interior light/ sunroof gear panel removal?

[maxslomoff]

i'm going to replace my headliner and i'm curious which is the right way to remove the interior lights and the little pannel that covers the sun roof gears?

i've broken many brackets by trying to get pieces out of this car so if anyone can tell me how to remove these things properly it'd be great.


also, do you know if new headliner material comes with the foamy stuff on the back of it already?

thanks,
max

[///M Power]

Not really sure on yoru other questions but to get out that panel you just need to be slow and precise about usign a screwdriver and popping otu the tabs slowly. Theres a few tabs so don't just yank on that puppy.


That panel in my e34 fell out sometime in the 280,000 mile mark and swung down because it was attached to the sunroof mechanism and whacked me in the side of the face while driving. The tabs had become so weak from so much heat in the sun over the past 13 or 14 years that it just felt like breaking. And why do they need to much wire in there for the sunroof mechanism anyways! It happens I guess.

[BeachBunny]

Originally Posted by maxslomoff

i'm going to replace my headliner and i'm curious which is the right way to remove the interior lights and the little pannel that covers the sun roof gears?

i've broken many brackets by trying to get pieces out of this car so if anyone can tell me how to remove these things properly it'd be great.


also, do you know if new headliner material comes with the foamy stuff on the back of it already?

thanks,
max

THe interior lights (you mean the ones over the sunshades, right?) Just pop right off. Jimmy a credit card in there or something to get some leverage. I replaced mine so long ago, I can't remember everything... ... but everything generally pops off. The pain is getting it in and out of the car without bending it. Oh, and there's a little hook on the back of it the headliner that hooks over a lip right by your rear window (in case u didn't know that already).

As for the material, I got mine at a junkyard. The headliner is just a peice of cardboard underneath all that.

P.S. Be careful when hooking the dohickies that attach your sun visors to your roof back up. I clipped them together too tightly and the lights got fucked up (I will go back and redo that... one day).

[maxslomoff]

credit card worked great, no danger of breaking the tabs at all.

gluing the material back on has been a whole other nightmare.

i sugest spraying on the glue and then smearing it arround with a rag first to even it out, then prest the fabric back on. don't spray on the fabric or you'll be sure to stain parts of it darker than others...

and, you won't be able to get it perfect. at least, its very hard to. if you want perfect, spend the 300 on a new headliner.

max