Planning out ceiling insulation and replacing headliner material on my 1996 XJ Sport, no overhead console.

Can the ribs across the ceiling be removed, without removing the roof, so I can run closed cell sheet insulation front to back against the ceiling? First plan is a layer that goes between the front to rear between the beads, then reinstall the ribs and add more insulation to almost the thickness of the ribs (this layer probably same orientation to the ribs) leaving enough gap for the headliner to go back in.

Using the image from an old thread for preliminary reference:
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f58/cu...2/#post1044013

 

I would not cut them out they help hold the the roof together . I would install the insulation around the and if you need to you can foam the ribs that way you insulated all the roof .

 

What he said.

It's a unibody so the roof braces add to the stiffness of the vehicle.

 

I bobbed the back of my XJ to have a open back like a truck bed. I took out a rib from the cut roof section to reinforce the remaining roof.

it was a pain in the *** to remove the rib and that was with it laying on the ground. They are spot welded on the sides and glued to the roof with cushioning between the rib and roof. I used a heat gun and a crow bar. Pretty sure I had to cut the rail on the roof to get the edges of the rib to come out after I cut the spot welds.

I don’t see them coming out with the roof intact unless you cut the sides of the roof.

my experience.

 

That's what I needed to know. Just going to insulate around them, and under (headliner side) them.