Replacing hood pad: worthwhile??
 

The foam padding at the back of the hood has fallen apart. Is it worthwhile (money-wise) to replace is with a new one? It's been like this since I bought the car, so I don't know what the effect really is.

Cheers!

Personally, I think it makes things look alot better under there with a fresh hood pad.

There are three functions of a hood pad, two of which are rather critical.

1. Sound proofing
2. Heat shield (protects the paint on your hood from engine heat)
3. Fire suppression (will drop off of the hood onto the engine in the case of a fire and help to smother the fire)

Given #2 and particularly the safety implications of #3, I'd replace it as soon as your budget allows.

jlc

Jeff,
The pad om my W124.021 hood covers only the back section of the engine bay behind the firewall where the battery, fuse box, etc are located. It does not extend over the engine itself: that part of the hood is bare.

Does your car have a pad that covers the whole underside of the hood?

Cheers!

Yeh - goes almost all the way from front to back and side to side. Same that I've seen on other W126s.

jlc

Vronsky
All Mercedes benz cars in the states have the complete hood pad. Mostly all european spec benzes in Europe have the 1/4 pad.

In the UK, both my old 87 200T and my current 94 E200 wagon have full length pads.

jlc - the fire suppression thing sounds interesting. Is this a design feature of the pad, or just what you think would tend to happen?

Cheers

Barry

1994 E200 Wagon 111, 000 miles

Bazzman,

Brandon is correct, the fire suppression is a universal not just MB (although MB may have been the originators of the idea). I first learned about it during a seminar on vehicle safety features while I was working at Chrysler as an intern.

jlc

Bazzman,

This is one of the actual functions of the hood pad. In addition Mercedes is not the only manufacturer to use this technology.
:D :D :D

My hood pad is starting to sag. Can I just spray some adhesive on it to try an make it stick to the hood again or do you just have to start fresh?

DieselGent,

If the pad itself is still in good shape, I see no reason why it can't simply be reattached. I seem to recall seeing a thread here a few weeks back on what adhesive to use so try doing some searching.

jlc

My W124 230E in Indonesia originally had the 1/4 pad just covering the back part of the hood (closer to the windshield)...

The 300E's came with the full pads though...

I guess my 300CD diesel came with the full pad although there are only bits of it left. :)
Will change it ASAP

does anyone have an idea how expensive?, etc.?
part number?
aftermarket pad's available?

I have not replaced my MB pad, but I did replace one on a BMW a few years back ... used a reflective material that glued on with spray ... very easy. Does NOT look stock, however.

Was about 1/4 the cost of OEM replacement, though.

Thanks for all the input guys.
Where can I order these in the US, aftermarket?

This is what's so great about this Board: learning new things all the time:) :) :)

Cheers!

They're relatively cheap -- about $30 bucks or so. Click on the fastlane tab above and look for it.

Remove your old one with a putty knife and some adhesive remover. Lay down a sheet or other cloth over your engine to protect it. Don't use plastic because the adhesive remover will eat right through it. Then spray the hood with some heavy duty 3M spray adhesive (#9?), then just slap that new pad right on and smooth out the kinks.

It's pretty tough to do it alone because you get one shot to throw it up -- doable though. Better to have an assistant help you "wallpaper" it up.

Good luck!

Hi Paul,
It turns out that FastLane doesn't ship to Europe:confused:
Know of any other good supplier that you know of?

Cheers!

Look on this website to buy the hood pad, or try Performance Parts.

If you don't replace it, you will begin to see a noticeable difference in the paint on your hood. The voice of experience speaks.

JoeB

best $50 I've spent
 

Vronsky,

Before I knew of this forum, I needed a hood pad ('87 SDL - diesels are loud). Found a company on Ebay, they always start their bids at $29. I just called them directly and ordered it, that is their standard price + about $8 shipping for me.

Get some of the heavy duty 3 M adhesive. It says "high heat made for hood pads" on it in the small print. It is about $15 a can in the US. One can was just enough, go for 2 if you are not sure.

I cleaned off the old pad with a scraper, then pressure washed the under hood, then wiped it down with a solvent to get rid of the oil / fuel residue.

Spray the adhesive on both parts, let then dry for a while, get some help aligning it and attaching.

MAJOR difference in noise in the diesel.

