DIY Vantage sagging headliner (remove / reinstall)
#1
12-12-2015, 02:37 PM
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Bucks County, PA
Posts: 649
Rep Power: 50 
DIY Vantage sagging headliner (remove / reinstall)
Okay here is the DIY walk through on how to take out the headliner in the vantage so that you can get it fixed / do diamond quilt patterns and what not.
Before I start, I just want to thank speedracer800 for sending me detailed instructions and pics from his DB9 headliner removal, irish07 for a detailed walkthrough from his experience as well. Finally KarlFranz for his other DIY threads that came in handy.
Difficulty:
Not very, just time consuming and some what nerve wrecking the first time. The most I've ever done on any car is jacking it up, taking off the wheel, and changing the headlight bulb. So this is a huge under taking for me and it just takes a lot of time because I wanted to be careful. No special tools required or techniques.
Tools
1x philips screw driver
2x torx head screw driver (different sizes, sorry don't know the size)
1x set of interior panel removal tools (I got a set on amazon for like $25)
The uninstall process (install is just reverse)
1.01 Taking out instrument cover
Remove the instrument panel cover (binnacle?). It's very easy, grab the back of it (the side towards the nose of the car) and very gently pull up towards the windshield. Once that is done, work your fingers around the side towards the actual gauges, and pull up as well.
As you can see from the pics, the tabs are all straight downward pointing meaning they have to be pulled up to be worked lose. The back tabs comes out first, the side most are the next easiest to go, then the top. Once that is done unscrew the leather strap holding the thing in place.
1.02 taking out the driver side dash trims
Next is to take out the driver side vent trim. There is 4 clips holding it in. Very careful here, they break. I was being very careful and broke 2 clips
so I will need to double side tape the trim piece when reinstall haha.
Use a pry tool and pry from the bottom (where the headlight controls are). The bottom left hand clip is the easiest to get out. Then pry towards you, the bottom right hand one (by the turn signal stalk). Then pry towards you, the middle left clip. Remember they will only come out towards you, any excessive upward prying motion will snap the clip immediately. The last top clip can pivot a bit when coming up, so you can lift the trim upward a bit to work it lose.
Now do the same for the driver, right hand side trim. 5 clips this time. Again start from the very bottom and work your way up. Pry and pull towards you. The top two can pivot a bit as it comes out.
From here you need to remove the driver side top dash piece. Its held in by 3x philips head screws. Remove those.
Once the screws are gone work your finger under and pull up. This part is a pain in the *** as the clip only goes straight up, and I am pretty small so I can reach my arms in, but its hard to get a good lever point but you just gotta pull up. The Right hand side, the very last clip by the edge of the center water fall was the biggest pain in the ***. I almost wanted to break that tab but it finally came out.
And now you're done with the dash!
2.01 Taking out the pillar trim
The next thing to remove is the driver side A pillar trim. First you need to remove those two fir tree clip holding the pillar trim in place. They are those two alcantera covered circles on the trim.
What I did was to use a snap, small pry tool to get it a bit lose so I can use a bigger pry tool to pry it out. Again, can not under state how much a pain in the *** this is.
Once that is done, this bit is the trickiest part of the whole process. So beware
According to speedracer800's DB9 removal, and irish07's feedback, the pillar trim is being held on by fir clips (there is place for 4 of them). But mine is held on by 2x torx screws and no clips. Which meant it might be different from car to car, and you definitely don't want to go yanking hard on the trim when its held on by screws
You can work the trim from the rear of the car, right by the aluminum bracing, but once you get close to the screw points it won't come lose anymore. So what you need to do is pry it a bit from the weather seal, and look inside to see where the screw is holding the trim on. This bit is a bit tough as the trim won't flex enough so your finger will hurt until you get the screw out.
Take a torx screw driver, put it through the hole where the alcantera fir free clips came out, and use that hole to unscrew the screws (2x per side) holding the trim in. Once that is done, there is (or should be) nothing else holding the driver A pillar trim in place.
The trim is very flexible so you can flex and bend it to work it out of the other trims, but note that there are some wiring that is velcro-ed to the trim down by the dash, so be sure to free them from the trim before you yank the whole thing out.
