1989 Formula Headliner Sag: The headliner is just starting to sag. I was thinking of trying to install carpet tape as an adhesive to attach sagging cloth to ceiling insulation. The sag is starting near each door and working towards to dome light. The upper door panels appear to be removable allowing access to the liner. What do you think?

no quick fix
take it to an upholsterer or panel shop and have it fixed properly

3M Headliner 82 Spray Adhesive, 4.93 oz (140 g) 3M Headliner 82 Spray Adhesive 4 93 oz 140

Hello,

When Your head liner starts to sag or You have another nice headliner You want to use in replacing Your old liner, it is actually a good thing. Removing and installing a new one is also a easy task and does not require any form of technicality to do this. Please get these instruments(Replacement headliner fabric, Spray glue adhesive, Screwdriver, Sandpaper, Scissors) and follow the steps below:

1. Remove everything that bolts into the headliner like visors, lights and coat hooks. These things are normally bolted to the ceiling through the headliner, making it impossible to remove the headliner with these things in place.
2. Take down the old headliner. You can grab it through the dome light hole or one of the other holes now showing. Be careful not to rip or bend the headliner. Slowly move it towards the rear of the car. You may have to remove some of the molding along the sides of the headliner.
3. Carefully take the headliner out through a door of the car. You may have to maneuver the headliner around the seats and steering wheel to get it out of a door. Be careful not to bend the headliner.
4. Peel the fabric off of the shell of the headliner. It should easily come off by pulling it with your hands. Use some sandpaper to remove any foam that remains on the headliner shell.
5. Lay the new fabric on the headliner in the correct position. Fold half of it back so the shell is visible.
6. Spray the adhesive glue on the visible side of the shell and on the underside of the fabric. Allow it to set until it has dried some.
7. Fold the fabric over slowly onto the shell. Smooth out any wrinkles as you go. Work your way to the outer corners of the shell.
8. Repeat the gluing procedure for the other half of the shell and fabric. Make sure to smooth out any wrinkles so the fabric doesn't completely dry this way.
9. Trim the left over fabric to 1/4 of an inch long. This will be hidden behind the molding of the car.
10. Install the headliner using the opposite steps you took to remove it. Slide it back into place, replace the molding and then the visors, lights and coat hooks

Hope this helped. Thank You for using FixYa!!!

You could probably take the side closest to the sagging down and spray the ceiling with adhesive and then press it back up. That would probably be the cheapest bet. An auto detailing shop might also be able to do it for you if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself.


The headliners in these cars all come down sooner or later. The headliner in my 1979 Sedan deVille is finally starting to come loose and I'm dreading doing a replacement because my Burnished Gold interior color will likely be challenging to match correctly. The headliner fabric comes loose because the fabric is glued to thin foam. The foam disintegrates over time and the fabric comes loose as a result. Gluing the existing headliner fabric back to the old broken down foam underneath will never correct the problem. The only way to fix it is to remove the old headliner and replace with a new one.


Check here this procedure guide (as reference): tutorials/cadillac-fleetwood

Hope helps.

The problem is that the foam that is glued to the fabric. It becomes crumbly and disintegrates into messy little bits that get into your hair and all over your car's interior. Trying to spray glue, while the headliner is still up there, won't work for long. The foam will keep crumbling and glue won't stick to it. It's sort of like trying to glue some cloth to the ground. No way will it stick.

There is a temporary fix on the do-it-yourself aisles in the automotive weekend warrior stores. It is a product that has a little curly cue, and a clear plastic head. The product is called a "Saggy Stopper". The clear head blends in with your headliner's color. It looks promising for a temporary fix.

inject glue into the roof lining and re attach it common problem with time the glue goes off and doesnt hold dont need to remove it from car

No... I worked with these models for quite a period of time, and I have never seen one sag. It makes me think that either at one stage it has got wet, or was removed for some reason and not been reinstalled properly.

If you can get at the headliner, usually a piece of trim or screws, peel back a small section at the edge and see what it is fastened to. Its probably a piece of cardboard or something similar. If so just pick up a spray can of contact cement or some rubber cement and glue the sagging piece back in place. Don't get too carried away with the glue or it will look "hard" when it dries. Hope this helps.

They do sell a headliner adhesive at your local parts stores. It can be a bit of a pain to do inside of the vehicle, but can be done. Just follow the directions on the spray can.

Best bet would be an auto upholstery shop. The dealers can work on them, but I would go with the guy with everyday experience. In the worst case, if you had to replace the headliner, you could have a choice of fabrics and colors.
If anyone can fix your old one they can.