Headliner, antenna, dome light removal

[ryan2366]

Awesome info. I plan on putting a rear dashcam out the brake light hole at the top of if the cab so this helps. Since the Mav already has a backup cam I want the dash cam to have view of the bed contents from rear of the cab. As well as additional blind spot sight.

Can't believe the guts in the antenna. Seems like one of those WTF moments like why the light in my fridge is $200 for the part.

I have a rear view camera mirror and have mounted the camera in the back window.

Gives a very clear view of the bed and surrounding blind spots. I very rarely have to clean the window for a clear view.

Same with my dash cam which is installed on the rear sliding window.

No risk of pinching cables, water intrusion or anything rusting.

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[Maverstang]

The seat belt attaches to the B-pillar with Torx bit bolts.

Interesting to see what is under the roof trim rails...

It would have been so easy for Ford to have added some mounting pads for roof racks, as they do for so many SUV models. Seems like a significant lost opportunity for more rack and attachment flexibility.

 

[Wilbur]

Since I am still waiting for my Mav, I haven’t seen the actual headliner but there is a sewing product called Fray Check you can get at Hobby Lobby or sewing stores that may help the edges of the liner.

I went out and got some Fray Check, and here is what it looks like.

In the end, I went with the edge guard solution rather than the Fray Check because I didn't take the headliner out of the truck, and I didn't think I could successfully apply the Fray Check to the edges. Here is the sort of frayed edges I wanted to cover.

This is the door guard product I used instead. Here is the link to the Amazon site. I used this because I felt more confident in applying this successfully to the headliner as it sat in the truck.

The red tape pulls out, exposing the adhesive, which you squeeze against the back of the headliner.

Before pulling tape:

After pulling tape:

Here is the exposed side of the headliner you can see once it is applied. It is OK, certainly better than seeing the exposed edges.

 

[Wilbur]

Sun visor hole in the headliner, with the electrical connection:

The metal screw end is toward the windshield, and the tongue is toward the cabin.

A T-20 Torx metal screw holds it in place, same as the latch plate inboard.

This cover snaps off and back on. Use a CLEAN pry tool to remove it.

 

[Wilbur]

Here is the interior side of the rubber grommet on the rear panel / cab corner. It is on the driver's side about a foot inboard.

My impression was that the pass-through of electrical cabling would be easy. I planned to remove the aero cover underneath, and that would give me easy access to the exterior of the cab corner grommet. Here is that rear-most aero cover from underneath the cab.

To remove it, pull the two plastic fasteners, then unbolt the two different 10 mm metal bolts / captive nuts.

Unfortunately, at least on the hybrid, the fuel tank obscures the outside access to the grommet.

So I had to use a wire to run through from the interior, then connect it to my cable and snake it in reverse up and through, back into the cabin.

Some hard lines (brakes?) run right through there as well, and it isn't easy to run an efficient line through and around them.

Finally got the rear camera mounted.

 

[TxIsHome]

Sun visor hole in the headliner, with the electrical connection:

The metal screw end is toward the windshield, and the tongue is toward the cabin.

A T-20 Torx metal screw holds it in place, same as the latch plate inboard.

This cover snaps off and back on. Use a CLEAN pry tool to remove it.

Your solution seems to be the better one for looks. Fray Check just ‘glues’ the edges so it quits fraying. Following all your mods!

 

[Wilbur]

Your solution seems to be the better one for looks. Fray Check just ‘glues’ the edges so it quits fraying. Following all your mods!

If I had a steady hand and the headliner out of the truck, it would have been tempting to use it along with the edge guard.

But with the headliner inside the cab, I would likely have ended up with Fray Check decorating other parts of the cabin as well.

 

[Wilbur]

interesting in how that works out. I have the headliner poking out from the seals near both a frame posts, and am hesitant to ask for the TSB repair because they will inevitably scratch something up. TSB calls for total headliner replacement.

If adding a little of that plastic edging keeps it tucked, I can avoid that risk.

I applied 303 to the white plastic cladding that is on the A-, B-, and C-pillars, and after a couple of days, no color issues. The plastic is a little glossier, but otherwise no different.