Now do the same for the passenger side, but don't take the trim out. Note that you didn't take the dash out from the passenger side either, you can undo the pillar trim down to the sun visor and just leave it hanging.
3.01 taking out the camrail (front and rear)
Let's tackle the rear first (you will see why later).
There are 2x torx screw holding it in, one on each side by the rear cross bar, remove that. They are the same size as the screw holding the pillar trim.
The rest of the rear camrail is held on by 4x fir tree clips. Use some muscle and yank the trim piece out. It will sound pretty bad, and the clips will be destroyed but those are one use items anyways.
3.02 taking out the rear view mirror
This link (from Karl) tells you exactly how to remove the rear view mirror.
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ml#post4428369
Hint: its one screw, slightly larger torx screw than the ones we've been using. Helps to have someone hold it because mine has a wire for the garage door opener.
Once that is done, you can actually pry back the front camrail a bit and see that this is how the headliner is held on from the front. No need to take the front camrail off, once the rear view mirror is off it loosen the trim enough that you can slide the headliner out and back in the same.
4.01 take out the headliner
Almost done!
There are three of those saucer things that you can spin with your fingers, holding the headliner to the roof from where the rear camrail is, simply unscrew them by hand and the headliner is free.
You can grab the headliner from the back, or driver side, lose it out, then take it out from the driver side door. The only places the headliner is being held on now is the partially removed passenger side and the front camrail.
Install is the reverse, hope that was helpful and thanks for all the helps from the other forum members for giving me the courage to tackle this myself.
Before I start, I just want to thank speedracer800 for sending me detailed instructions and pics from his DB9 headliner removal, irish07 for a detailed walkthrough from his experience as well. Finally KarlFranz for his other DIY threads that came in handy.
Difficulty:
Not very, just time consuming and some what nerve wrecking the first time. The most I've ever done on any car is jacking it up, taking off the wheel, and changing the headlight bulb. So this is a huge under taking for me and it just takes a lot of time because I wanted to be careful. No special tools required or techniques.
Tools
1x philips screw driver
2x torx head screw driver (different sizes, sorry don't know the size)
1x set of interior panel removal tools (I got a set on amazon for like $25)
The uninstall process (install is just reverse)
1.01 Taking out instrument cover
Remove the instrument panel cover (binnacle?). It's very easy, grab the back of it (the side towards the nose of the car) and very gently pull up towards the windshield. Once that is done, work your fingers around the side towards the actual gauges, and pull up as well.
As you can see from the pics, the tabs are all straight downward pointing meaning they have to be pulled up to be worked lose. The back tabs comes out first, the side most are the next easiest to go, then the top. Once that is done unscrew the leather strap holding the thing in place.
1.02 taking out the driver side dash trims
Next is to take out the driver side vent trim. There is 4 clips holding it in. Very careful here, they break. I was being very careful and broke 2 clips
so I will need to double side tape the trim piece when reinstall haha.Use a pry tool and pry from the bottom (where the headlight controls are). The bottom left hand clip is the easiest to get out. Then pry towards you, the bottom right hand one (by the turn signal stalk). Then pry towards you, the middle left clip. Remember they will only come out towards you, any excessive upward prying motion will snap the clip immediately. The last top clip can pivot a bit when coming up, so you can lift the trim upward a bit to work it lose.
Now do the same for the driver, right hand side trim. 5 clips this time. Again start from the very bottom and work your way up. Pry and pull towards you. The top two can pivot a bit as it comes out.
From here you need to remove the driver side top dash piece. Its held in by 3x philips head screws. Remove those.
Once the screws are gone work your finger under and pull up. This part is a pain in the *** as the clip only goes straight up, and I am pretty small so I can reach my arms in, but its hard to get a good lever point but you just gotta pull up. The Right hand side, the very last clip by the edge of the center water fall was the biggest pain in the ***. I almost wanted to break that tab but it finally came out.
And now you're done with the dash!
2.01 Taking out the pillar trim
The next thing to remove is the driver side A pillar trim. First you need to remove those two fir tree clip holding the pillar trim in place. They are those two alcantera covered circles on the trim.
