Orton DIY - Headliner removal & Insulation

G

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
Procedure for removal of headliner:

1. Remove drivers side "B" pillar plastic cover. Remove "D" ring bolt at bottom (T-40). Remove coast hanger hook bu prying up. Remove T-25 torix bolt that is under hook.

2. Move driver's seat fully forward and move seat back forward. No need to remove seat belt.

3. Pull plastic panel toward center of van. There are 6 metal clips that push into the steel van wall. Two close to the top, two about 5" below the seat belt opening and two about 20" above the floor. Two of the spring clips fell out as I removed panel. I found one. The panel is pulled up and out for removal. There are two plastic hooks at the bottom.

4. "B" pillar cover on the passenger side is different. Remove the coat hook and bolt. Remove the "D" ring bolt at the bottom (T-40). Remove the assist handle on side of pillar (T-30). You get to the bolts by prying off the cover. There is a pry slot at the bottom. There is a snap in clip at the top on the forward side of the pillar. Reaching in from the sliding door side of "B" pillar with a screwdriver you can pop the clip loose. I did not disassemble the passenger side cover any further. Just enough that I could pull it out at the top.

5. Remove both sun visors. There are three T-30 torix bolts on each.

6. Pry down on the right side of the accessory lamp module. There are two spring clips on the right side and two plastic hooks on the drivers side. Do not pry the left side. I could not figure out how to unplug the electrical so left it hanging.

7. Pull out on the top edge of the "A" pillar moldings to release clips. I did not remove these, just loosened them at the top.

8. Pop loose the 4 snap connectors on the back edge of the headliner.

9. Pull headliner straight back. I sort of rolled it out of the right side "B' pillar cover. You might try to remove it with just loosening the top of the "B" pillar cover.

10. Since I did not disconnect the electrical I had to slide the light panel up and toward the windshield as I removed the headliner.

I will now cover surface with rattletrap sound deadener and glue 1" rigid foam board to the ceiling. I will use 1 1/2" foam board on the sides. I will cover all of it with Reflectix foil insulation.

Then I will see if I can get it back together.
 

Attachments

G

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
As you probably noticed I do not have side curtain air bags. Someone else will have to answer that question. Some may not have the grab handle on the right "B" pillar as that may have been an option.
 
J

Jobby

Member
Headliner removal at sprinter with side curtain airbags is similar, pictures attached. However, side clearances are more critical and one has to be careful not to damage the airbags. Replacement takes longer than removal and I would not want to do it again!
Also, when attaching insulation, be aware that there is not a lot of space above the front of the headliner.
 

Attachments

G

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
A couple of more pictures. I ran a 1/2" ID plastic conduit down the left "A" pillar from the Panduit wireway I have on the upper left wall down to near the fuse box. The lower dash panel removes with one screw on the bottom edge. I did cut out some of the Styrofoam block at the upper right of drivers window to make the conduit run straighter. Picture of headliner also posted. When I am done with the conversion, the headliner would have to be cut in two to get it out. The headliner has a two part snap in box above the light panel. I looked at the plastic box and determined it can be removed without removing the headliner so I can get access to the base of the aerial. Again not too impressed with the German engineering. The headliner could have been removed without disturbing either the "A" or "B" post panels. All they needed would be horizontal joints between the panels and the headliner. You wonder what they were thinking. Dumb.
 

Attachments

G

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
Insulation complete. 3 layers. Used "Rattletrap" sound deadener from Fatmat.com against the steel body. Next I glued 1" rigid insulation to the Rattletrap. Used Locktite Power Grab all-purpose adhesive. Filled sides with 1 1/2" rigid insulation. Taped all joints with duct tape. Ceiling 1" is in 3 parts to help match the roof curvature. The 1" will bend enough with a little help from wood supports from the van floor. The 1" will also fit between the windshield frame and the roof on the front edge. Last I covered the rigid insulation with a layer of Reflectix insulation.
Now I will attempt to get the headliner back in place.
 

Attachments

G

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
Geek said:
Is there a gap by default between the headliner and the sheet metal?
Click to expand...
Yes. After putting in the Rattletrap, 1" rigid and the 1/4" thick foil insulation there is still about 1/2" gap between headliner and the foil insulation. So stock there must be about 2" between top of headliner and the sheet metal. Do not know if that is true everywhere. I was concerned that the front of the headliner would not go back fully into place because of the insulation. It did. There is a 1" gap between the windshield frame and the roof above the frame. I pushed the 1" thick rigid insulation down into that hole all the way across above the windshield. Maybe 8" or so. It took me about 2 hours to replace the headliner, sun visors and the two "B" pillar covers by myself.
 
israndy

israndy

2007 LTV Serenity
Re: T1N Headliner removal

This is an excellent write-up. I have been unable to figure out (or more to the point, find directions on) how to remove the headliner in my 2006. So far the best post, https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12887&highlight=headliner, just says "Hey, an idiot can do it, go for it!"

