Trying to remove the ceiling panel in an 06 Savana. Most of the screws are the same as the side panels but there are a few fittings related to the cab divider braces that seem to be bolt receiver inserts. The ceiling panel is some sort of pressboard that I want to save and reuse and the fittings in question seem to have been mounted after the ceiling was in place because the ceiling is held in by the fittings (see pic). I need to know how to remove the fittings so that I don’t tear up the ceiling panel when removing it.
These look like some type of rivet so you will likely need to drill it out. Use a drill bit just bigger than the hole and step it up from there if needed. You probably will not need to drill in very far, just enough so the head of the rivet falls off.
Definitely not a rivet. It’s a bolt receiver that is threaded on the inside and receives a bolt that secures one end of a brace for the metal cab/cabin divider. I just don’t know how it attaches to the metal crossbeam on the roof. I tried using an easy out but it doesn’t seem to be screwed in. I guess I’m going to have to carefully cut the ceiling liner around the fitting. The other screws will be adequate to hold the liner in place when i remount it. Once I get the liner out it will be clear how the fitting is attached, but at that point I will no longer need to remove it because the damage to the liner I’ve been trying to avoid will have already been done.
Greetings!
It actually is a rivet type fitting. I’ve seen body shops remove them by using a slide hammer.
Cheers!
“Everything should be made as simple as possible." ~ Einstein
Again you could simply just drill the head off and not damage the liner regardless of how it’s attached. At that point it till either be flush with the roof or fall out. Either way you’ll be able to remove the liner without damaging it.