I am in the process of going through and rebuilding the shifter in my girlfriend's S5. Once I got the shift boot, off I noticed that all the sound deadening material was covered in oil. Apparently, the previous owner put way too much fluid in when he installed the short shifter (which I just removed).

The material looked almost like carpet padding. What should I replace it with?

 

I bet your girlfriend has something absorbent you could use...
Sorry, I couldn't resist...

I am not sure which material you are talking about. Everything above my shift lever is rubber...and then the clamping plate that holds the rubber.

Do you think it's necessary to replace it?

 

I have the same in mine too. It's still in good shape, so I left it. It's a high density foam that was apparently there from the factory. I'd just find some of the same material and cut it to shape.

 

if the insulation is oil soaked, that means your shift boots are bad, so you should replace them

second Mazda actually sells those pieces of insulation, they call it silent pac

 

I replaced the lower boot, and am ordering the middle 3 piece rubber one. Thanks for the info on the silent pac. I will go talk to my mazda parts guy.