There's a large, complex-shaped piece of insulation on the outside floor of the passenger compartment above the transmission. It's #74 in the attached diagram; MB p/n 210 682 02 01.

It appears to be made of shredded fabric, sandwiched between two layers of semi-rigid composite material which create and maintain the complex shape. As far as I can tell, it insulates the passenger compartment from sound only, not from any heat given off by the drivetrain or exhaust system.

On my car, the insulation has lost its shape in certain areas and collapsed, to the point it is rubbing against the driveshaft and front flex disk. That can't be a good thing.

The insulation is attached to the chassis at several points with small nuts. Reaching these nuts is difficult but not impossible, and the old insulation could be torn out in multiple pieces if necessary. But getting a replacement part in? I'm not sure it's possible without dropping the transmission. Surely the insulation was installed at the factory before the transmission and driveshaft were mounted.

So two questions: First, can this part be replaced without dropping the transmission?

Second, would there be any harm in removing the old insulation (or at least part of it) and not replacing it? The new part is about $300.

Paul
Arlington VA

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Many cars don't have insulation above the trans so I would not call it critical.

Perhaps you can get some 1" wide sheet metal strips and form a support running left to right. Hopefully there are a few accessible nuts in that area.