headliner do the work in your driveway and put it back in in a day of work so I have heard. Pins and such just pop out in my experience. JK | ||
| Drew Porta (Ncrover) New Member Username: Ncrover Post Number: 34 Registered: 05-2003 |
Do a search on my user name and you will find an earlier thread. I completed my headliner a couple of weeks ago. Don't try and reglue old headliner material to the foam b/c the foam has dry rotted... You MUST use new headliner material. If your headliner is falling it is because the old foam backer material is "dead" (basically crumbles at the touch) and has allowed the material to separate from the foam. Also, when you order headliner material it MUST be 60 inches wide minimum. The automotive industry in general typically uses a 54 inch wide headliner material and very few vehicles need any headliner material wider than 54 inches wide. Therefore, very few companies produce 60 inch wide material which limits your choice of colors and also increases the material cost. Material costs alone will amount to ~$65 for 3.5 yards of 60 inch headliner material. The basic problem is that when the material was fused to the foam, an insufficient amount of glue was used and/or a poor grade of foam was used. This happens to American and other cars as well, but it usually takes 10+ years minimum typically whereas my Disco had to be recovered after 4 years old. Unless you find an auto upholstery shop that has never done a Disco, you won't get the complete job done for cheap. There's alot to take apart and put back together on these headliners like trim panels, lights, rear map pockets, grab handles, front map pockets...and then some models even have rear A/C and sunroofs which further complicate matters. In addition to all the parts connected to the headliner, the Disco has a very difficult headliner board to recover due to the multiple curves that follow the safari roofline. The Discos without sunroofs (like mine) are even harder to cover with material as there are more tight curves in place of where the sunroof panels typically go on the sunroof models. All these things combined really requires you to have the new headliner material properly and professionally glued back on for a decent stock looking appearance (and not look like some amateur hack-job). A reputable shop that can do the entire job (remove all panels, prep the board, etc.) to look stock factory in appearance will cost you $375 to $400. That said, I still went ahead and did all the panel removals, material removal and headliner board prep myself. I only had the upholstery shop professionally reapply (glue) material to the headliner board. Total cost = $150, but this doesn't place a value on my time/labor to remove and replace everything noted above which was probably 2.5+ hours to carefully remove the trim panels (the plastic clips and panels are brittle), remove the headliner board, remove map pockets from headliner, remove the old material and prep the headliner board (scrub off dead foam), reinstall the board for transit to the upholstery shop, drive to upholstery shop, and remove the headliner board for the upholstery shop. Wait 2 days & drive back to upholstery shop. Spend the next 2 hours re-installing all the map pockets for the rear of the headliner, reinstall the headliner, reinstall all trim panels. In the end, this was a PITA job that, unless you are on a really tight budget, I'd just cough up the $ and have it done for you (and this is coming from someone who has done headliners in several cars before this one). But, I am happy with my new headliner that exactly color matches the stock Land Rover fabric color but is a better quality fabric (I chose a material that is also used in Bentleys). This post covers the bulk of the steps required. Using a factory Shop Manual helps in locating the clips that hold the trim panels in place. I'll try and prepare a detailed "How-To" for the tech section in a week or two. | ||
| Bruce Potier (Brucep) New Member Username: Brucep Post Number: 17 Registered: 06-2003 |
Thanks Drew, nuff said. In the tradeoff of cash versus time, time will usually win if the repair is doable. However, with you prior experience and your PITA comment, think I am shop-bound. The shop I talked to has done lot's of Discos so I expect a good outcome. Thanks again for your time in writing your comments. Bruce |
