Nikasil question again 95' 530i

[franks]

I am thinking about buying a 1995 530i, made in 8/94, 101,000 miles, $3,100. I have to drive 200 miles to look at it, so before I do that I was wanting to know the following: were all m60 engines made with nikasil? If not can I tell from the VIN? And were would I have to go to find out? Thanks

[Fetch]

Others will tell you to search...but....
Not all were nikasil after a certain production point. If yours hasn't been replaced, it probably is nikasil by it's age I'd guess.
You can tell by looking on the engine block above the starter.
It's pretty hard to do with the car on the ground,
But there are different numbers on the block that denote if it is nikasil or alusil.
* 1 725 970 - Nikasil
* 1 741 212 - Nikasil
* 1 745 871 - Alusil
Sometimes dealers will spend the time to find out if the engine was replaced, but it depends on the dealer. And that might only work at the dealer it was serviced at.
Those numbers are for the 3.0 M60, not 4.0

There are ways to tell the condition of the nikasil you are looking at, searching will bring up plenty of threads.

[Jehu]

Call BMWNA with the VIN and ask if the short block swap was done as well as other recall items. I did that and they confirmed it had been done on mine and at what mileage. 1-800-831-1117

[Eric Clark]

That is one hell of a deal if it turns out to be in decent condition. I own 2 nikasil E34s and the second one I bought without ever seeing the car before buying it. With the quality of todays gas I would not hesitate if it runs well. Get a compression and leak down test for piece of mind.

[franks]

Yea I thought it was a deal. got it on ebay, the high bidder change his mind and it was offered to me. I want to my it but I am gun shy. I guess I could put a new blosk in for $3,000 and have a real good deal. I have attached some photos for the expert eyes. Do you see any red flags?

[Jehu]

[BillionPa]

wow that seat is ****ed!

[franks]

Are you pointing out the messed up front seat on the 530i

[franks]

Yes it is. but the car is only $3,100. What do yoy think?

[Jehu]

start looking for a replacement. You really can't expect us to allow you to drive something looking like that can you ? We have standards...