hood pad swap pics
 

Just swapped 190E crappy old small hood pad for large one, actually meant for early model 190Ds:

You can see where I've removed the old pad (crumbled off - make sure you cover engine bay with something!)

Here is the after-shot, with the new pad fitted. It looks a hell of a lot better, and the engine is definitely quieter. I kinda hoped it would be an 'ultimate fix' to noisy 190Es, but it's not quite, there's still more to be done.

Driving it for a day with no hood pad at all revealed all sorts of interesting noises.. kinda sounded like a race car with all the whining and screaming noises you could hear :rolleyes:

But it's now quieter, and sounds so much better than the low mileage good condition '97 Accord 2.0i LS Auto I drove immediately after (more growl, less hedge-strimmer or moped). Is also better built, quicker, better ride, damping, seats, has *much* better steering & transmission, and none of the Hondas squeaks. Only lost out on aircon. I actually thought the Honda might be comparable at first.. :rolleyes:

later

Nice! Did you clean out the spot where the old one used to be located? as in did you use some sort of cleaner to clean it up?

I have to do mine but I don't really have a space to do it without the building management towing my car away... :p But the hoodpad is too krrrispy now!

BTW, I have a W124 230e with the smallish hood pad too and swapped it for the 300E's... though it didn't help much :(

I hope it'll help for the diesel though.

I used some sort of 'quick drying solvent' stuff to clean the oil & grease off the hood. Once finished it was dry to the touch, but still looked like an un-shiny, matte finish.
The top photo shows it cleaned. The old pad wouldn't come off any better than shown, but the new one stuck onto this remaining material very well.

I then used Evostick - apply to both surfaces, leave to dry for 15 mins (till it feels dry), then push together. They bond on first contact.

Be careful - you can't move or remove it after they contact, so I lined the pad up first, marked a corresponding small rectangular area on the pad and hood, and stuck this first. Then I just worked towards the outside. It's stuck very well now.

better luck on your W123, Holson