W126 Hood Pad R&R

[stephenson]

Replaced hood pad this week ... am attaching photos.

Pretty straightforward - I used many tips and hints from others in this great forum - hopefully the lessons I learned can be used by others - a small payback for all the help this forum has provided me over the years ... what did we ever do without digital cameras?

So, after watching the original pad deteriorate for the last three years, I ordered a pad from Phil. New one had the metallic protector over the turbo area - original one did not. Went to local auto parts store I use that has very knowledgeable counter folks - and they tried to sell me the universal 3M adhesive - wrong stuff! I asked them to reference their 3M book and there was the correct stuff - ordered and picked up next day - there may be "Black" available, but all they could get was the "Yellow" version. Got one can of the adhesive and one of the remover. Plenty of remover, but just barely enough of the adhesive - I could have used more, I felt, but didn't want to commit to another expensive can.

I considered doing the job with the hood on the car - glad I didn't!

Process and lessons learned:
1. Take "before" photos for reference
2. Note the hood pins have paint tear outs so they can and should be matched for their respective sides; mark them with a pencil (top and bottom of each side is different length)
3. Remove the passenger side windshield reservoir hose and plug with small hose that is plugged (the plastic cover for the hose entry into the hood was badly deteriorated and fragile - damage it on removal - may leave it off)
4. Remove the driver side wire by detaching it from plug after removing the cover with plugs attached from the hood - note position of the wire clips
5. Raise hood to the vertical position
6. Remove pin clips - note one on each side is painted body color and one is black
7. Carefully tap pins to loosen from inside and to prep for removing
8. Get at least one other person to help hold hood up on each side and while holding push out the pins
9. Scrape with a body filler tool to avoid scratches - remove as much of the old adhesive as possible to make the remover more effective
10. Use multiple applications of the remover as it evaporates quickly
""NOTE"" - VENTILATE!!!!!
11. Use a plastic pan scrubber for working the remover phase and then wipe down each time with a towel
12. Mark center point on front and rear of hood with a pencil - note the pad comes with a "v" cutout for the center; mark back of pad, but not for the back so you will need to mark the rear of the pad
13. Application of adhesive is straightforward - instructions say two parallel passes followed by one cross pass - both hood and the pad; I had just enough to do this with a tiny bit remaining in case I needed to "fix" a spot on the edge
14. Get at least one other person to help place the pad; we held outside edges up while aligning front and rear marks then pressed it into place trying to follow contours of the hood and aligning the fore and aft stress bracing with the partial cutouts in the hood pad
15. Use as many gravity assistance devices as needed to ensure pad is held down effectively - I left mine like this overnight - one could, in theory bend the hood with excessive weight so be careful ... many small weights work better than a smaller number of heavier weights, I think.
16. Hood re installation the reverse of removal - no gotchas that I could tell

Total time, not including drying is about three hours - could probably do in two now, but allow an afternoon. With the hood flat it was very easy and predictable job - not sure this would be true on the car - I prefer less anxious approach!