VX

First remove your backseat: Click Here.

Second remove your rear quarter trim panels: Click Here.

Tools Required: 10mm. socket, 17mm. socket, 12mm. open-ended wrench, standard phillips head screwdriver, bigger phillips head screwdriver, a ratchet, a tack remover, and a standard flathead screwdriver.

Total Time: ~ 1.5 Hours.

BEFORE PICS:




<FONT COLOR="red"><FONT SIZE="3">How-To Remove Pillar Trim Panels:</FONT></FONT>

STEP 1: Use your 12mm. open-ended wrench to unbolt the nut from the hatch glass strut. Start on the right side of the car first.


Hatch glass strut nut removed:


STEP 2: Use your standard phillips head screwdriver and remove the 2 black grommets from the bottom of the rear pillar panel.
Next use your 17mm. socket and ratchet to remove the seat belt retractor lower anchor bolt from the chassis.


STEP 3: Remove the rubber door trim on the passenger's side.


STEP 4: Flip up the passenger's side seat belt anchor bolt lid and use your 17mm. socket and ratchet to remove the bolt from the chassis.


Below on the pillar panel, use your standard phillips head screwdriver and remove the 2 black grommets from the trim piece.


STEP 5: Starting from the rear of the car, proceed to remove the pillar trim panels. There are a total of 16 clips holding the pillar trim panels in on each side of the car. I've numbered them in the order in which you will be seeing them.

Gently and slowly pull the rear pillar panel outwards. Take note of where these clips are.


Once you have access to the seat belts...
Use your 10mm. socket and ratchet to remove the seat belt retractor upper anchor bolt from the chassis. And use your 17mm. socket and ratchet to remove the anchor bolt from the upper anchor. Slip the seat belt through the slit in the rear pillar panel. Now continue to remove the pillar trim panels.

Here are the clip locations for the rear pillar panel:

Gently and steadily continue to remove the rear pillar panel.

Here are the clip locations for the rear pillar panel:

Gently and steadily continue to remove the rear pillar panel.

Here are the clip locations for the rear pillar panel:





Once the rear pillar panel has been removed, go onto the front pillar panel. Gently and steadily pull the panel outwards.

Here are the clip locations for the front pillar panel:




STEP 6: Re-tighten the hatch glass strut nut to the chassis using your 12mm. open-ended wrench. (Torque Spec.: 16 ft./lb.)


Proceed to remove the pillar trim panels from the left side of the car by following the steps mentioned above.

<FONT COLOR="red"><FONT SIZE="3">How-To Remove The Headliner:</FONT></FONT>

STEP 1: Fold the front seats all the way down so you can have more room to work. Use your standard phillips head screwdriver to remove all the black grommets from the headliner. There are 4 on each side of the car. (8 Total).


STEP 2: Remove the coat hanger in the rear on the left side of the hatch. Flip the lid up and use your standard phillips head screwdriver to remove the screw.

Close-up pic:


STEP 3: Remove the "Oh ****" handle in the front passenger's side of the car. Remove the rubber screw cover and use your bigger phillips head screwdriver to remove the screw.

Close-up pic:


STEP 4: Remove the interior headliner light cover.
Use your standard flathead screwdriver and gently pry the transparent light cover off.

Close-up pic:

Use your standard phillips head screwdriver and remove this screw.

Pull the interior headliner light cover down, to expose the underside.

Disconnect these wires in the direction of the yellow arrows:


STEP 5: Gently remove the 2 headliner plugs using your tack remover.

Take your time on these things. They are a major P.I.T.A.

Frustration & Anger =


STEP 6: Remove the sun visors.
Use your standard flathead screwdriver to remove these screws.

Close-up pic:

Next remove the sun visor catch and screws using your standard flathead screwdriver.

Gently remove the sun visor catch by pulling downwards.


Next recline your two front seats in the upright position so the headliner can be supported.

STEP 7: Remove the rubber rear roof trim by gently and slowly pulling it downwards and away from the headliner.

Close-up pics of the rubber rear roof trim:


Close-up pics of where the rubber rear roof trim attaches to the chassis:



Headliner removed!


STEP 8: Re-tighten the seat belts using your 17mm. socket and ratchet. (Torque Spec.: 22 ft./lb.)
Optional:
Re-tighten your sun visors using your standard flathead screwdriver.
Re-tighten your "Oh ****" handle using your bigger phillips head screwdriver.
Re-tighten your coat hanger using your standard phillips head screwdriver.
Re-tighten & connect your interior headliner light cover using your standard phillips head screwdriver.

AFTER PICS:






WEIGHT SAVINGS:

All of the pillar trim panels and headliner:


Weight: ~ 10 lbs.



TOTAL WEIGHT SAVINGS: ~ 10 lbs.

Conclusion: Yes i know most of you will think spending this much time to save only 10 lbs. isn't worth it, but i had nothing better to do, and i like working on my car, so... TO EACH HIS OWN!!!

If you have any questions feel free to PM me.

VX

I sold the rear seat belts along with the retractors... so i never got a chance to weigh them both.

I'm going to guess and say they are about 5 lbs. total.

If any of you guys know for sure, please inform me.

Thanks.

- Chris.

P.S. - Please be patient w/ the loading of the pics... there's about 60 of em.

Dancing is Forbidden

heres an easier way. It will cost you about $10 bucks though....


Go to a liquor store and purchase a handle of Taaka Vodka. Chug that **** until your eyes are crossed. Get a box-cutter and have at it. Thats what I did. But we salvaged the roofliner and use it as a sled down this muddy pass near the house. Its tiiiiite.

pdiggitydogg

wow....thats a lot harder than ek's

GoT HaTcH

wow nice write up never knew it was so hard to get to the front pillars

ThisLittleSleepeR

great write up, just what i was looking for.

Deemeetree

Totally bueno.

2fast4u831

Sweet! Have you removed the tar and carpet as well VX?

POE

your car is gonna be so cold in the winter, and so Loud when u drive, but whatever you want

A_RU_BA

ummms 10lbs? its just plastic. i think u are getting the 10lbs from those 3 cans of cup ol noodles and that wood board ontop of it. its only like 5lbs the most for those plastic peices.

EVILhatch

congrats,it is now officially a tin can on wheels.

Aquafina

iTrader: (3)

He weighed the cans and wood first then subtracted that from the total weight.

If you've ever pulled interior panels, then you'd know they're rather heavy for plastic.

RockLee`

w00t

egyolk

iTrader: (1)

LOL nice write up HOWEVER you guys bumped a almost 3 year old post LOL

Stevegunit16

hey could you fix the pics???

Rodney

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stevegunit16 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hey could you fix the pics???</TD></TR></TABLE>

User Statistics

VX last posted at 8:44 PM 6/26/2006

seeing he hasn't been on the board in7 months, i doubt he will come back and fix the pics of a post from 2003...

EF9 JAMS!!!

bump from the dead...this really helped me!

EG'SUS

Man.. I wanna take off my headliner to redo it, but theres no pix to help