Did end up installing my backup camera behind the interior parts recently by running a cable fish behind the headliner and RV cabinets. It's installing sound deadening and insulation that would require full removal. I would like to accomplish that some day, oh, and speakers.

-Randy
 
G

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
Also forgot to mention that I had previously removed and discarded the two large blobs of styrofoam that were located just aft of the headliner on each side. Anyone know why these are there?
 
G

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
Unexpected result. Drove the van today for the first time since I put the sound deadening and 1" of rigid foam above the headliner. Major change in noise level. Pleasant surprise.
 
2

220629

Well-known member
Frosty_1 said:
That styrofoam broke really easily, can't imagine it offering much protection. When I took the foam down in my van, it seemed like "filler" if I were to have the factory trimmed out interior. :idunno:
Click to expand...
On its own the foam piece will seem weak. With the gray plastic pillar cover over it to distribute stresses that foam will be difficult to compress or break under impact which will help to absorb the energy of impact to protect things like a person's head from damage. Maybe that isn't an important issue for some. :bounce: vic
 
Thanasis

Thanasis

Active member
Graphite Dave said:
Yes. After putting in the Rattletrap, 1" rigid and the 1/4" thick foil insulation there is still about 1/2" gap between headliner and the foil insulation. So stock there must be about 2" between top of headliner and the sheet metal. Do not know if that is true everywhere. I was concerned that the front of the headliner would not go back fully into place because of the insulation. It did. There is a 1" gap between the windshield frame and the roof above the frame. I pushed the 1" thick rigid insulation down into that hole all the way across above the windshield. Maybe 8" or so. It took me about 2 hours to replace the headliner, sun visors and the two "B" pillar covers by myself.
Click to expand...
Nice writeup!

Has anyone done the insulation on a T1N?
I wonder what the space allowances are between the headliner and roof on a T1N.
Thanks
 
W

Walter Clark

Member
I just removed and reinstalled the front headliner in a 2012 Sprinter and thought i would post some observations. This is a Crew model with the full headliner and nothing fancy in the overhead console except a light, and no side curtain air bags.

First the overhead console. It is unnecessary to remove it and not as easy as described in the base post because it has plastic tabs all around that overlap the headliner. Instead I just removed the lamp assy by prying the drivers side of the lamp down then unplugging it.

The rear of the headliner is held in place with 4 plastic snaps to a roof brace. A forked door panel removal tool inserted into the seam (between the front and second headliner) from the rear will pop these just like a door panel.

The door weather stripping needs to be pulled down some. I removed it down to about the bottom of the windows. This is needed to let the headliner come down and it makes reinstalling the A and B pillar covers easier.

Both B pillar covers can just be loosened at the top (remove the coat hooks as described in the base note and pop the B pillar covers straight out). They do not need to be removed completely, They need to lean in a bit and let the headliner slide forward once the front of the headliner is free.

The A pillar covers pop off by prying them toward the center of the van from the top down. Re-installation tip: There is a plastic tab at the bottom of each A-pillar that needs to go into a slot under the tweeter grilles. I found it is easier to pop the tweeter grilles off before re-installing the A-pillar cover, then snap the tweeter covers back in place.

The sun visor assemblies are all that is keeping the headliner in place at this point. 4 - #30 Torx bolts each and they come out. Swing down the rear of the visor assy to dis-engage 2 L shaped tabs along the front edge of the visors to the windshield frame.

The headliner is now free and will come down in the front on its own and the rear will be setting on the B pillar covers. You can slide the headliner forward a bit to get it off the B pillar covers then the headliner - now on end - will come right out the passenger side door.

I think it took me 20 minutes to remove it and a little more to reinstall it once I was done with the wiring I was adding.
 
Last edited:
T

tonbab

Member
Thanks Dave for all of the invaluable info! I know Im kind of late on this subject but did you have any smells from your Rattle Trap? I bought the thinner Fatmat and it arrived yesterday- same stuff as Rattle Trap I believe. It has a distinct asphalt smell and Im having second thoughts installing into the van.

With all of your thought into your designs Im guessing you are happy with the Rattle Trap?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Top Bottom