Shark fin Removal

[lemonslap]

Hello All,

First off thank you to everyone for all the information posted up, it made great reading and i’ve learned alot from the forum.

I’ve owned my late 2018 X5M for nearly 18 months and have my first worrying problem, I have a leak into the cargo area and after much trim removal I believe it could be the shark fin as water is runnng down from the headliner. Has anyone removed theirs before? Is it just stuck on or are their fixings under the headliner?

[dentprotony@gmail.com]

It is glued to the roof. There’s several YouTube videos that show how to remove it, make sure to use a lot of tape around it and long box cutter. Be careful cause i stabbed myself really bad when boxcutter blade broke. But i doubt that could be your issue, i would look into roof rack maybe. It comes through the roof on both sides. Or even sunroof drains or water hose to the rear liftgate

[lemonslap]

Thanks for the reply, I will make sure it’s taped up around the area and will post back the results.

[///Motivated]

Originally Posted by dentprotony@gmail.com

But i doubt that could be your issue, i would look into roof rack maybe. It comes through the roof on both sides. Or even sunroof drains or water hose to the rear liftgate

This. Clear your sunroof drains before tearing stuff apart.

[lemonslap]

Originally Posted by ///Motivated

This. Clear your sunroof drains before tearing stuff apart.

The sunroof drains are clean and the gutters dry, it’s the first thing I checked. I wish the problem was that simple! Water is getting in at the back around the shark fin area and running down, water drips can be seen on the rear sunroof motor and frame then on the headliner in the middle and sides in that area. I can’t see it being anything else atm, I will complete the reseal of the shark fin this weekend, leave for a week and retest with a hose, then post back.

[dentprotony@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by lemonslap

The sunroof drains are clean and the gutters dry, it’s the first thing I checked. I wish the problem was that simple! Water is getting in at the back around the shark fin area and running down, water drips can be seen on the rear sunroof motor and frame then on the headliner in the middle and sides in that area. I can’t see it being anything else atm, I will complete the reseal of the shark fin this weekend, leave for a week and retest with a hose, then post back.

Maybe try to lower ^carefully^ the headliner in the back and see. I am confident this is not it. Fin is sealed to the roof via urethane glue , similar to windshield, and then inside is the motherboard antenna piece, that also has a seal. Id check under the antenna/roof before you start cutting it off.

[Djhumvee]

Unless maybe someone had it out before for paint work? ..and like double side taped it on or something lol

[lemonslap]

Originally Posted by dentprotony@gmail.com

Maybe try to lower ^carefully^ the headliner in the back and see. I am confident this is not it. Fin is sealed to the roof via urethane glue , similar to windshield, and then inside is the motherboard antenna piece, that also has a seal. Id check under the antenna/roof before you start cutting it off.

Thank you for your reply. I have taken the upper side trims off and lowered the headliner best I could, I can see that the water is coming in from the middle back part of the roof and running onto the rear sunroof motor, back edge of frame and wiring on each side, this is the reason I suspect the shark fin. It’s too far back to be logically anything else. If the shark fin reseal doesn’t work I will have to drop the headliner.

[Chilled]

if you have the headliner dropped. Have you tried to put some UV dye into water and spray the crap out of the fin. With a black light you will instantly see if it is leaking. Just make sure to tape of the area so only the fin will get wet, and the water wont be running off onto the sunroof or roof racks.

The reason why Tony is trying to discourage you from ripping it off, is because its very hard to seal back up. If anything, you will create a bigger leak.

[lemonslap]

Originally Posted by Chilled

if you have the headliner dropped. Have you tried to put some UV dye into water and spray the crap out of the fin. With a black light you will instantly see if it is leaking. Just make sure to tape of the area so only the fin will get wet, and the water wont be running off onto the sunroof or roof racks.

The reason why Tony is trying to discourage you from ripping it off, is because its very hard to seal back up. If anything, you will create a bigger leak.

Thanks to you and the the other posters, i’m with you I wouldn’t remove it unless I thought it was the cause. I have a sloped driveway and this makes it easier when testing areas of the roof. I have purchased 3M windscreen urethane adhesive and will post the results up once completed at the weekend.

[dentprotony@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by lemonslap

Thanks to you and the the other posters, i’m with you I wouldn’t remove it unless I thought it was the cause. I have a sloped driveway and this makes it easier when testing areas of the roof. I have purchased 3M windscreen urethane adhesive and will post the results up once completed at the weekend.

Im pretty sure thats what i used to seal mine, when detail shop burned through paint on my antenna and i had to remove it for paint. Be VERY careful cutting it off, that urethane is HARD

[Djhumvee]

Originally Posted by dentprotony@gmail.com

Im pretty sure thats what i used to seal mine, when detail shop burned through paint on my antenna and i had to remove it for paint. Be VERY careful cutting it off, that urethane is HARD

I had trouble getting mine off, and I cut urethane for a living lol.

[lemonslap]

So that unfortunately hasn’t worked, rained last night and same water ingress. Next step is to drop the headliner so I can see where the source is…

[Chilled]

So you re-sealed the Antenna and it's still leaking? Try some clear (non staining - caution headliner) UV dye in hand pump strayer.

[dentprotony@gmail.com]

Yep water leaks always suck.

[lemonslap]

Thanks for the replies, I would rather avoid UV dye in case it stains. This leak is a proper head scratcher as it’s so far back. I had another look at the sunroof gutters after yesterdays heavy rain and they were completely dry. Anyway will keep the thread updated on my findings in case anyone else has this issue.

[lemonslap]

Quick update, yesterday I retested the roof before taking the headliner down. I started with pouring water into the sunroof drain gutters, all fine. Then pressure washed the shark fin, nothing and then the whole roof for 10mins and all dry inside… I assume it was the shark fin after all and the sealant needed more time to cure.. During testing it became apparent I have another leak.. Water is coming into the left side rear recess in the cargo area, this is leaking in via the seam at low level, more testing required but at least this one is manageable!

[Djhumvee]

Urethane doesn't have to cure. Whatever was leaking after the reinstallation of the shark fin is still leaking. If the shark fin was leaking before removal, you should have seen where it was leaking when you removed it.

[lemonslap]

Originally Posted by Djhumvee

Urethane doesn't have to cure. Whatever was leaking after the reinstallation of the shark fin is still leaking. If the shark fin was leaking before removal, you should have seen where it was leaking when you removed it.

Confession time and you may laugh at me…: I couldn’t get the shark fin off. Blades kept snapping off and I spent 2 hours getting nowhere.. So I lost my cool, masked up the recess where the shark fin sits and filled it with Dow black weatherproof sealant. It looks neat, like a black gasket around the base a temp fix. Now I know this was the cause I will get it booked into a body shop and the sharkfin removed and reinstalled properly.