1st Gen R53 Cooper S Sagging Headliner: advice for DIY fix

In a word......no.

There is no cheap easy fix......

The headliner is made of fabric glued to foam glued to cardboard, it's the foam that's failed. The only fix is to take it out, remove the cover, scrape off all the foam.

Then buy new fabric with the foam already glued on and re-glue it to the cardboard.

It sounds harder than it is, I've done several of them.......

If you want to save some cash, maybe remove the headliner, scrape it down clean and then take the cardboard part to the upholstery shop and have them cut and glue the new material on, then you re-install it.

 

Do you have a sunroof? If so, could it have leaked and caused it to sag?

 

You really need to look at a persons garage before asking a silly question.....:lol:

He has 5% tint on sunroof

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fridayxiii Yes you should do what exactly what MiniDave said above.

I just did mine and it not that hard to take out.

I pulled all the fabric off because the glue between the foam and the fabric failed. New glue will not stick to the dry rotted foam.

After you take off the fabric use a steel bristle brush and the glued foam comes right off old glue and all.

Then you can pick your fabric and get some good 3M glue and do it yourself.
(not worth it)

Or do what I did take it to an auto upholstery shop and have a professional do it for $100.
In the end it will look better then the OEM one. They will use the correct glue, foam backed fabric and professionally trim and glue wrap all the edges for you.

 

If you don't have a large, clean, warm place to work, that's probably the best idea. Pretty much all mfrs have been doing it this way for years and years, so any decent upholstery shop will have already done hundreds of them.

It's a little tricky around the sunroof, but again, a good shop won't have any problem with it.

 

I have fixed it on a different car with your idea using 77 spray adhesive. BUT if the foam is disintegrating as others have mentioned this is only a temporary fix.

 

Here was my thread on this:
http://www.motoringalliance.com/forums/interior/17837-headliner-diy.html#axzz3LZ684bl7