116 Flooring

[Styria]

It is a subject that's been discussed many times previously. Water Ingress, and a time span of thirty years (at least) can really cause havoc to the sound proofing/sponge flooring on the front floors. Gleaming Beauty was no exception to this state of affairs, but I had already scraped up all the old stuff on the left front floor probably two to three years ago , and replaced it with Dynamat - after through cleaning and painting of the floor area. Luckily enough, rust had been minor, with no holes in the flooring. Whilst at it, I had also dynamatted the left rear flooring as well.

Thus, the other day I decided to tackle the driver's floor. The old stuff was badly cracked and really an absolute eyesore - luckily enough, it held no water. It was with glee that I got out the scraper and removed that flooring. It smelled, and it certainly did not look nice. In its place, I cut and place some high density/silver paper backed foam, but decided not to glue it at this stage. The accompanying pictures will illustrate what I am talking about.



Replacement covering fitted....



I fitted one to the passenger side as well. The unit photographed here is the driver's side.



Whilst I am at it, I am carrying out some 'maintenance work' on the slider panel as well.





There are a few things that have been bugging me, and now is the time to do it. Regards Styria

 

[SEL_69L]

I would not glue the replacement floor insulation. Leaving it unglued means it can be removed for dampness inspection at a later date.

I guess that the downside of not glueing is that the insulation would be less effective for what Mecedes intended for the original, and that is sound deadening. Nevertheless, I think the thick and heavy carpet floor mats will help to keep the insulation in contact with the floor.

If nothing else, the choice to proceed with glueing or not, remains.

 

[Styria]

Hi David, I have absolutely no intention of glueing this insulation - sure, it may not be as effective, but honestly I've got that much stuff on top of it, I hardly think it'd make much difference. Besides, the left side had already been dynamatted and that material is already glued in place.

The insulation pad that's glued to the bottom of the carpet itself is in excellent original condition, and that alone should be good enough to provide adequate insulation properties. Regards Styria

 

[Oversize]

Most commercially available insulation products have an adhesive backing (including Dynamat) & this makes not gluing them in place almost impossible. There's an article in February Street Machine (P132) on sound deadening which makes for interesting reading. I thought the original W116 stuff was moulded to the shape of the floor and had a specific shape for the carpet... If this is removed, won't the carpet be uneven or move about? Does anyone know if the original stuff's still available?

 

[Styria]

Hi Mark, I have been waiting for someone to come in on your query, but alas that hasn't happened. So it will have to be me. The insulation that is glued to the bottom of the front carpets match the flooring which features the air vent leading to the rear compartment. That product, to the best of my knowledge is no longer available. When it was (this is all rumour or what I have read), the cost was about $700.00 per carpet compartment - so you multiply times four. Whenever at all possible, we try and save the insulation by careful removal from an old carpet (to be replaced) and glue it to the bottom of the new one.

Of course, the old stuff is not always salvageable, or has long since disappeared. It is surprising how badly these cars are looked after by previous owners. If the originals are not available, we then use various materials as a substitute. Without some underlay backing, the new carpet is not particularly solid in feel. Mind you, it should not move about if you fit the appropriate press studs. This covers the front.

At the rear, you can come across different situations. 108/109s had 'crappy' normal soft foam glued to the bottoms of the carpets, whilst 116s had moulded insulation similar to the front. Again, if that insulation is not available, we endeavour to follow the same procedure as for the front. It should always be borne in mind that the rear flooring can differ from one model to another - primarily in the shape of the centre 'corrugation'. Hope that helps. Regards Styria

 

[Oversize]

Thanks for the info & I suspected that was the case, so I'll be retaining the carpet backing whenever possible. However, what I was trying to get across was the availability of the deadening material that covers the steel floor. Seems it's very effective at retaining moisture & hiding the dreaded rust from inspection! Is this stuff still available from MB? At a glance it looks far thicker than Dynamat & I was wondering if the carpets will fit properly if the genuine deadener is removed.

 

[Styria]

Hi Mark, I think it is NICE to have some insulation on the steel floor, such as Dynamat or even the material that you can see in my photos. The carpet will fit if there is no insulation on the steel floor because the insulating pad that's glued to the underside of the carpet provides steady and firm positioning of the carpet. Regards Styria