Originally Posted by Bruno
They have the nikasil linings, but I didn't know if they had problems with high sulfur gas like the M60 engines.
'85 Euro 635csi Race Turbo, megasquirt, Group A
'92 525i Touring 5 speed, 3.46 diff, UUC 8.5lb flywheel, soon to be turbo.
'02 Subaru WRX Wagon with STI springs, bigger sway bars
Originally Posted by Bruno
95 E34 530I V2.37
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Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
John F. Kennedy
Yup, somw M52's had the problem as well...
Originally Posted by http://www.lestac.co.uk/bmw/nikasil.htm#affected
1995 540i/6 Sport Pkg w/E.A.T. chip and Nikasil injection Duey's Gallery
Can anyone tell what is the damage that actually/physically occours, this Nikasil thing has has piqued (sp?) my mind.Originally Posted by DueyT
Yes, I know, it's due to sulfur in the gasoline, and that's why it's also a geographical issue... does the "Nikasil problem" occour in other parts of the world, or is it more or less specifically a U.S. problem?
The engine is checked with a leak-down test. As far as I can remember (it's been some time), a leak-down test can detect a weak head-gasket, or bent valves, or bad oil rings... essentially, anywhere where air can escape from the cylinder (w/ all valves closed), will be shown.
Now, my main question.... what is the actuall damage that occours to Nikasil blocks once they are "bad"?
Thanks,
-Kamil, nikasil free
P.S. I've read that nikasil is used in the block of the Porsche GT.
'91 535iM - SOLD
'01 325iM - PP . SP . CWP . HK . SSK . ZHP springs . Konis . M3 strut bar . OEM sirius and aux . TMS sways
the sulpher as it combusts in the cylinder reacts with the moisture and turns into sulphuric acid which in turn eats the Nikasil coating on the top of the cylinder bore causing the rings to leak at TDC. This in turn lowers the static compression and when real bad can cause a bad idle to a non start condition.
Neither me or Duey believes this old wives tale but there are people that swear by it.
I personally like the smell of Nikasil in the morning where all the Alusil people simply miss out on such a phenominal event.
95 E34 530I V2.37
===========
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
John F. Kennedy
BMW policy checks compression first, then performs a leak down test if compression results indicate a potential problem.
Sulfur is element #16 on the periodic chart, oxygen is just above it, chloride is next to it. It is an anion with a negative charge of two. It is quite reactive and will form acidic products in combination with water. H2SO4 is hydrogen sulfide as I recall. It has been an evironmental issue in gasoline exhaust and industrial polution for decades. It is the principle culprit in acid rain and regulations have been effected to control it's production.
The nickel-aluminum-silicon liners proved to be quite susceptible to these acids in spite of the fact that they have been used long term in BMW motorcycles with no problems. Due to the manufacturing process used, there is some significant probability that many of the failed blocks did not get the amount of lining needed and that the problem lies there.
The fact remains that the majority of the nikasil blocks did not need replacement and are out on the roads. I think it's alot of noise about a smaller problem and the cars I looked at while shopping ran without problems.
Old wives tale or not, you decide......
Thanks sweetwater!!!
Nice explonation.
BTW, I dunno, but when I see your screen-name I wanna say "sweaterwearer" No, i dunno why... yea, I'm a lil weird
'91 535iM - SOLD
'01 325iM - PP . SP . CWP . HK . SSK . ZHP springs . Konis . M3 strut bar . OEM sirius and aux . TMS sways
i just went through this with a customer, they hook the car to the computer and it looks at the ignition burn time across the whole motor and decides if the motor needs to be torn down and inspected, this is not a entirely accurate way to tell the condition of the motor, without a tear down. the dealer told a customer of mine that their 94 740il's 150k nic motor was toast, on further inspection by me the motor had less then 12% leak down cold so i looked into the dealer procedure, and laughed, the whole problem with the car was a dieing fuel pump and the computer over compensated and made the car run bad till the computer had it's memory wiped and started fresh then it ran fine (till you put it under load then the fuel pump would show it's self)
Originally Posted by Sweetwater
all america wants is cold beer warm cat and a place to take a poop with a door on it
It looks like the US market received a cast iron M52 engine and the rest of the world an Aluminum Block with nikasil treatment.Originally Posted by Bruno
That would explain why you hear about M52 nikasil only in UK message boards.
Seems like I am safe and I can invest into a M52 where I will pull the head out and install my M50 head...
If I can get the wiring and DME, I might even retrofit the Vanos.... SWEEEEET
'85 Euro 635csi Race Turbo, megasquirt, Group A
'92 525i Touring 5 speed, 3.46 diff, UUC 8.5lb flywheel, soon to be turbo.
'02 Subaru WRX Wagon with STI springs, bigger sway bars
You sound like a very good mechanic. KudosOriginally Posted by winfred