This is not complicated, but it is an undertaking. It really isn't even all that hard or time consuming...it is just time spent cramped in the car.

Let's start with the c-pillars:
Remove the rear lights by pulling them out enough to get some leverage to release the spring clips. As you start to work it loose you want to pull up towards the roof of the car because the bottom side has a plastic extension that the wiring harness connects to and can't be pulled straight out.

Here it is removed

Now in order to remove the c-pillar there are a number of ways to go about this. The easiest way is to open the vent window and peel back the rubber/felt seal. This helps hold the c-pillar in place. It is however, possible to remove it without removing this seal. Eventually you will need to pull the seal back anyway to release the headliner itself. In addition another problem is that the rear side panel helps hold the c-pillar down. Again it may be possible to remove it without releasing the side panel, however it is easier if you do remove it. You cannot however, remove the side door panel effectively without first removing the rear seat side bolster.

This side bolster is easy to remove in concept but requires a good deal of force to release. Start by pulling it out at the top where it rests against the rear window deck panel. As you can see in this picture, there is a bent metal post on the car that is holding this side bolster in place.

That post fits into the back of the bolster with two metal bars that create the tension.

At the bottom of the bolster is a metal bracket. To release this you need to pull up on the bolster, sliding it out of the metal holder attached to the car.

The third point that holds the bolster in place is a plastic post at the bottom outside edge of the back seats. Pull the bolster off of this by moving towards the outside of the car. here is the hole in the bolster.

Here is the post that fits into that hole.

Here you can see all three mounting points on the car with the bolster removed.

As you can see here, the bottom of the c-pillar is captured under the rear side panel.

To remove the side panel just start from the top at the rear most edge and with one hand at the top and one at the bottom, try to put your pressure where the snaps are holding it in place. Pull firmly but gently towards the inside of the car and work your way towards the front of the car. There should be 3 snap fittings. At the front of the panel at the bottom it is held in place by the kick rail. This is directly down from the seat belt attached to the b-pillar. Simply pull up to release it and the panel will be free.

Here are the three holes in the body for the snap fittings on the rear panel.

Here is the top of the kick rail that the rear panel mounts to.

Now back to the c-pillar.
Start to release it by getting something between it and the headliner at the top. Gently pull it out and try to exert all the pressure to the area where it is held in place. Pull firmly and carefully outward to release the plastic tabs from the metal spring clips.

Along the rear window line there are two plastic tabs that fit into metal spring clips. There is another at the top towards the front of the car. The last tab at the bottom just fits down into a hole near the rear vent window assembly. To remove the panel, first release the spring clips and then lift up towards the roof to release this last tab.

Here you can see the three metal clips and the hole below the vent window bracket.
Along the edge of the rear window you can see three metal tabs sticking out. These also capture 3 plastic hooks on the c-pillar. Be sure to clip those back in when replacing the c-pillar.

For the a-pillar, it is a similar process. It may help to peel back the door seal to remove this, however you do not necessarily have to do this.
As before, start at the top and pull the pillar towards you.

There are two tabs that fit into metal clips top and middle to bottom. You can see them here.

Then the last at the very bottom has to be lifted up. It slides down into a slot in the dash.

The process for removing the b-pillar is detailed in my vent window removal DIY. These do have to be removed to get the headliner out. Well technically only one has to be removed the headliner can then be slid out past the other one. So it is up to you whether you remove one or both.

Now I remove the grab handles.
To remove these, pull the handle down and you should see a plastic cover over the screw. This cover is fragile and can break easily if you are not careful removing it. The best way to remove it is to place one finger underneath in the small opening at the bottom. Lift very slightly. Then place another finger on the top at the back to support and steady it. Pull straight out with both fingers at the same time.
The black rod sticking out is part of the spring mechanism. It should be flush to the side of the handle. Simply press it back into place.

Here is the cover removed. The long skinny posts are the parts that can easily break.

Here is the screw with the cover removed:

Once both screws are removed, carefully pull the handle down and out. Do not break the locating posts on the back side.

Now for the sunvisors. I removed the light by pulling it towards the back of the car and then down on the back side. This is where the spring clip is located. Disconnect the wiring harness and remove the light.

