993turbo

The headliner in my non sunroof car is sagging down quite a bit at the back.

Are there any fixes / writeups for this?

Cheers.

Rob Edwards

The whole headliner is drooping off of the metal roof, or the vinyl/leather lining has separated from the pressboard liner? If the former, the body panel clips may have just fatigued, and it's a matter of refitting new ones. If the latter, I'd bet you have a leather headliner, as the vinyl is bonded to foam which is bonded to the pressboard. Hard to see how that would separate.

Mrmerlin

is it the headliner material or the hard backing behind ,
usually the hatch seal leaks and then water gets into the headliner board,
this warps the board and results in the headliner hanging lower at the rear edge ,
you could also check that the screws and clips are properly installed at the rear edge,
lift the rear black covers off then see if a screw has fallen out.
A new hatch seal is also a good idea put a bead of Hondabond 4 into the body gap of the seal before you install it.
Smear some Dow Corning 111 on the outside of the seal to keep it soft .
You could also try doing this to your old seal
Remove it ,scrub the seal with some soap and a brush,
and let it sit in the sun for a few hours smear on the DC111 then put a bead of BH4 into the groove
then install it

Clean the body mounting rib as well you will have to remove the hatch visors and the upper hatch trim to get a better handle on removal and installing the top edge of the seal,

NOTE Disconnect the battery first and remove the hatch light before removing the upper hatch trim

993turbo

I live in a place with a very hot climate so to speak. Water ingress is not of my issues

Its a leather headliner.

Not sure exactly what has separated, but it can seem that its the leather...

Mrmerlin

if its leather then the glue that was applied at the factory is giving way two choices remove the liner and reglue it though the edges will be short OR get new leather installed onto the hardboard

993turbo

Its a rather unusual color, olive green. So I guess a repair is the way to go....

Any writeups, or pics of this?

jwillman

Are you talking about filing the open air space of the seal with the Hondabond? That seal is at least 10 feet long. How do you pump hondabond throughout the internal body gap for the entire length?

I assume this is to prevent the seal from deforming so soon / easily. Am I miss understanding?

Nicole

A few years ago, a friend of mine had a Volvo where the fabric had separated from the actual headliner, and sagged. When I asked her whether she planned to fix it, she (jokingly) said "No, I think I'm going to install a chandelier. That'll go nicely with it."

Mrmerlin

Jim the HB goes into the groove where its placed onto the body rib,
use the plastic tip applicator,
put a bead into the groove then let it set up for a few mins then install it

ROG100

My 88 no sunroof has the same problem after being in the TX heat for a couple of weeks. Leather has come away from the board. I plan to remove the roof panel and re-glue. No shrinking of the leather just loss of adhesion.

993turbo

I think (read; hope) that this is what has happened to mine.

ROG100

It was fine when it left the UK - sat on the dockside here in TX and was drooping when I picked it up. Got slowly worse as it got more exposure to the fierce TX heat. Plan to fix it this weekend and will let you know how I get on.

993turbo

Yeah, its the costa del sol heat which has affected mine. Can you take some pics when you do the job?

jwillman

Ahh, got you. Thanks for the clarification. Is this to prevent water from getting behind the seal?

G8RB8

The problem with re-gluing is either getting all the failed glue off, or finding another adhesive compatible enough with it not to fail again.
I wonder if it would be possible to soften the leather enough to stretch it back into shape.