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Did you ever start a project that went too far?

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Posted by: unity

My 96 has a water leak. Suspecting moon roof drains or panel junctions (that little metal strip between the roof and D pillar).

So the headliner had to come out. To do so the back seat has to come out, both upper and lower. Then the interior side panels have to come out - which means the seat belts have to come off. Then the A pillar covers followed by the sun visors come off.

Well as long as I am doing this I may as well take out the carpet so it can dry and super clean it. So the seats have to come out with the center console.

Well since the seats are out I may as well lube the gears and paint the semi-rusty mount rails.

Oh, and a great time to re-install the XM antenna that I hid in front of the rear high brake light. It had come off and its hard to mount with carpet above it. So off with the rear package carpet. The rear window glue had stuck to it making it a pain to remove when it should have just slid out.

After doing all of that I basically have no interior besides the dash and door panels. As I drive I notice how noisy things are......

Well as long as EVERYTHING is out I may as well whip out a few cans of Great Stuff™ and fill in the 10,000 gaps in body panels, floor panels, rocker panels, etc.....

So now I am driving a car with no interior (well the seats are back in) and eat stuff oozing out of every nook and crack. I sorta ran out so I need to pick up a few more cans - use four thus far.

And yes I have photos.

I am thinking by this weekend, weather permitting, it will all go back in. Overall it really was not hard at all removing stuff. The carpet was the hardest if anything. Hopefully when I am done the car will be quieter. My friends comment how they can converse on the highway and speak at normal voice level, but I think the Great Stuff™ will really dampen things.

Posted by: 93' Blue on blue

Lol! I always end up going further than i intend! I mean, i started a few months back with a simple coil conversion which ended up with me changing all sorts of stuff, ruining and replacing brake lines and now a failed brake booster. Your story reminded me of my old 7. What started as a minor water leak (or so i thought) ended up with me removing the dashboard, carpeting and most of the interior! I ended up emigrating before i finished that project! lol. Now i just approach every job with an open mind and no time frame.

Posted by: marcuseightus

I took my whole dash apart on my El camino, When I was a kid looking for a leak, Only to realize it was the AC. Never know about condensation when I was young!

Posted by: MediumD

Post the pics, and let me/us know if that Stuff really works Great for NVH..

Posted by: MonsterMark

Wait till that Great Stuff stuff starts to creak and moan and rub. Better turn up that XM Radio.

Posted by: unity

I dont think it it will come loose, at least I hope not. I found plenty of thiss stuff already in the car and it looks factory. We shall see!

Posted by: Icarus

Isn't this called "doing it right" to us guys (or at least that's what we tell our other half)???!

Posted by: Roadboss

Unity- Post some of those pics, I've got a headliner that I'd like to replace,but from what I'm understanding it requires almost stripping the insides as you've done, Any tips? Mine is 96 with sun roof, thanks in advance.

Posted by: unity

I'll get some more pics tonight and post them. You do pretty much have to take everything out, but really its not that hard. The next time I do this, if ever, it will only take me 15 minutes to get the headliner out. Everything pops out except for the seat belt retainers.

Posted by: billcu

Yes, you need to remove what Unity did to get the headliner out.

The good news is, you can leave the console and carpet in though.

We used to replace headliners on vehicles a lot when I did vehicle NVH.

Here's a tip: be careful not to crack the headliner when removing or installing it. They can be brittle.

Posted by: Roadboss

I just have nightmares of problems removing all the trim and stuff, and finally as you pointed out bustin the headliner getting it out, because of some clip or such I didn't know existed. Tha's why I want to see some pics, just to give myself every chance not to screw it up.

Posted by: unity

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roadboss

I just have nightmares of problems removing all the trim and stuff, and finally as you pointed out bustin the headliner getting it out, because of some clip or such I didn't know existed. Tha's why I want to see some pics, just to give myself every chance not to screw it up.

OK.... this is VERY basic and VERY far from done, but I think it may help a bit. I will get more photos and such and get it updated.

http://web.mac.com/unity/iWeb/Mark%2...%20Guides.html

Posted by: Roadboss

Thanks for the info!

Posted by: 02LSE96LSC91SE84TC

Similar.

My parents 87 Cougar years ago started getting water on the passenger floor, lots of it all the sudden. We stripped nearly the entire interior to get to the source which was appearently just some body chalk that came out in the firewall area. My mom was a little concerned but not worried as seats and panels stacked up on the front lawn. The dash was pulled out into the car and a little Dow Corning 795 sealent did the trick in several spots. Not positive we got it we put back together, problem solved. The factory body chalk can fall out appearently.

Started as just the kids looking for a leak. When half the interior was out, it was kinda funny.

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