i did the same thing to my car, installing amps....i got way ahead of myself and didnt stop to think there could be something behind that carpet covered metal panel....stuck the amp up there and fired 4 screws right through the fuel tank...i didnt even notice it until i left with my sister and a couple of other people to go to the mall, about 30 minutes away....my tank was nearly empty when i installed the amp, and we stopped to fuel up before getting on the interstate...filled the car up and headed out....about 3 or 4 miles down the road i start smelling diesel, STRONG...i pull over after like 10 minutes of trying to figure out where this damn smell is coming from....i get out, check my shoes...nope, theyre fine....walk around to the trunk, and it just about knocked me to my knees....diesel, all over the trunk...and i can see a steady stream running out the bottom of the panel....i almost threw up...half from the smell, half from all of a sudden realizing i had just put 4 holes smack through my fuel tank....

went back to the house immediately, ripped everything out and set it in the driveway....i soaked up all the excess fuel with towels, then sprayed some Gunk engine degreaser in there and started brushing....i did the same thing with the carpeting....laid it out in the sun, sprayed it down with Gunk, brushed the holy hell out of it, and then pressure washed it.....i did that twice with everything...and let the carpets sit in the sun for 2 days and left the trunk open to air out....the smell was gone in about 3 days....that Gunk worked pretty well


as for the tank, well....i had some kind of super duper epoxy, it wasnt JB Weld, i dont remember what it was called but it was kind of like clay in plastic tubes...i cleaned off the tank with acetone, ground down to bare metal about 3/4 of an inch around each hole...acetone again...then i put sheetmetal screws, the kind with a rubber washer, in each of the holes....then i used the epoxy around those to seal it up....its worked pretty well so far....i think its been almost 2 years since it happened....

i dont think ive done anything car related that has made me cuss as much as i did when i realized what i had done....i think Mercedes cars should come with a tag inside the fuel filler cap that says,"ya know the tank's behind the seat, right?"

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1985 300SD 192,000miles...Astral silver/ Grey MbTex

1983 300D 194,000miles...White/Tan MbTex...my newest addiction