Sagging headliner in W123
 

All,

The headliner in my W123 is sagging near the rear of the car. The liner hasn't torn, but it looks as if the bracket that holds it in place is no longer seated properly. How do I fix this?

Thanks.

Wow, guess I need to tear into it and create a WIKI.

I am looking forward to following this thread - I remember someone saying that replacing the oil cooler lines was less scary to them than repairing the headliner :eek: - don't know why though.

Take pictures, please!!!!

Yes, do take pictures. I have reviewed the procedure in the FSM for removing and replacing a headliner and it looks like a difficult job.

John

When I bought my '62 240D, the rear headliner was hanging very low, partialy blocking the back window. I pulled the rubbe weatherstrip at the rear doors, and the panels coverig the rear roof pillars to see and repair the problem. I discovered the rearmost metal bow that suspends the headliner had dropped because the rubber sockets that supported and tensioned the bow-ends into 1/2" holes in the inner roof had disintgrated. I made some metal sockets from heavy galvanised sheet steel that clipped into the roof holes for a permanent repair. My headliner has also separated where it was fastened under the rear window gasket, but the newly suspended rear bow solved the visibility problem enough that I haven't tried to tackle the rear window issue.
If you can't rig up something from scratch like I did, you might be able to find some 1/2" metal 'dummy-plugs at a hardware store or Radio-Shack, designed to plug unused holes in metal sinks, cabinets, etc... and drill appropriate holes in the dummy-plugs to fit the headliner bow.

Happy Motoring, Mark

Think I would consider taking to a pro for a headliner as with a windshield:o

PNP Practice
 

Went to the pick-n-pull today. 300d with sagging headliner, like mine (and others). Pulled the pillar cover, cut the headliner perpendicular with the rear window, pulled the weatherstrip at the door opening and the handhold above the rear door opening at the headliner.

I anticipated seeing some sort of mounting device to hold the bow tight against the roof - didn't find one. In fact, the tube containing the sunroof cable runs along the back of the rear window then toward the sunroof at the middle of the roof. The bow would contact this tube as the lowest fixed object near the back window. There was nothing behind the headliner to indicate the bow is supported in the middle - only with the plug mentioned by Mark DiSilvestro in the previous post.

The pnp vehicle had one good plug which I removed and have attached pics. The end of the bow was not captured in this plug but was too far within the plug on the other pillar. The plug is behind the pillar and partly covered with an open cell foam. I would guess these could be had at a dealer - perhaps from Phil at Fastlane. These would seem a necessity to repair the dropped bow.

The entire rear portion of the vehicle is covered with a thin layer (1/4") open cell foam. In the PNP car, the foam was still well attached to the car but the headliner had dropped from the foam. By removing the rear pillar cover, weatherstrip and grabhandle I would suspect one could spray adhesive onto the back side of the headliner and perhaps the opposite side of the foam to attempt to re-attach the headliner to the foam.

I may go back to the PNP and remove a portion of the headliner material and foam to see if I can attempt to attach the two using 3M spray adhesive.

The majority of the sagging

if the foam is seriously degraded, the contact adhesive wont work for long- the foam will just separate again.

The foam is only there for padding and insulation and doesn't support the headliner. When the ends of the bow are inserted into holes in the rubber sockets, tension holds it up tight against the roof. Otherwise, there isn't anything in the center of the roof that supports the bow. Many cars used to hang the bows right into holes in the metal roof frame. Don't know why Mercedes felt they needed to add perishable rubber sockets, except maybe they thought there could be a noise problem
I made sheet-metal inserts to replace the damaged rubber sockets because this way I could fix the bow quickly, with something that would probably outlast the car.

Happy Motoring, Mark

My experience supports Mark's analysis. Most likely to be an issue with the rubber plugs that hold the bow to either side of the roof. That's all that holds the center of the headliner- and getting to them is a DIY affair - so long as your headliner hasn't seriously deteriorated have at it.

Rick