What I did was to use a snap, small pry tool to get it a bit lose so I can use a bigger pry tool to pry it out. Again, can not under state how much a pain in the *** this is.
Once that is done, this bit is the trickiest part of the whole process. So beware
According to speedracer800's DB9 removal, and irish07's feedback, the pillar trim is being held on by fir clips (there is place for 4 of them). But mine is held on by 2x torx screws and no clips. Which meant it might be different from car to car, and you definitely don't want to go yanking hard on the trim when its held on by screws
You can work the trim from the rear of the car, right by the aluminum bracing, but once you get close to the screw points it won't come lose anymore. So what you need to do is pry it a bit from the weather seal, and look inside to see where the screw is holding the trim on. This bit is a bit tough as the trim won't flex enough so your finger will hurt until you get the screw out.
Take a torx screw driver, put it through the hole where the alcantera fir free clips came out, and use that hole to unscrew the screws (2x per side) holding the trim in. Once that is done, there is (or should be) nothing else holding the driver A pillar trim in place.
The trim is very flexible so you can flex and bend it to work it out of the other trims, but note that there are some wiring that is velcro-ed to the trim down by the dash, so be sure to free them from the trim before you yank the whole thing out.
Now do the same for the passenger side, but don't take the trim out. Note that you didn't take the dash out from the passenger side either, you can undo the pillar trim down to the sun visor and just leave it hanging.
3.01 taking out the camrail (front and rear)
Let's tackle the rear first (you will see why later).
There are 2x torx screw holding it in, one on each side by the rear cross bar, remove that. They are the same size as the screw holding the pillar trim.
The rest of the rear camrail is held on by 4x fir tree clips. Use some muscle and yank the trim piece out. It will sound pretty bad, and the clips will be destroyed but those are one use items anyways.
3.02 taking out the rear view mirror
This link (from Karl) tells you exactly how to remove the rear view mirror.
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ml#post4428369
Hint: its one screw, slightly larger torx screw than the ones we've been using. Helps to have someone hold it because mine has a wire for the garage door opener.
Once that is done, you can actually pry back the front camrail a bit and see that this is how the headliner is held on from the front. No need to take the front camrail off, once the rear view mirror is off it loosen the trim enough that you can slide the headliner out and back in the same.
4.01 take out the headliner
Almost done!
There are three of those saucer things that you can spin with your fingers, holding the headliner to the roof from where the rear camrail is, simply unscrew them by hand and the headliner is free.
You can grab the headliner from the back, or driver side, lose it out, then take it out from the driver side door. The only places the headliner is being held on now is the partially removed passenger side and the front camrail.
Install is the reverse, hope that was helpful and thanks for all the helps from the other forum members for giving me the courage to tackle this myself.
#2
12-12-2015, 05:23 PM
Great job!
The additional details regarding removal of the dash components will come in handy when I replace my deteriorating dash panels in my DB9 Volante. I'd seen the other instructions on panel removal but yours improve my understanding of the specific removal technique and pitfalls.
Btw, Aston Martin Bits matched my parliament green leather perfectly when I replaced the missing elbow pad in the cup holder. I plan to buy replacement dash leather from them as well.
The additional details regarding removal of the dash components will come in handy when I replace my deteriorating dash panels in my DB9 Volante. I'd seen the other instructions on panel removal but yours improve my understanding of the specific removal technique and pitfalls.
Btw, Aston Martin Bits matched my parliament green leather perfectly when I replaced the missing elbow pad in the cup holder. I plan to buy replacement dash leather from them as well.
Last edited by 62Jeff; 12-12-2015 at 05:26 PM.
#3
12-13-2015, 07:54 AM
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Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Age: 59
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#6
12-14-2015, 12:10 PM
Just as an aside, I'm pretty sure those are all Pozidriv screws and not Phillips. It's always best to use the correct driver; less chance of damaging the head slots. So buy a set of PZ bits and/or drivers so you'll have the correct style when needed.
#7
12-14-2015, 12:51 PM
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Bucks County, PA
Posts: 649
Rep Power: 50
Gotcha, I dont know my tools or terminology too well haha.
