DIY: B6 A4 - Interior upper pillars and headliner removal/swap

[nananana4k]

After doing some research I found our A4's all come with a platinum top. I found the S4's and up have an all black interior. Searching a few junkyards I was able to find and install the S4 interior top into my A4. Here is the process I went though.

I used a very small flat head I got for $5 at home depot. It comes in real handy for getting in small places.

You don't need to remove the battery if you are afraid of the airbags, they basically just sit in the frame during the entire session.

First thing I removed was the sunroof control. I used the flat head to remove this part that will expose two screws holding in the control.



Remove the two screws.



After the screws are removed it should be loose enough to pull off. If not, use a the small flathead to help pull it out.



Once you get out the control unplug the cables. You may want to take a picture or use this one for reference when reassembling since it's pretty easy to forget where the plugs go after you're done.



Onto the sunvisors. Move them out of the way to get to this small covering. You can use the small flathead to pop out the tab cover.



Remove this screw.



Pull the sunvisor to you then tilt.



Disconnect the cable.



Remove the other side.



The sunvisor clips are held by a two part lock. You want to use a small flathead to get into the top and use just enough force to slide it down a little.



Get your fingers under the clip and pull down.





After the bottom clip is removed the upper portion will come right out.



Remove the 4 handle bars. Using the small flathead expose the screw and remove the two screws holding the the handle bar.



Moving towards the back this rear piece pops right out. I used the flathead to avoid damaging it.



Once you get a corner the rest comes out easily.





While you're back here, take out the rear lights. This pops right out. use the flathead to help take it out. Remove the cable.



Next is the B pillars. I found this helped in removing the A pillars. You can use the flathead to pop out one side near the bottom where the tab is.



Then you can reach in and try to pop out the other tab with the flathead.



To remove the pillar, pull straight down with some force.



Now that the pillar is loose you can slide the seatbelt through it. To free it move to the bottom of your seat and you will see this tab hiding the seatbelt hook.



The hook is held on the bolt by a tab. Use the flathead to lift the tab and remove the seatbelt head. You can now snake the seatbelt out of the pillar.

(If you are replacing the pillar with another now would be a good time to do it. Just rehook the seatbelt back so it is out of the way and not loose.)



Time for the A pillars. use the flathead to get behind this airbag cover.



Unscrew and remove this screw.



The front A pillar is held by a metal tab that you need to finagle out. Use the flathead to get a corner and remove the top part of the A pillar.




I removed the fuse box cover( same cover on the right side) to help get the A pillar out.




You can pull the pillar straight down. It's held in by 3 tabs.



Remove the bolt from the rear of the rear pillar and this too will pop right out.

[nananana4k]

Now that you have the A pillars removed it's time for the headliner.

Start at the back. There is a tab holding the rear of the headliner in place. Be careful when you pull on it since it is held onto the headliner with glue.



Work your way to the sunroof. Just keep pulling down as you go.





About halfway the headliner will be off. Remove the cables from the supports.



Once you get to the sunroof you want to wait and start loosening the front where the sunroof control used to be.



After this the headliner will be held by the small clips holding it on the the sunroof metal liner.

You want to pull straight down. There are 15 clips so go around and try and free it 1 or 2 at a time.

Note: Manguyen points out that for the headliner, it's probably easier to open the sunroof and remove the metal headliner retainer with a flat head than to pull it straight down .

Note 2: For reinstall of the headliner its best to keep your sunroof open, it will help lining up the clips.



Now that the headliner is off you can move it towards the back of the car and remove it out of your trunk.

You will need to tilt it but eventually it will come out.





Now that it's out, the install is basically the reverse. Just a heads up, it seemed to take much longer to put things back than it did to take out.




Another note: I couldn't get the sunroof shade swapped out. The frame seemed to be riveted and I could not free it even after taking the sunroof out of the car.




Lastly I had a hell of a time getting the C pillars out. One of the tabs holding it in is hidden by the seatbelt cover. The best and easiest way to get it out is to use a Craftsman deepwell #17 socket from sears.




nein-reis has a great write up found here.

linky


That's basically it. All in all its a great mod if you are upgrading to an S4 interior and can no longer stand having a two tone interior since you spend the majority of the time in your car, well, in your car.

Before:



After

[maclem8223]

Nice!!! Thanks!

[nananana4k]

Enjoy! Do I hear another mod coming your way Matt?

[Antekaudi]

Any weird noises after this swap ?

Thanks

[nananana4k]

Any weird noises after this swap ?

Thanks

Nopers. Why? Did you have some after your swap?

[goodwood]

I just wanted to thank you for this write up, i bought an a4 that had grease all over the pillars and after hours of scrubbing i saw this and decided to go "vw" on it and wrap the pillars in plaid, it looks great its original and covers up the crap. it took my friend and i about 6hours to do it but it was worth it but i wanted to thank you for this awesome write up it helped more then youd know, great job and thanks again

[Styleprojekt]

Two things you may want to change in your writeup:
1) The sunroof assembly is very easy to take out. There are 6 bolts holding it in place and 2 drain tubes that need to be unhooked for it to come lose.

2) And the "bolt" behind the seatbelt cover is not always bolt (depends on the year of your car) it is a plastic lock tab thats easily pried out in many cases.
Note, its also visible in Nein-Reis' writeup that you linked. His is black, mine and my girlfriends (02's) were white.