The newer cars have covers over the screws for the clip posts that hold the sunvisor in place. In order to slide these back pull out on the little recessed spot towards the center of the post. Remove both screws, pull down and remove the wiring harness.

To remove the sunvisor, simply remove the two screws at the pivot post and pull it down and disconnect the wiring harness.

The center maplight assembly is removed by inserting a screw driver into each side where there is a small recess cut into the side of the maplight. Push the entire assembly towards the rear of the car and pull down. here you can see the metal spring clips on the rear side that you are compressing by doing this.

Remove the sunroof switch/motor panel by pushing it towards the rear of the car and pulling each side down. The clips at the rear of the car hold it up, so just slide the whole thing forward and it drops out.

Pull off the rubber/felt gasket seal for the sunroof. It is easier to do this if the sunroof is slid open.

Peel back the door and window seals that help hold the headliner in place. Here you can see how the seal fits into place with each of the panels.

Here you can see the door seals are captured by the kick rails. The kick rails are difficult to remove and usually ends up with broken clips and that can be a mess if you aren't careful. The rails themselves can also break and aren't cheap. Don't remove them unless you go to a black headliner. If you go to a black headliner you have to change these out to black felt seals. I will be doing this again, but I haven't yet so I don't have the steps detailed here now.

At the rear of the car along to top of the rear window, there is a metal rail that holds a bent lip of the headliner. You will need to release this to take the headliner out.

The headliner might be slightly glued to the roof of the car at the top of the windshield. Very carefully pull this loose. The headliner is very fragile and can be damaged easily. After this the headliner should basically just fall down.

This is very difficult to remove from the car. You need to recline the seats back all the way and open the door all the way. Then you have to rotate it carefully and gently guide it out of the car.

Headliner out of the car:

Talk about a ghetto lean. These seats recline pretty far.

This might be a good time to remove that rear deck if it is faded and spray it dark black again. I have one that I already did this to so I will swap it in. This part is a HUGE pain in the arse. There is a plastic panel that covers the front face of the top of the opening to the trunk behind the rear seats. It holds the front edge of the rear deck down and there are four fasteners that do this.
These are not fun at all. They are flimsy and really don't want to come out of the car. After some trial and error, I found the best way is to work them up enough to get set of good pliers under the head and grip the post. Then as you pull up, twist it CW or CCW while holding your hand parallel to the ground. Often the head will pop off and make a mess. Don't let these fall down into the hole because you won't be able to get them out.

This panel is clipped on to the top of the opening on the metal. It is a very tight fit so be careful working it loose because you can easily bend back your fingernails. Here it is removed along with the rear deck cover. The rear deck cover just lifts up and slides towards the front of the car. At the rear most edge where it meets the windshield it has tabs that slide down into holes.

If you like these DIY articles and you want to see more, show your support by donating via paypal. :D
But seriously my pliers slipped on one of those damn plastic clips on the rear deck lid and I did this to my brand new tint. :( :mad
If you do want to donate the address is eurosource@gmail.com
Oh and the headliner and all parts are for sale.

Thank you for the great DIY writeup! I'm going to be replacing my sunroof assembly in the next few weeks so this will be very helpful!

Thank you for the great DIY writeup! I'm going to be replacing my sunroof assembly in the next few weeks so this will be very helpful!
Also check out my sunroof cassette removal DIY including the how to for removing the fabric shuttle.

You kick ass man. This is a project I'm going to tackle here in the coming weeks.

What adhesive would you use when recovering a head liner? The supposibly super hold 3m spray at home depot didn't cut it.

You know I am not sure on the glue used to recover the headliner...however I have seen a number of threads about this...those people might have a better idea.

