Head Liner has come loose and can I spray glue on backing and cloth and smooth it all back on. Do I need to have something more to hold it tight?
The foam on the headliner has dry rotted and is falling apart. spraying glue will not do anything to help hold it up. you have 3 choices…
- replace it with a new one.
- rip it down and leave the van with none.
3.you can buy long dowel rods and run them across the top from one side to the other to hold up the head liner. It is not the nicest looking, but it will keep it off your head.
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Or Balsa Wood 1/16" or 1/8" thick X ?? wide strips… they will fit flat up against the headliner and are wider to hold more material…
Paint close to same color as material for cleaner look… lol
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We have a 2005 with the same problem. My wife has been pinning it back up. Replacing it costs as much as the old van is worth. And all of the salvage yard ones have the same issue or soon will.
This is a pretty common frustration for older car owners. OP is welcome to search prior posts in the forum for what other’s have said, link upper right this page. The basic problem is one of economics. Doing the job correctly takes a lot of labor hours. The procedure varies from vehicle to vehicle, but usually requires removing a fiber-board from the interior roof completely out of the car. Then the new headlining material and foam is glued to board on the work-bench, then the finished board is installed back on the roof. Removing the board out of the car may require removing a bunch of other stuff first, like the seats, rear view mirror, etc.
I presume when they first manufacture the car new, they glue the material to foam rubber b/c it comes out looking neater that way, less chance of wrinkles or the board surface showing through. But the neat appearance comes with a downside, the foam will eventually degrade the the headliner material will be hitting your head. My 30year old Corolla developed this problem at around year 15, and I addressed using a bevy of straight pins, like the pins that come with new dress shirts, pinning the material to the backing board. Imperfect, but it keeps the material on the roof, and who looks at a car’s ceiling?
The headliner can be easily recovered with new matching material for FAR less than a new one (if you could find one).
I have had two vehicles headliners recovered. Roughly $450 depending on complication.
Interesting. Just curious, how is the degraded foam problem addressed?
The fabric comes with foam attached as it did from the factory.
You pull the headliner, scrape off the old foam, headliner contact adhesive on both and apply. Smooth, trim and wrap the edges. It can be a DIY project. The materials are available from Amazon
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Ok, thanks for explaining. I misunderstood what you meant by “recovered”. I thought you applied new material over the old covering, which wouldn’t seem like it would work. I think on some car designs the only way to remove the backing board from the car is by removing the rear window. Not a problem for the new car manufacturer b/c they can install the headliner before installing the rear window. Did you remove the backing board from the car or did you do this with the backing board remaining in place?
The fiberboard headliner gets recovered. You might not be familiar with this type of technology… it is only 40 years old. 
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I have done a few head liners years ago, the hardest part is not breaking it while removing it from the vehicle in a lot of cases… A van pretty easy to get out the back, a 2 door car, different story sometimes… lol
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I’ve done a couple. A little over $100 back then for material and adhesive. Hard part is getting the shell out then scraping it clean. Set aside a Saturday. The upholsterer on you tube says to use ye ole contact cement instead of the other heavy duty stuff. A good primer. Forget his name now.
So you just decide if you are up to taking the project on to impress the wife, let her keep pinning it back in place, or hiring a shop.
Does anyone here know the difficulties involved to remove the headliner fiber-board from the vehicle on this particular vehicle? That info may prove quite helpful to OP.
I doubt the OP will want to reupholster the headliner himself but after removing all necessary trim panels and folding or removing the seats, the headliner can be removed with the liftgate open.
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This idea makes a lot of sense. Visit a building supply center for more ideas. Vinyl house siding comes to mind: cut strips, say 2" wide, and long enough to follow the contour of the headliner from left to right. Tuck it in.
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