The difference between hood pad and no hood pad is definitely noticeable in noise level.

You can always wrap the turbo in fiberglass insulating tape.

Heat rises, so the sides wouldn't need a pad. Although I agree that the paint should,t care about the heat. I would think that the hot Arizona sun would bake the paint more than the engine heat anyway.

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1959 Gravely LI, 1963 Gravely L8, 1973 Gravely C12
1982 380SL
1978 450 SEL 6.9 euro restoration at 63% and climbing
1987 300 D
2005 CDI European Delivery
2006 CDI Handed down to daughter
2007 GL CDI. Wifes

My car came with dirt and old glue where the hood pad had been. I removed the hood, cleaned the underside thoroughly and put on a new hood pad that had an aluminized area over the turbo. Since I have the California version, the turbo sits high in order to clear that dratted trap cat. The turbo and exhaust pipe are just under the hood.

I noticed no difference in noise level inside or outside, idling or driving, day or night. The hood definitely stays cooler with the pad. I don't know how long my car "went without" but the paint was not harmed. A twenty-year old paint job is probably pretty stable (or pretty well oxidized) anyway but if you have the car repainted I think the hood pad would be a good idea. Otherwise, skip it if you don't want to spend the money.

Properly done, it does look nice, incidentally, especially if the existing pad is ratty or missing.

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

Oh it does... have you seen the metallic colored cars from Arizona? REALLY poor paint.

Just spend the $40 for one.

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

I Have A Friend Who Glued A Sun Reflector Front Window Shield ( The Quilted Kind) To The Roof Of The Hood For A Cheap Fix.

When looking at used MB's, I always look favorably on one with a hood pad. They just seem to be an indication of a car that has possibly been taken better care of......

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Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

I just bought a '85 300D about 3 weeks ago. The hood pad is gone, the exterior color is silver, and the hood needs to be repainted. The rest of the paint on the car is good. I don't know how long the pad has been missing, but the MB mechanic that has done some work for me flat out told me the hood looks the way it does, because of the missing hood pad.

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'85 300D 190K miles
running on B100 Biodiesel since 156K, SCRATCH THAT! I can only find Biodiesel at 1 location in Houston! (not very convenient)

First off, not having a hood pad isn't going to make any difference in heat. if anything it'll allow the heat to dissipate faster, with the hood acting as a huge aluminum heatsink. Paint Yellows at *145F Blisters at *183F, so unless you have some SERIOUS overheating problems, the most pristine white hood won't be harmed.

Noise, noise does become a factor with no hood pad, but then I like noise so I took mine off, and plan to add some Dynomat or some equivilant.

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RIP: 80 300SD
RIP: 79 450SEL
2002 E430 4matic (212,000km)
2002 ML500 'sport'

____________________________
FACEBOOK: PANZER450

My hood pad fell off because I cleaned under to hood too often..

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RIP: 80 300SD
RIP: 79 450SEL
2002 E430 4matic (212,000km)
2002 ML500 'sport'

____________________________
FACEBOOK: PANZER450

Yeah, everything the other guys said.

Noise cancellation AND heat insulation. By the way, it is easier with two people. We used two tubes of 3M yellow adhesive(elephant snot) to glue the pad to the underside of "bonnet" er ah, hood.

I need to "do mine" to. About $50 bucks is the best price I have seen.

I'm gonna go and lay under my Benz for awhile, look around, take a nap and dream, CYA.

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1982 MBZ 300SD Turbo Diesel- just turned 200,000- just breaking her in

The hood pad was mostly for noise and protects the paintwork from the heat that the turbo puts out. Many cars that have been run without a hood pad for a long time will have paint issues as it speeds up the breakdown of the clearcoat..

I installed a new hoodpad on my 300SD only to have it not want to adhere well. (due mostly to my lack of patience and time) I ended up removing it in irritation and it has no hood pad presently. My plan is to use dynamat in the areas that don't have support braces and then a second layer of dynamat over the entire hood inside of the hood.

rocketman,did you use the 3m weaterstrip adhesive!!if so that is the wrong stuff,you needed the super trim adhesive,they make 2 different kinds(general)and (super)if you read on the cans general is NOT for hood pads.when i did mine i only needed one can.

I used the correct stuff for mine and it still fell off.

You have to make sure the surface is clean and dry, and follow the directions on the can. I've done two with the 3M and they are holding up very well.