Bump for Monday

I just recovered my a pillers.c pillars and entire head liner this weekend
I used 3m contact cement. key is to let iot dry then attach it .mins in black looks so kick ass pix to come

he's right you have to let the glue dry for at least 20-30 seconds first, to allow it to become more tacky. then apply the material to the headliner or pillars.

great write-up once again old skool

did yall just cover over the factory fabric or remove it? i will be recovering my headliner with suede here very soon, have it at home jst not time to recover

ol skool is a DIY champion.

remove old fabric and wipe away old foam with a rag. the old foam wipes away easily with a rag. make sure you do it outside of the car. the stuff goes everywhere. have fun.

and make sure when u spray the adhesive that you let it dry for at least 30 seconds before you apply it. oh and spray both the clean headliner and the material itself. good luck :)

30 seconds? I waited 30 minutes. The head liner was in good shape so I just covered it with my new material {wal-mart suede looking and feeling material $4.99} I used a can of contact cement and painted it on with a foam brush. Then sprayed the material with the 3m-spray stuff. I let it completely dry, which is what you should do. Ive used contact cement for the last 15 years in carpet and upholstery. Let it dry. You can use your hands which is what I did to smooth it out and attach it then used a wallpaper seam roller to finish it

30 seconds before you apply the material to the headliner. not 30 seconds to dry. :confused

30 seconds before you apply the material to the headliner. not 30 seconds to dry. :confused
I think he means that you should wait 30 minutes after applying the adhesive before you put the new fabric on the panel... which is what I've heard about contact cement. I've waited 10-15 minutes when using 3M Super 77 before sticking the pieces together, but then I was applying case foam to plywood so YMMV.

My uncle is going to get me some 3M Headliner spray. Has anyone used that before? He gets it free from his workplace.

Thanks for the info, i wonder is the 4 drs is a same progress???

Old skool > thanks a bunch for the very detailed DIY :) I love it when people take the time to post stuff like that :buttrock

headsup for those looking to redo their headliner, there's a sale right now at Joann fabric, a yard of micro-suede material is 5.99 instead of the regular 12.99

refitting is often the worst bit. you might need a helping hand to hook the rear edge into the metal lip and hold it there while you attatch the rest up.

mine was done in a hurry, and the back edge is quite frayed, and cracked (well, has the odd fold that gives a line a weakness)
maybe painting on a small amount of fiberglass resin, or folding a strip of tape over the edge could help.
if you have trouble, you know what i'm on about. might try it on my next refitting

thanks for this DIY!

saw some one do this with suede looked good, Great DIY!

No problem. :cool

What kind of paint do you recommend to use on the rear deck? I need to restore mine - it was black and now it is a faded blueish color.

duplicolor fabric dye.

heh, see mine is sagging down, the cloth part is, on the headliner.

my car is painted black from the factory, so underneath my pillars and my roof headliner will be black painted metal? awesome!

i may just roll with the headliner off. sure the wires would be a bit ghetto, but can be tucked away nicely. then when i get sick of it, id buy a new headliner, a black one, or paint one.

would you say all of the headliner and foam stuff you removed weighs a total of ... 5 pounds? hehe.

You can always just recover your headliner with new fabric. Or buy a used one. (~$100)

awesome DIY, thanks!

great write up, keep em coming :)

:)

ive been looking forever. I cant find the high temp 3m spray adhesive for the life of me. Anyone know where to buy it (the high temp version is necessary, i hear)?

http://i16.tinypic.com/54nkz82.jpg

Old Skool: I did this today, was quite apprehensive before I started, but I followed your instructions to the letter and it worked like a dream. Thank you so much. Members like you make this forum very worthwhile for DIY dummies like myself. Gratitude and respect.

You're welcome. I too was aprehensive before I did it. But it isn't so bad. I am glad it helped.

Yeah, the cloth on my headliner is starting to come off too. Is this guide to just remove the headliner? Can you still reattach the A and C pillar stuff back on or whatnot?

Great thread, nicely done-

I just have one question to throw out there before I get to work-- is it really necessary to remove all four pillars? I have heard and it seems likely that you could remove just the front ones, and then pull the old headliner out of the pillars in the back...
what do you guys think?
thanks,
james:confused

Yeah, the cloth on my headliner is starting to come off too. Is this guide to just remove the headliner? Can you still reattach the A and C pillar stuff back on or whatnot?

You can re-attach in the reverse of the removal. So, just put it back on the way that you took it off.

