1995 530i Nikasil Problem

[DueyT]

165,000 km and my Nikky-powered beast is just fine!

[f1restarter]

Just got a call from the BMW service dept. about the Leak test being postponed till tomorrow so i guess i'll have to keep my fingers crossed and pray!

[632 Regal]

They could tell you anything they want but if its on paper you have something. Buying it at a BMW dealership is definetly a plus!!

How did it run when you had it?

Make sure you let us know whats up with this thing too.

[drice]

a few years back. I have since learned that a dealership usually won't even run the leakdown test unless the car has an excessively rough idle (a little rocking at idle is normal due to agressive cam timing). My car now has 128,000 trouble-free miles and a smooth idle, so I no longer worry about Nikasil. However, I'm still not happy with the jerk who sold it to me. He was a BMW expert and I wasn't, so he knew about the issue and I didn't.

[f1restarter]

They could tell you anything they want but if its on paper you have something. Buying it at a BMW dealership is definetly a plus!!

How did it run when you had it?

Make sure you let us know whats up with this thing too.

The car ran perfectly when i test drove it and has been running great all week. The only thing that i noticed was that the coolant level dropped about an inch in two days so i told them to check into that (the car has been in the BMW shop since Monday) and change water pump, trans oil, eng oil, oil filter etc. The rpm needle was perfectly still when idle and no shakes as well. Good idea about having the leak test report on paper. Like i said the thing that made me a bit uneasy was BMW dealership not offering any extended warranty on this car. My sister got a 95 C220 Mercedes and that dealership had no problems offering extended warranty even though she bought the car less than 2 years ago. Anyway this is my first BMW ever and hope it doesn't become the "Ultimate Dying Machine" for me! I'll keep you all posted about this.

[Sweetwater]

Mine idles like a finely tuned German machine. It runs great and is fun to drive.

[f1restarter]

a few years back. I have since learned that a dealership usually won't even run the leakdown test unless the car has an excessively rough idle (a little rocking at idle is normal due to agressive cam timing). My car now has 128,000 trouble-free miles and a smooth idle, so I no longer worry about Nikasil. However, I'm still not happy with the jerk who sold it to me. He was a BMW expert and I wasn't, so he knew about the issue and I didn't.

I know what you mean drice, cause the sales guy at this BMW dealership seemed very knowledgeable and said there was nothing wrong with the engine and no problems were ever reported for this car other than the usual wear and tear (which is fine with me, ofcourse) but he failed to mention this very serious engine defect. My BMW dealership is charging me a pretty penny for the test ($250 est), so i think they're very happy to do it. I hope it passes the test cause i really love the drive of this car.

[632 Regal]

but its worth the sweet smell of Nikasil in the morning.

ahhh.. my Nika

[Johntee540]

I am an Ally as mine was replaced. But be advised that the idle could be several things. Leaky intake manifold gasket; Leaky ICV gasket; Leaky PCV Plate that can cause the rough Idle. Those are all manageable repairs from a cost standpoint. And a lot of folks here have done those repairs themselves. Mine has 174k on it and the PO had the engine replaced at 92 during all the Nikky hype. I just recently replaced the intake manifold gasket and PCV Plate Gaskets due to rough idle and check engine codes pointing to O2 sensors.

It runs perfectly now - I love my 5er. -= JT

[MBXB]

150K+ and my Nikasil engine is fine.