1993 Dodge Dakota LE, Auto, 5.2L, 2WD, 180,000 miles, original owner

The head liner has dried out. Peeling away and crumbling. Has anyone come up with a decent solution to replace the head liner before I start messing with it and make it worse?

 

Most folks just get some new material, and recover the existing headliner. Gotta make sure to get the backing good and clean, so the adhesive sticks nicely. There are a couple threads about this around here. I know there are some in the second gen Ram section.

 

I'd start by reading Fixing Car and Truck Headliners | Allpar Forums .

One thing I'd add, is ideally, after cleaning the pressed board off and getting it ready, you'd shellac it well so as to stiffen and strengthen it.

I'd also add some sound deadening in the top of the cab while the headliner's out.

RwP

 

Mine was easyish. I did not bother trying to remove the dried out foam. I got some headliner materiel which is exactly the same as the factory stuff at Joanne Fabrics. Mine color matched too. Just ask them they will point you.The hardest part was getting the visors back in. Mark them so you know what direction they fit. Otherwise get yourself the fabric and the spray glue at Joanne Fabrics and in a enclosed space or a not windy day outside on a big table or a clean spot. I think I used the bed of the truck. Remove the headliner, peel off the old stuff carefully. Lay out the new fabric over it to dry fit and then cut it oversized. lay the cloth out flat and spray it thoroughly with the spray glue. While it dries a bit spray the headliner. Then carefully lay the fabric over the headliner. Smooth it from one direction w/o stretching the cloth. Optimally you have two people, but I did it alone. I have one bad spot where there is a bubble, but I don't look at it much. It's over my head.

 

Good ideas fellas. I'm gonna take a look at the board again where it is peeling off. The liner actually started falling about 13ish years ago. I made some 2" wide clear thin acrylic strips that span the width of the roof then just fit them in place having the interior trim along the sides of the roof hold them in. The acrylic naturally wants to spring up and follow the contour of the roof. Worked great all these years but now it's getting really bad around the corners where the acrylic doesn't fit..