Good Luck!
Chuck

if you're feeling adventurous, take a look at this thread:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=38297

one day i'm gonna attempt this...

Glue
 

I glued mine back on using fabric spray glue (3M) which can be purchased at any fabric store. Works extremely well.

3M Adhesive to use
 

I'll be doing mine soon as the new pad came with the car. I searched #m's website and here's the part #. You can also order directly from them.

24 oz spray - $17.80
Aerosol contact adhesive designed for bonding vinyl tops, heavyweight liners and hood silencer pads where high strength and heat resistance are needed. Part number 08090.

8 oz spray - $7.55
Aerosol contact adhesive designed for bonding vinyl tops, heavyweight liners and hood silencer pads where high strength and heat resistance are needed. Part number 08091


I don't know which size would be needed though.

Did my hood pad very recently, see here:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=40651&highlight=hood+pad


later!

bigger size adhesive
 

Ron / Folks,

I believe the can I used was the 24 oz (it was about $15 at a Napa store). I did a criss-cross pattern as recommended on the 3m can, 3 times on the hood, 3 times on the pad. My patterns were 3-4" apart as I didn't think I could cover the entire pad. I made it 98% of the way, leaving just a couple areas unsprayed for the 3rd time. It is still stuck there and looks like day 1.

Chuck

I recently replaced the hood liner on my '89 420 SEL. The new liner from the dealer was $55 and completely different from the original. The new one is a 3/4 thick foam with a honeycomb square pattern, whereas the original was just a cheap thin insulation. It actually looks a lot like those closed foam camping mattresses that roll up. I glued it with a tube of 3M weatherstrip adhesive which has held up just fine.

Replaced my pad with brand new -- it really looks nice. Got mine for about $68.00 + $15.00 for the 3M adhesive. I didn't use adhesive remover, the old pad scraped off pretty good with a putty knife. Besides, any residue wil be covered by the new pad. Also, I don't think you need to get 100% coverage with the adhesive. That stuff sticks VERY well. I think somewhere it was mentioned that one has a little time to "adjust" pad position once placed. All I can say is that I had NO time for adjustment -- once placed that was IT. Luckily, I had accurately placed alignment markers (tape and pen will do) so that it was perfectly aligned the first time, then did the wallpaper trick and smoothed out the pad as I moved along. A helper would definitely be recommended, tho' I did it myself by placing a scaffold across my engine bay. I purchased pad + adhesive from www.************************.

Good Luck!

Brian16V

An alternative method would be to remove the hood for easier access to the job.

I replaced mine recently, definitely worth it in my opinion. Really cleans up the appearance and no foam "dust" falling down all the time.

I bought an aftermarket from this web site, and used 3M Super Trim Adhesive. An 18 oz can was just the right amount.

Drape some old sheets over the engine compartment and windshield before you scrape off the old pad, it gets messy.

And put the sheets back before you spray the new adhesive. I got some dripping but no problems with overspray, it's more like "silly string" than spray paint.

By the way -- I didn't try to get all the old adhesive off... I figured I'd end up ruining my paint job with stray solvent or something. So I just used a dull putty knife to scrape away all the old foam. So far (several months and quite a few miles) I've had absolutely no problem with it sagging or pulling away.

I would definitely recommend a helper... I don't think I could have attached it as neatly without one. It was particularly tricky sliding it under the sheet metal along the bottom of the hood.

And oh yeah, I did make one gratuitous addition to the hood pad before assembly... :)

I called a local MB dealer. He explained that the 'short' pads are standard on petrol W124's, and the 'long' ones are standard on diesel engines. Long pads cost $48 here, incl. sales tax. Will get myself one soon.

Cheers!

I've replaced pads on two of my Benzes. I used a putty knife to remove the old pads. I removed as much as I could and didn't worry about the old adhesive. I used 3M contact cement on both the pads I replaced and have had no problems yet. The first pad I did was 4 years ago.

I bought a cheap 97 cent brush top spread the goop over both the hood and the pad let dry. Yes, you only get one try at lining up the pad. Do a dry fit first to see how the pad fits and how much may or may not get tucked into the front or back of the hood. Mark the centers with tape and start with the front or back, then stretch the pad to the other end and press it into place along the center, then work your way to the outsides.

Good Luck!