I deleted my sound pad since my engine is out and wanted to pass on a little FWIT in the event you decide to go down that road.

I had the original pad, 89, and it was totally falling apart so I decided to just remove the thing as I really dont think it makes much difference for sound or heat protection. I tried just about every liquid, gel, spray, etc along with every type brush and scrapper to remove the old adhesive. What I found that really worked well was Goo Off Pro Strength and time, much time. I sprayed and let it dry and resprayed, over and over..2 cans worth over a weekend. After 2 cans I could rub the old glue off with my finger, it was that easy. The trick is to let the spray do the work not you. I cut off the screws for the pad with a dremel. I also bought a can of paint from Express Paint, along with a paint pen for rock chips, etc. It looks pretty good to me.

Anywho's if you have your engine out and are thinking about removing the pad give Goo Off a try and let it do the work for you.

 

How does it sound without it?

I'd probably do it, it if doesn't make my cabin super loud. I love how it cleans up the engine bay with it gone.

 

I've been in a 64 with this removed.
It was mega loud!

Car was at Oulton Park, so passed noise testing.

V loud inside car.

 

I ripped my sound pad out over 5 yrs ago. My kids ride in the back seats all the time...

 

Impressive result. I deleted mine also with the help of 3M Specialty Adhesive Remover and it took about three hours: https://rennlist.com/forums/964-foru...e-remover.html

I left my screws for the pad intact in case the next owner decides to re-install the pad. The spots of adhesive that were left behind aren't visible when the engine is installed.

My car went straight to the mechanic for an engine out rebuild once I bought it so I'm not able to compare the noise before and after the pad delete, but I do notice road/tire noise from the rear seems intrusive at highway speeds. I haven't found heat to be an issue or engine noise though (running high flow sport cat, primary bypass).

 

Great job , thank for sharing

 

kreeshp
i did see your post before i started mine and probably like you i had to scrub/rub like a SOB to remove the old glue, until i used the technique i described above. Spraying it over and over again and letting the glue break down is the ticket, once i did that i could rub it off with my finger.
as far as any increase in engine noise is concerned i think it probably depends more on whatever exhaust mods are done. meaning if kept stock it shouldnt make any difference but if someone had a cat & primary delete, g pipe, etc than i would think you'd have an increase in cabin noise...which is not really "noise" to me

 

Lol! I ripped mine out a year or so back. I can't tell any difference. I really like hearing the engine roar, so it served no purpose for me.

Thanks for the info OP. I have other glue that needs to come off and I'll go with your recommendation.

Happy Memorial Day to the U.S. Rennlisters.

 

took mine out too (well, it fell apart) and no difference what-so-ever. Never bothered putting one back again.

 

Ripped mine out months ago. Right after I got the G pipe.

 

Pulled mine out this past winter, didn't really notice much of a difference in sound.

 

You can remove a lot of sound padding and still have a usable car, even bare metal. The real noise killer is the inner ceiling. Remove that and it will be loud!

 

Mine is pretty much falling apart. Makes me want to do this.

It looks horrible right now, in the state it's in.

 

After just completing the 15,000 service, plus replacing the rear blower motor, I'm sorry I did not just drop the engine. What a PITA! Scrapes and bruises all over my hands and arms. And after all that work, I then paid attention to the rear sound pad which look worse then most of my T shirts. Most of it has fallen away, and the rest is kinda hanging on. I'll just rip the easy stuff out and not let anyone look at the engine compartment until I do the next major project.

Jerry G

 

Have you considered the pad keeper? In my rush to get everything for the in coming car I bought one. 167 but it does clean up the area nicely without having have to remove the pad. Just a thought.