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Hood Pad Alternative

20K views 92 replies 29 participants last post by  duh_vinci 
#1 · (Edited)
Phil Here. I rectified the problem I was having with all the foam under hood pads always falling apart after a few years. Enclosed is a photo to show what I have done for my SL. I Installed with a adhesive, a commercial grade outdoor carpet. the ribs and under hood trim was sprayed with a truck bed paint. I have driven down to Key West a few times now and noticed that the SL is much quieter and the top of my hood is fairly cool. I also think the underside of the SL looks great! No effect to to carpet with the engine heat. There is always a plan "B" when it comes to hood pads.......

1992 Sweet 500 SL Phil Justice
 

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#3 ·
Too late to suggest when I read this post but hopefully he used fire proof or fire retardant outdoor carpet. The adhesive used may also be a concern because of the VOCs.

Looks nice & clean :)
 
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#4 · (Edited)
I'll be a bit brutal here but that looks ghetto as sh*#. You should have just bought the R129motoring hood pad and be done with it. Mine has been on for a few years and looks the same as when I installed it and it is far superior to the foam OEM pad. BTW usually carpet won't catch fire but it will melt.
 
#5 ·
The only other custom pad I've seen was Stuart Knight's SL600 due to a gas (gas as in gas, not gasoline) conversion that required just millemetres to accommodate different air filters.

I just found this post from Mick msbarsi, one of them shows his modified hood pad.

Here I am again.

I found a couple of posts about StuartKnight converion that I thought might be useful on the matter.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r129-sl-class/1302170-help-me-settle-argument-lpg-sl.html

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r129-sl-class/1340061-lpg-600sl.html.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.
 
#6 ·
looks like he used dynamat which initially was made to deaden sound within cars by audiophiles. I know you guys in Europe sometimes get the short end of the stick since I don't think r129motoring ships overseas but for the life of me I don't understand why people replace the foam OEM pad multiple times when there is a simple solution available. Here is mine with the MB Star. The offer it with the MB Star, //AMG logo or plain black. This stuff is best descriped like a think Neoprene material it's like a rubbery sponge. I recommend this to anyone looking to replace their hood pad, and it can even be wiped clean.
 

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#14 ·
I try to stay away from stuff that isn't OEM as much as possible, but the hood pad is one that I ran from.

...But the R129motoring pad seems to be much better than OEM.
Agree 100%.

I don't understand why these new pads people have installed disintegrate after a few years. I have always used OEM; the 300E pad went on for 100,000+ miles (until I sold it) and the SL pad, once properly installed, is fine...
I think the material dries up and dry rots with the temperature in the engine bay. Many cars have vents on the hood or another way the heat to get out but other than the grille on the R129 the heat gets trapped in there pretty good. I don't think people have issues with it coming unglued it just becomes brittle and starts falling apart.
 
#12 ·
similar experience

my 97 E420 with 170K miles on it has the original hood pad and it is is very good shape.

My 97SL with 95K miles had the hood pad replaced by the PO about 5 years before I got it, and it was in bad shape again. But the R129motoring pad seems to be much better than OEM.
 
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#13 ·
I have replaced pads 3x - 1 in a 300E, and 2 in the SL 500. The only reason I had to redo the pad in the SL was that I wasn't thorough enough in cleaning the old residue.

I don't understand why these new pads people have installed disintegrate after a few years. I have always used OEM; the 300E pad went on for 100,000+ miles (until I sold it) and the SL pad, once properly installed, is fine.

Using the proper glue is of course critical as is cleaning the surface well. But other than that - if the factory originals last for many years their replacements should too if they are factory or OEM.

I have noticed that the SL500 seems to run hotter than the 300E; my hood will still be warm hours after I have driven it. Maybe the pad keeps the heat in better - obviously I had a smaller (3 liter) engine in the 300E.
 
#17 ·
Does anyone know if R129motoring.com is still operating? The recommendations here convinced me to get one of their hood pads, but it seems like their website has had no updates in a long time, and I emailed them to ask if they ship to Canada, and they have not responded.
 
#18 ·
Hello All,

I am going to replace the hood liner in my friend's '96 SL. And after reading here I'm going to get the one from r129motoring.

But I have a question. Last August, prior to my taking over my current 1997 SL, my aunt had the hood liner replaced at a local indie shop. I looked at it today, and it's held in place by glue at a few points around the perimeter with no glue in the middle. I mean, when I put the hood up, it falls 1/4-1/2" away from the hood in the middle. I need to undo what I'm interpreting is a crap install job and glue this to the hood right? If so, I figure I may as well do them both at the same time.

Thanks,
Bill
 
#20 ·
the problem you might have is that where it is glued it may not come off in one piece.
Ahahaha! Good looking out! I'd think that would be a problem too, except it looks like they used glue from a glue gun. I should be able to use a razor between the hood and the liner w/out a problem.

Thanks!

As one that traditionally looks at things in odd ways, I was wondering, given the lack of longevity of the new liners, if maybe the indie might be on to something by leaving it only slightly attached to the hood?
 
#27 ·
Good to know:(
Check your PayPal payment details. if they are out of business, your payment will be pending & will be unclaimed after 14 days. If the payment you sent remains unclaimed for 30 days, it will be cancelled automatically and refunded to you. But I will not wait, just call PayPal to get your money sooner by cancelling the payment.:)
 
#28 ·
r129 motoring is still selling on ebay. the rear window kits are still listed as are hood pads for r107.

would be sad to see them go given that the hood pad is IMHO the best one available
 
#35 ·
Maybe the right thing to do is check your PayPal acct if you have either a "pending" or "unclaimed" payment. Because if the email address is misspelled or payment sent to a wrong or old email address, it will not be seen by the seller. :) Just a thought, if they are actively selling, why wouldn't they accept the payment immediately? Or @edfreeman may be right -- for some reason, it just didn't go through :frown
 
#37 · (Edited)
Okay, I went on R129 Motoring website again and tried to order the r129printable hood pad for $85.00 but their were no tabs that read "buy" or 'select to Buy probally because of back orders and out of stock as pghyndman had already mention. However I had also needed a hood pad for my 107 and that had all the tabs to buy. It appears my order for the 107 hood pad was sucessfully completed. Thanks.
 
#42 ·
Mine was dry, crumbly and dropping off, so fed up with bits dropping off I stripped it. Didn't take long, just a few stubborn patches of glue to deal with. :D

Fitting a new one isn't a priority, I've other stuff to deal with 1st. However I've not noticed any extra engine noise, (it's not like SLs are whisper quiet anyway) heat doesn't really worry me, (6 banger in northern Europe). So I'm not sure I'll see much benefit.
 
#50 ·
In my case the glue was hardened for so long that solvents made to remove glue didn't do much. Others have said just make sure ALL the old foam is gone, don't worry so much about the glue.

Me, being anal, and a bevy of tools, grabbed my metabo grinder and put on the finest scotchbrite pad and went to work. Man did that take the glue off quick.

Now, I should have drapped the car first AND did it outside. glue dust everywhere! But the air compressor took care of that.

the scotchbrite pad took off some of the color coat paint, none of the undercoat and left a nice smooth surface with some tooth to it for the glue. Wiped it down several times with 3M adhesive remover to make sure I had a good clean surface for the glue.

I did this about a year ago and put on the R129 motoring pad using two cans and part of a tube of the 3M adhesive.

But again, the biggest thing IMHO is to make sure ALL the foam is gone and any loose pieces of glue and then wipe it down well with 3M adhesive remover to make sure you have a good clean surface.
 
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