1996 Ford Explorer headliner replacement instructions. Go Back _|_ Home

This is a 1996 Ford Explorer, that has a small headliner problem. You may not be able to see it in the photos, but the headliner material itself had began to rot and separate. The headliner cloth foam, which is usually the culprit, was fine and this Ford Explorer. We removed the headliner board from the vehicle, and scraped it with a grill brush (metal brush), just a little, and then recovered over the old headliner material with the new. Trying to remove all the old headliner on this automobile would have caused board, damage because it was still glued well to the headliner board. Hence and therefore, the old must be covered over, but with a little tender loving care, it would look new again. A SUV/minivan headliner kit will do the Ford Explorer; click this link to go to the order page. The color we used here is the color 1953 Mocha.

You can see a little of the damage on this headliner, but as you notice it wasn't sagging. There are 5 plastic plugs like this that must be removed, they just pop out. Also there are 2 plugs like something like this over the front doors and at the rear of the Explorer that hold the trim in place, they need to be removed so the trim can be pulled down to free the headliner board. Front and rear safety belt bolts need to be removed so that the trim will come down enough to allow the headliner board to slide out from under it. It takes a torx T25 to remove the safety belt bolts.. This is a closeup of the the bolts inside the grab handles that attaches through the headliner board of the Ford Explorer. A little plastic trim piece can be removed from either end of the grab handles and exposes the small bolt that attaches them. This is a 7/32 bolt. For dome light removal, pop the lens up and you will see 3 phillips head screws that hold it in place. To remove the rear light, pry the lens out with a small screwdriver and detach the electrical connector. Pry out from the left side as you are standing at the rear of the vehicle. Removing the front post trim cover from the Ford Explorer will make the job of removing the headliner board easier. There are 2 plastic plugs over the doors, and then as it goes down the post, there are 2 metal clips that must be pryed loose. This pic is to show the metal attachment. Also there is a screw at the bottom of the trim. It would be nice if all headliner boards were as easy to pull from the vehicle as the Ford Explorer. Just let it drop from under the trim, then slide it out the back gate. Once the board is cleaned lay the material on the board; folded at middle. Spray the adhesive, then glue it down about a quarter at a time (or half if you work fast). There wasn't much to clean on this one because we are covering over the other material. We are recovering over the old material because the headliner was still firmly glued in place, the material was rotting and separating, nothing wrong with the headliner foam. Gluing a headliner requires using your whole hand to firmly but lightly, with a rubbing action, to adhere the material to the board. Spray both headliner material and board. After applying the cloth, cut or punch holde where plugs, lights, visors, grab handles or any other thing went through the board. Replace it just like it came out and you should be done. All it take is a little time!

Go Back

© 2006 WLS Headliners

1995 Ford Explorer headliner board removal and replcement