My theory is that 303 might provide a small amount of scratch protection to the soft, recycled plastics in the Maverick. After five days of dis-assembling and re-assembling the trim, I think that it may in fact help.

 

[Wilbur]

These weird bulges in the weather stripping on the passenger side doors were obvious problems to me when I took these pictures on delivery.

After putting things back together, the bulges are still there.

I am leery about using a heat gun on them, which is what the Service Manager at the dealership said I should do. I asked him why he hadn't done that, and he didn't have a good answer, which makes me suspect that it isn't the best solution.

 

[Wilbur]

This is another video that shows the removal of a Ranger headliner, and it provides the viewer with better expectations of how the process works.

 

[TNFurb]

Sun visor hole in the headliner, with the electrical connection:

The metal screw end is toward the windshield, and the tongue is toward the cabin.

A T-20 Torx metal screw holds it in place, same as the latch plate inboard.

This cover snaps off and back on. Use a CLEAN pry tool to remove it.

These pics of the visor attachment point are very helpful. Whenever I get my Maverick I am hoping to swap the driver side visor with one from a Bronco Sport that has the garage door opener in the visor. I’m also hoping that it will be simple plug and play for the electric since the Maverick visor has a lighted vanity mirror in it already.. any chance you are doing the same thing and can confirm if it is in fact plug and play?

 

[Wilbur]

These pics of the visor attachment point are very helpful. Whenever I get my Maverick I am hoping to swap the driver side visor with one from a Bronco Sport that has the garage door opener in the visor. I’m also hoping that it will be simple plug and play for the electric since the Maverick visor has a lighted vanity mirror in it already.. any chance you are doing the same thing and can confirm if it is in fact plug and play?

I am not, so I can't tell you, sorry.

 

[VANHALEN67]

I am not, so I can't tell you, sorry.

I plan to accomplish several things with this Dance of Removals.

First, get the antenna off so I can apply a vinyl wrap to the roof. As a portion of that process, I also want to remove the drip rails so the vinyl can be below them. The whole drip rail and its valley area seems to be a magnet for leaves and dust, so perhaps I can mitigate that once I see what it looks like under there.

Second, apply sound baffling under the ceiling and above the headliner. That was easy to accomplish, and in other trucks I have gotten about four decibels of quieter ride from roof baffling. It isn't a lot, but when combined with the back panel, the doors, the wheel wells and the firewall, applying Dynamat or Canopus turns even an inexpensive vehicle into something that feels a lot more solid and sounds less windy.

Third, run a conduit fore-and-aft to more easily snake wires for things like dash cams or whatever Future Me decides needs powered in the rear of the cab.

Finally, the edging of the headliner isn't great quality - it is just bias cut without any attempt to finish it. I think I will try to put an edge on it, such as the plastic edging you can buy as a door guard.

Did you ever get to installing the vinyl on the roof? I am thinking of doing mine as well and wondering how it worked out

 

[Wilbur]

Did you ever get to installing the vinyl on the roof? I am thinking of doing mine as well and wondering how it worked out

Yes, everything apart and then back together again once the vinyl was installed, the dynamat attached to the ceiling of the cabin and ceramic coating applied over the vinyl.

Compared to other vehicles, the Maverick is relatively simple to disassemble and reassemble. Dropping the headliner was straightforward, the drip rails came out and went back in OK, etc.

With all that work done, I got an average of 7 decibels lower cabin noise, and the vinyl looks nice. Another user, Speedfilm, custom cut some PPF to apply to the leading edges, so that was very satisfactory.

 

[Wilbur]

interesting in how that works out. I have the headliner poking out from the seals near both a frame posts, and am hesitant to ask for the TSB repair because they will inevitably scratch something up. TSB calls for total headliner replacement.

If adding a little of that plastic edging keeps it tucked, I can avoid that risk.

In the end, the door edge product was the right choice.

I could apply it to the entire headliner when it was down on the seats, but I did not have to pull it out of the cab.

Once it was on the headliner, and the headliner reinstalled, it is unobtrusive. If I do happen to look at it, it looks finished. No more frayed edges to grate on my nerves.

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