Great thread, nicely done-

I just have one question to throw out there before I get to work-- is it really necessary to remove all four pillars? I have heard and it seems likely that you could remove just the front ones, and then pull the old headliner out of the pillars in the back...
what do you guys think?
thanks,
james:confused

You might be able to get away without removing the c-pillars. Just be careful. The headliner is fragile, also it hooks around the sheet metal at the back at the top of the glass.

what if i just want to do my sunroof?
do i still need to take all the pillers off, or can i just "Pull off the rubber/felt gasket (http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=348275&page=2#) seal for the sunroof. It is easier to do this if the sunroof is slid open." from post#29 and then apply my material over the old fabric on the sunroof from there?..

Also would just going over the existing fabric run into tight clearance issue for the sunroof? im planing to do a black suede and not to thick of one when i find it.

Please let me know.
Thanks-

I'm not sure what you want to do. If you are talking about only removing the fabric shuttle from the sunroof itself, you can do this without removing the entire sunroof.

You can peel off the inner rubber seal around the sunroof as long as the sunroof is open.

I'm not sure what you want to do. If you are talking about only removing the fabric shuttle from the sunroof itself, you can do this without removing the entire sunroof.

You can peel off the inner rubber seal around the sunroof as long as the sunroof is open.

Yeah, thats what i wanna do, my friend burnt my sunroof fabric with a cig. so i want to go over it with something to cover it up.

would i be able to apply over the fabric that is already on the sunroof with out running into complications later on?

Yeah, thats what i wanna do, my friend burnt my sunroof fabric with a cig. so i want to go over it with something to cover it up.

would i be able to apply over the fabric that is already on the sunroof with out running into complications later on?

Well, honestly, I would pull the fabric shuttle piece out of the car.

Then you can do a better determination. It probably would be simpler to just pull the old fabric and re-cover it.

I did this today, It turned out Really nice!
I just ended up putting it on-top and useing some adhesive sparay. I used this nice suede & velvet black material and it blends in nicely to the interior and with a clean look from tucking in the courners to get it on smooth.

First post here... really do appreciate the work that has gone into this forum, you guys are awesome.

So I have everything out of the car. Question is about re-covering the pillars. Factory material is proving to be extremely difficult to remove. Would I be an idiot if I simply glued & covered (new material to match the headliner) over the factory covering? Or should I do whatever needs to be done to get the factory stuff off? Anybody got any tips there?

US

Read this write-up a couple times before the attempt, everything went almost perfect. I did have fun removing it with the drivers seat recline gear broken, but it worked and the rear decklid rivets came off very easy for me. I would add a couple of pointers:

-Don't push any of the loose wires through the holes, some back right to the metal frame and can get lodged. I "lost" two for a few minutes, finger fishing retrieved the wires.

-Double check other wires while your at it, found one of my antenna wires had disconnected explaining my poor reception.

Now I wait for my material and prep the parts.

Thanks again,
Brent

How do you get the sunroof switch off?

I've tried to pull and pry everything I can think of, but I'm afraid I'm going to break something.

How do you get the sunroof switch off?

I've tried to pull and pry everything I can think of, but I'm afraid I'm going to break something.

Sunroof switch just pops out. It snaps into the plastic ring and that ring slides into the fabric insert. On the back there is a plug that just pulls out.

Just put your fingernail under the edge of the plastic trim and pull down...or you can remove the entire fabric insert that is the motor access and simply disconnect the switch then.

Thanks, worked perfectly, I was just scared about breaking the switch...

I've taken all of the interior out except the rug and the dash, and I've broken so many old plastic tabs.

My car is a '92, but the plastic seems to have deteriorated badly.

Can you tell me how to remove the fabric shuttle from the sunroof.

Can you tell me how to remove the fabric shuttle from the sunroof.

I have a DIY on that as well, just do a search under my name.

Hello,
Thank you for this: very good. I am trying to install the two rear screen hooks and am having to do a bodge job cos the screen is too big. Am I right in saying that even to pull down the rear of the headliner I have to pull the headliner forward: so have to free it all points just to get at the back? ? Do you see what I mean?
Thanks.

Can you post a picture of what you are talking about?