1998 Jaguar XJ8 headliner board recovering and replacement instructions.
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The car in this headliner tutorial is a 1998 Jaguar XJ8 with sunroof. The headliner wasn't in too bad of shape, with the exception of a big sag in the rear of the car. The XJ8 Jaguar car headliner isn't really all that hard to replace; the most difficult part is removing the headliner board from the car. Unfortunately we didn't get a shot of the board being removed from the Jaguar XJ8, but it comes out through the rear drivers side door (with the drivers seat let all the way forward and the back of the seat let up as far as it will go). The headliner board will have to be bent to remove it, at times you may think you will break it, but the Jaguar headliner boards are very resilient and will recover quite nicely when reinstalled. The headliner in the Jaguar XJ8 can be recovered this way inside the car, but it makes it harder to fold the material over at the front and back of the board; otherwise it makes the job much easier.
This headliner kit will fit the Jaguar XJ8. The color of this headliner is 2037 Light Neutral.
1998 Jaguar XJ8 Headliner 1998 Jaguar XJ8 visor support
You can see the sag in this pic at the rear of the headliner. Remove the visor screws and this support on the opposite end of the visor. It has a phillips head screw holding it on (can be removed through the hole).
1998 Jaguar XJ8 headliner console 98 Jaguar XJ8 headliner console
To remove the console, flip the sunglass holder down and use a screwdriver to twist the plug you see in this pic. There is only one electrical plug to the console usually.
1998 Jaguar XJ8 pull handles 1998 Jaguar XJ8 visor removal
To remove the pull handles, pry the metal trim up and out at the end of the handle. It pops right out. This shot shows the Jaguar XJ8 visor electrical plug
98 Jaguar XJ8 side trim 1998 Jaguar XJ8 sunroof trim
The side trim is attached with small plastic plugs. You can see the black plastic plugs in this picture. To remove them, give them a tug and they should come loose once you've removed the pull handles. It is only necessary to remove one of the rear panels, the other side of the headliner board can be slid from under the panel. Remove the pinch welt from around the sunroof opening.
Rear attachment Jaguar XJ8 headliner board after cleaning
This is a shot of the plastic pieces at the rear of the headliner board, don't know exactly what they are for, but they must be removed. A phillips head screw can be seen once the small plastic cover is pulled up. The headliner board of the 1998 Jaguar XJ8 after it has been cleaned. It's ready to be recovered.
1998 Jaguar XJ8 headliner board Recovering the headliner of the Jaguar XJ8
If you look closely, you can see the bend marks from the headliner board being removed. Again we say, it will look like it's going to break when removing it, but it is very resilient. Read this for more on removing the board from the car Recover the board about 1/3 at a time, this will give you time to work with the adhesive before it dries. When the board is fully recovered, cut the sunroof opening out leaving about 2 inches of overhang.
1998 Jaguar XJ8 headliner reinstallation Headliner finished
Put the headliner back into the car, and reattach everything just like it came out. Cut the excess off from around the sunroof opening and put the pinch welt back into place. Then you are good to go!
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© 2005 WLS Headliners
1998 Jaguar XJ8 headliner replacement, replace the headliner in a Jaguar XJ8, removing headliner board from Jaguar XJ8