What are my chances with M60 Nikasil..????

[Ferret]

My Nikasil's fine at 145k... just needs new cats now and we're away

[Paul in NZ]

only you can decide....if it checks out fine with compresion and leakdown,has a smooth idle...i would say go for it,if it has lasted this long....But it may be an ALUSIL already.

[Iwo]

I'm looking in to buying 1995 540i and now after some research, I came across Nikasil/Alusil issues.. The car I want to buy is 4/95 production, low mileage. So it's Nikasil engine... but
I was wondering how many of you have had real problems with those engines ???? Any experience ???? I don't want end up with a car that in 6months will require new engine.......
I live in California and I red that here it should not be a problem, but I would like hear it from you guys
If I'll go that way I'll have my 1995 525i with 66000miles for sale if anybody is interested

[Jehu]

First of all are you merely assuming the engine has not been replaced? If you know with certainty it has not, nobody can really tell you what will happen. You can only extrapolate from the preponderance of evidence available to you and I would myself be unwilling to make a conclusion based on that sort of hit and miss data gathering. There was rather recently a guy here who had bought a 540 with a nikasil block and it shat the bed on him and as far as i am aware he was unfortunately forced to eat it...may I offer you some hot fudge for your nikasil? You can put me down as a "No." Not in a Million years.

[yaofeng]

I bought one 7/94 built. Knew it has a bad Nikasil before pulling the trigger. Confirmed it after purchase. Replaced the engine and converted to 6 speed.

[filmy540i/6]

+200K on my Nikasil block. Doesn't seem to be any problem at all. Yes, it's been in California its whole life. I, too, was worried about this issue before I bought the car ~7 months ago. But it ran so well that either it (the engine) had been replaced by a previous owner, or there was no damage to the cylinders. In my case, the latter.

Something to keep in mind about the Nikasil year model engine blocks: if they're running at all these days, they've likely been replaced/rebuilt already. In other words, the issue is old enough that a car with a bad Nikasil block would either have been dealt with by now, or dead.

[bubba966]

If it's been a California car it's whole life it's most likely a Nikasil block as the gas they had in California back then didn't eat the block like it did in pretty much the rest of the world.

Check to see if the block is Nikasil or not.

Then if Nikasil check the leakdown.

If it's Nikasil and the leakdown is fine, and if it's been a Cali car buy it and enjoy as there should be no problems since the gas we have had for some time doesn't eat the Nikasil blocks and there should be no further damage.

[Ross]

You can confirm which engine it is by the casting # which is just above and forward of the starter.
Nikasil is 1725963,1725970,1741212,1742998
Alusil is 1745871,1745872,1745873
Even if Nik if it's still alive and on west coast gas I wouldn't worry too much.
If it's Nik and the seller knows the score you have a good negotiating point.

[Hal]

In 1990 the California RFG Phase I gas was limited to about 40 ppm sulfur where gas in the rest of the US was typically 5-10 times higher. It was the sulfur in the gas that ate the Nikasil cylinder liners. If the car was in California since birth, this should not be an issue. A CarFax check should verify this. Still, a leakdown test would be prudent.

My 1994 530iT started life in Florida, where it likely saw some high sulfur gas, then at 37,500 miles was trucked to California for resale, where resale prices were higher. I bought it here without knowing about this potential problem, and I missed the possible block replacement program, but it now has 178,000 miles and I have long since stopped worrying about this issue.

Good luck with the car.

Hal

1994 530iT 178,000 Nikasil-powered miles
1999 528iT 105,000 non-Nikasil miles

[shogun]

If it's been a California car it's whole life it's most likely a Nikasil block as the gas they had in California back then didn't eat the block like it did in pretty much the rest of the world.
Check to see if the block is Nikasil or not.

Then if Nikasil check the leakdown.

If it's Nikasil and the leakdown is fine, and if it's been a Cali car buy it and enjoy as there should be no problems since the gas we have had for some time doesn't eat the Nikasil blocks and there should be no further damage.

Not the rest of the world, it was mainly in USA and the U.K.
Was never for example a problem in Germany or here in Japan.
The fuel in USA was the problem.