[nananana4k]

Two things you may want to change in your writeup:
1) The sunroof assembly is very easy to take out. There are 6 bolts holding it in place and 2 drain tubes that need to be unhooked for it to come lose.

2) And the "bolt" behind the seatbelt cover is not always bolt (depends on the year of your car) it is a plastic lock tab thats easily pried out in many cases.
Note, its also visible in Nein-Reis' writeup that you linked. His is black, mine and my girlfriends (02's) were white.

I made the changes.

The sunroof part I was talking about is actually the shade which I couldn't get out of the sunroof rails even after taking out the 6 bolts and assembly. The shade seems to be surrounded by rivets on the frame.

And second, you're right, it was a tab not a bolt, made the edit. Thanks!

[Styleprojekt]

I made the changes.

The sunroof part I was talking about is actually the shade which I couldn't get out of the sunroof rails even after taking out the 6 bolts and assembly. The shade seems to be surrounded by rivets on the frame.

What you do is you unbolt the two plastic pieces to the very back of the assembly. Its really hard to describe without pics but its at the end of the rails on both sides. These unbolt with 2 or 3 bolts, i cant remember and then you carefully pull them off (some sort of glue/wax susbtance is holding it together, its like gum). You can then slide the sunroof cover all the way back. On the sides, you unclip the little clips that hold it onto the rails.

Ill write a DIY as soon as I am back from france since i have to dig in there myself to finish my headliner swap

[Doctor]

Excellent write-up.
I did this, exactly the same in my B7 when I had my car fro track use...
And then put it again everything back inside when I turned it to everyday car...
I didnt have a sunroof though...

As for noises and rattling, nothing afterwards, dont be afraid guys....

Well done once again.

[Juggern@ut]

Good thread! I decided to paint my headliner after seeing this and the pull down has definitely helped alot! I started with the rear strip above the rear window and sprayed it matte black. I Must say it looks pretty good and I'll be doing the rest later this week.

[Doctor]

Good thread! I decided to paint my headliner after seeing this and the pull down has definitely helped alot! I started with the rear strip above the rear window and sprayed it matte black. I Must say it looks pretty good and I'll be doing the rest later this week.

What did you paint it with. Did it turn up nicely...?

[Juggern@ut]

What did you paint it with. Did it turn up nicely...?

I dont remember the type but I got it at AC Moore. I looks really nice so far and the matte black almost looks like suede. Today I pulled more parts after work but the c pillar was kicking my ass I notice nein-reis DIY for it late and it started raining outside so I give it another go tomorrow.

[Styleprojekt]

I dont remember the type but I got it at AC Moore. I looks really nice so far and the matte black almost looks like suede. Today I pulled more parts after work but the c pillar was kicking my ass I notice nein-reis DIY for it late and it started raining outside so I give it another go tomorrow.

Wait until you do the actual headliner part; a flat surface, it will turn out like ass unless your incredibly good at spraying fabric. Good luck!

(just saying from experience with my carpet, corners and small surfaces looked beautiful, rest aweful)

[Juggern@ut]

Wait until you do the actual headliner part; a flat surface, it will turn out like ass unless your incredibly good at spraying fabric. Good luck!

(just saying from experience with my carpet, corners and small surfaces looked beautiful, rest aweful)

I think the toughest part will be the light buttons and sunroof switches because I still want the red light to shine through. If I could find black switches i'd be a very happy man

[prew]

Used this to swap out a damaged pillar. Thanks for the write up, made life much easier.

[doublezero30]

ive got a 1 1/2 week vacation coming up....i wont be swapping mine out, but it will be customized! i found black fabric paint made by VHT and i wanna do the center of the roof to match my "burberry" shift boot. good writeup!!!!

[Dirty(30)v]

nice write up, just did my trim red ultra seude (diy A4mods.com)

About to this next week (black ultra seude.)

[darin1274]

How hard is it to recover the headliner? I'm trying to find fabric to redo my headliner in a faux suede. It doesnt seem too hard but I dont want it looking like crap either!

[Dirty(30)v]

thanks great thread will be doing black suede headliner with my red suede trim shit's gunna be dope

[Sal_B7]

Bringing this back alive! Just bought some black headliner off a S4 and i will be doing the swap this weekend hopefully. Great write up! I hate the 2 tone. Gets dirty fast!

[nananana4k]

Good luck with the swap. I hated the two tone too. The full black is pretty sweet.

[Nogaro]

Thought id resurrect this thread instead of starting a new one. Does anyone know if I can do this and take my headliner out to redo it, without removing all the pillars?
Thanks

[cpu77]

Thought id resurrect this thread instead of starting a new one. Does anyone know if I can do this and take my headliner out to redo it, without removing all the pillars?
Thanks

+2

[Doctor]

It can be done. You will just have to be very careful to not fold it to much to come out of the pillars

A tip is to remove the roof handles/grabs, so as to allow the pillars to move a little without removing them.

[cpu77]

Thanks for the write up. One thing I would mention is manual passenger seat raise it 3-4 lever pushes. Makes it easier to get the seat belt out. I messed with this for 15mins till I figured that out! I am still trying to get the sun shade out:)

[freaksavior]

Anybody figure out how to get the sunshade out for the sunroof? I think I know but I just wanted some proof before I do it. There are 4 screws and 4 nuts that hold the tray track up, I think I can drop it down, then slide it off but I need 2 people to do it.