Prepping for a 126 hood patch replacement - reinforcing bars?

[surfblau]

I just replaced the hood pad on my 300TD and am getting ready to put one in on my 300SDL. The previous pad disintegrated, was removed, or burned off (probably a combination of all three). At any rate, I have removed all the loose foam and most of the adhesive.

The only thing that seems wrong is that the two longitudinal hood reinforcing bars are not attached to the metal of the hood along their legnth. They are sort of held in place by compression on the ends. It looks like there was a ridgid foam backing them to support the hood, but there is no adhesion to that foamish stuff (where it exists).

Should I squirt some contact adhesive or hood pad adhesive behind these bars before I glue the pad on? Should I take glueing these supports in place very seriously? Does it even matter?

[Chris Blanchard]

I'm not sure if it even matters, but if it bothers you (and, yes, I am planning to do the same thing) squirt some liquid nails in there. It's cheap and is able to fill gaps.

I drive an '84 300SD and can see (at least the left side) of m hood vibrating slightly when I am at a stoplight. I presume that squirting a bit of liquid nails in those loose places might serve to dampen that a bit.

Make sure you get the correct hood pad for your car. Many non-dealer suppliers will sell you a thin foam (non-waffle type) hood pad for ~$30. Get the right kind for your car, which has the waffle pattern and has an aluminum patch above where your turbo (and hopefully now removed trap oxider) lives. It's the way to go if you value the paint on your hood. My dealer has those for about $75, but I'm sure they're available cheaper elsewhere - make sure you ask before you buy!!!

Chris Blanchard
1984 300SD 155k

[gnolo]

Is the hood pad very efficient to absorbs the engine noise ?
If yes, maybe I will do that on my 240D.

[surfblau]

Yup, it was the one with the aluminum insert and the routed out channels for the reinforcing bars. $50 at partshop which seemed really fair given how big it is and that it is more complicated than the $30 for the 123.

As for reduction in noise, replacing the old one in my 123 didn't really change the noise level in the cabin (as far as I could tell). The old one was sagging onto the cruise control and the air filter. I never really started it when I had the pad off, so I don't know what the noise is like without a hood pad.

later