The under-hood insulation panel on my '05 sedan has started to drop down. There's a total of six tabs that are supposed to fit into slots in the hood, but none of them are staying put. Only the expanding rivets are holding the whole thing in place.
Is this typical? Seems like a really ghetto detail on an otherwise very nicely put-together car.
It's just sound deadening. If you take it off I don't think you would be able to tell the difference.
And tons of people will go on about it causing the paint on the hood to peel but they are just making that up. I have had this piece removed on my car for years, paint is perfect. Not to mention E46 engines run pretty cool, and that's why things like the valve cover and intake is plastic.
sounds like the tabs are worn out or broken a bit. Either get a new insulator from the dealer or take it out completely. You could also go ghetto and shove something in there with the tabs to keep them in tight, but I would not recommend that.
You're absolutly right Darkoz. A lot of times you don't notice on other cars because they have more of those plastic screw types holding the insulation instead of slide-in tabs.
It is not ghetto. The insulation is held in place by tabs so that it can drop down in case of an engine fire. The heat melts the tabs and the blanket puts out the fire.
It's normal. Over time, the insulation/sound-proofing shrinks from heat. Just get a replacement if you need it looking better. A new piece might even improve noise refinement. Without it the hood might get a bit too hot and there is risk of skin burning on contact.
My solution: zip ties (you can spot 4, 2 on the sides and 2 on the bottom)
No word yet on whether the zip ties will melt, but I figure the plastic snaps that are keeping the middle in haven't melted yet, so the zip ties should survive.
Stick it back up by using high temperature double sticky sided tape strips; and thats not duct tape either !
or just find the BMW hood insulation part with new grommet set online ... try Pelican parts or others
I really like this idea. Can someone tell me how you attached the wire tie to the hood? Did you have to drill holes to attach the tie to the hood?
Thanks for the clarification.
You only need to poke some holes in the insulation. Don't drill the hood.
Mine was shrunken bad when I got this car. I removed it because it was sagging onto the engine and rubbing the cool silver paint off in a spot. I'm probably going to install a Dynamat Dynaliner because I don't care for the increased engine noise.
There's enough slots in the hood at those locations to fish the zip ties through and then punch the ties through the insulation fabric. I did that but I might just remove mine when I put on the strut brace so it doesn't rub on the top of the brace.
Well, mine's a vert and appeared to have been garaged most of it's life and low mileage ... 69,000 miles over 10 years ...and has shrunk also. Maybe it has to to with the dark color? Mine is Orient Blue, yours is Imola Red but Mango's is silver. Just looked back and OP's is silver also. so much for that theory! Seems to be no rhyme or reason. Maybe Mango's is still fine because it's scared of him and doesn't want to be replaced. Haha.
just remove it. i removed mine 4 years ago with no problems and no change in sound coming from inside the car or under hood. it will not cause the paint to peel!!!
I'm with all the people saying remove it. At 135000 miles mine was basically perfect (not sagging, flat against the hood). I took it out to fix a dent in the hood and I've left it out... I'm at 137000 and I honestly can't notice a difference. Sound level is the same, paint is fine, etc. etc.
I kept getting mice going up in mine, so I removed it. Sprayed peppermint oil all over the engine compartment, haven't seen any evidence of them since.
Must of been a nice cozy spot for them. They sure made a mess in there.
I got rid of mine long time ago and replaced it with this hoodliner material. Works great, sounds great.
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