If the carpeting in your vehicle has become so worn, damaged faded or stained that a cleaning or detailing won't do much good, you may want to simply replace the entire carpet. The job may be easier than you think, particularly if you purchase a precontoured replacement carpet made specifically to fit your vehicle. Materials: Replacement carpet
Cordless drill with screwdriver attachments
Socket wrench - Remove the seats from the vehicle. The seats are held in place by bolts underneath the bench. Use a ratchet wrench to remove the bolts and carefully remove the seats.
- Remove the door-sill plates that hold the sides of the carpet in place (figure A). You'll also need to remove the seat belts (figure B) and any other items that are attached to the floor, such as a center console.
- With the seats and other items removed, pull the old carpet up from the floorboard and remove it from the passenger compartment (figure C). The difficulty of this procedure depends on the vehicle and the type of carpet. Molded, custom-fit carpets do not require glue, so they lift out easily. If the carpet was hand-laid and glued, or if heat has caused the carpet backing to adhere to the floor of the vehicle, it may take more time.
- Replacement carpeting can be purchased in rolls or in installation kits if you want hand-laid carpet. Installation is much easier, however, if you purchase a molded carpet made specifically for the make and model of your vehicle. For larger vehicles, these may install in two pieces. In smaller vehicles, there is usually only a single piece. These already have trim around the edges and padding attached to the underside (figure D). They are available in a wide range of colors to match most vehicle interiors (figure E). Vehicle carpeting is required to meet certain specifications for flame and ultraviolet resistance, and some come pretreated with a stain protectant.
- Before installing your new carpet, take advantage of the opportunity to clean the interior surface of the cab floor. A brush or broom will help with this job ( figure F). Check the floorboard for leaks or rust spots. If you find rust, you may want to sand the spots and apply a sealer. Leaks should be patched.
- Once you've cleaned away any debris from the interior, lay the new carpet in place and position it properly (figure G).
- Reinstall the seats, center console, seatbelts, doorsills and anything else you removed for the installation.
- Important: Any time that you reinstall seatbelts, it's necessary to torque the bolts to the proper specifications. This is a safety issue, and the torque specs should be in your vehicle's owner's manual or service manual.
RESOURCES :
Ultimate Auto Detailing
Model: 0879389419
Author: David H. Jacobs
(1995)
To order this title from Amazon.com, click here.
Motorbooks International
Auto Repair for Dummies
Author: Deanna Sclar
ISBN: 0764550896
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