And are the pictures not working anymore? Guess I need to find a new host for them
And are the pictures not working anymore? Guess I need to find a new host for them
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#10
12-15-2015, 03:51 PM
The fir tree clip that is basically beside the driver's headrest on the trim piece that runs along the top of the window, the trim piece is about 6 inches wide and runs along the A-pillar to the back window. That clip is letting go on mine allowing that trim piece to hang down about 3/4 of an inch.
#11
12-16-2015, 06:13 AM
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Bucks County, PA
Posts: 649
Rep Power: 50
Ah. I dont think its the fir tree clip issue then, if it is I am not sure if I can help... have you taken it out to take a look yet?
The A pillar trim is held on by 4 brackets, the rear most bracket is where the rear alcantara covered clip is, the front most bracket is where the front alcantara covered clip is. Then there is 2 brackets in between.
The pillar trim is punched into the bracket, so the alcantara covered clips are only there to block access of you putting your screw driver though the pillar trim to unscrew it.
The bracket extends about 1" away from the trim, and in mine, is held on by 2 screws at the rear most and front most bracket. The middle two bracket are unused, I assumed there's supposed to be fir tree clips but mine does not have them.
The A pillar trim is held on by 4 brackets, the rear most bracket is where the rear alcantara covered clip is, the front most bracket is where the front alcantara covered clip is. Then there is 2 brackets in between.
The pillar trim is punched into the bracket, so the alcantara covered clips are only there to block access of you putting your screw driver though the pillar trim to unscrew it.
The bracket extends about 1" away from the trim, and in mine, is held on by 2 screws at the rear most and front most bracket. The middle two bracket are unused, I assumed there's supposed to be fir tree clips but mine does not have them.
#12
12-16-2015, 06:52 AM
No, I haven't taken a close look at it yet. I've just been pushing it back into place where it will hold until the door opens and closes a few times and then it will slip down again. It feels like the clip (or cover) bites just enough to hold it but not enough to keep it in position for an extended period. The car is parked for the winter so I guess I'll add this to my list of things to do. Thanks for your input thus far.
#13
12-16-2015, 07:06 AM
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Bucks County, PA
Posts: 649
Rep Power: 50
Hmm if it is lose enough for it to hang down or moves 3/4 of an inch, any chance you can peel back the weather stripping a bit and get a flash light to look?
The clip with the alcantara cover clips onto the bracket, but the bracket is punched into the trim, so the covered clip does nothing in terms of holding the trim onto the bracket. If the bracket somehow came lose from the trim then you need a new trim.
if the screw is lose then you can remove the covered clip and tighten it so it holds the bracket (therefore the trim) against the body etc.
My car is parked off site from where I live, but I may be able to stop by later this week for something and can take a pic of the pillar trim and how the bracket / clip holds it in place if that will help
The clip with the alcantara cover clips onto the bracket, but the bracket is punched into the trim, so the covered clip does nothing in terms of holding the trim onto the bracket. If the bracket somehow came lose from the trim then you need a new trim.
if the screw is lose then you can remove the covered clip and tighten it so it holds the bracket (therefore the trim) against the body etc.
My car is parked off site from where I live, but I may be able to stop by later this week for something and can take a pic of the pillar trim and how the bracket / clip holds it in place if that will help
Last edited by mkzhang; 12-16-2015 at 07:10 AM.
#14
12-17-2015, 06:57 AM
So I got a flashlight in there and the clip is still attached to the trim but it has let go from the roof. So for now I managed to put two-sided tape on the top of the clip and then pressed it firmly back in place. So far it is holding quite securely.
#15
12-25-2015, 05:56 PM
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Bucks County, PA
Posts: 649
Rep Power: 50
I reinstalled the headliner today, these are the clips I used in the rear camrail to replace the OEM ones I broke.
Total cost to fix everything was probably $200 including paying someone to glue the alcantara back on the plate.
A new headliner from Aston is $2500, sourcing from AM Bits, after conversion and shipping is $2000 ish, factor in labor of uninstall and install, and there's a lot of saving there.
Total cost to fix everything was probably $200 including paying someone to glue the alcantara back on the plate.
A new headliner from Aston is $2500, sourcing from AM Bits, after conversion and shipping is $2000 ish, factor in labor of uninstall and install, and there's a lot of saving there.
