Would a car with Nikasil block still be an issue?
Discussion
I read mixed things about Nikasil engine car and if they are still an issue.
Some seem to say that "if an individual car was going to have had problems, it would have happened by now"
Others say "Can happy any time, any mileage"
I currently living in South Australia and its really hard to find a nice E36 here - REALLY HARD.
They either have s
t service history, star ship kilometres or they are tatty (interiors don't fare well here). Or in most cases they suffer from all the previous combined!!!
However, I have found a lovely 1996 Montreal Blue 328i Coupe, with full light silver grey (sports) leather interior. It has covered 185.00KM but has a fabulous service history, and you can tell from the cars condition that it has been cherished. It is not a sport (as we know them in the UK) It lacks the m-Tech bodykit and black headlining but is fitted with the 17" BBS wheels, sports seats, LSD and factory M3 mirrors.
So tempted to buy the car and source an M-tech kit for it BUT it does have a Nikasil block - it runs fine, idles smoothly etc.
What's the general opinion?
Some seem to say that "if an individual car was going to have had problems, it would have happened by now"
Others say "Can happy any time, any mileage"
I currently living in South Australia and its really hard to find a nice E36 here - REALLY HARD.
They either have s
t service history, star ship kilometres or they are tatty (interiors don't fare well here). Or in most cases they suffer from all the previous combined!!!However, I have found a lovely 1996 Montreal Blue 328i Coupe, with full light silver grey (sports) leather interior. It has covered 185.00KM but has a fabulous service history, and you can tell from the cars condition that it has been cherished. It is not a sport (as we know them in the UK) It lacks the m-Tech bodykit and black headlining but is fitted with the 17" BBS wheels, sports seats, LSD and factory M3 mirrors.
So tempted to buy the car and source an M-tech kit for it BUT it does have a Nikasil block - it runs fine, idles smoothly etc.
What's the general opinion?
So many people post on this subject stating that if the issue hasn't occurred by now then it never will, which is basically not true.
The first thing is, not every Nikasil engine suffered problems "back in the day" because they were never run on high sulphur petrol, and the engines that did not suffer back then should not suffer issues today.
Some Nikasil engines did suffer major failures "back in the day" due to owners using high sulphur petrol that was washing the Nikasil bore linings away, and in some cases, the replacement engines fitted by BMW Main Dealers under warranty suffered the exact same failure because BMW at first did not realise what the cause of failure was and replaced Nikasil engines with another Nikasil engine.
Once BMW realised what the cause of failure actually was, they replaced the Nikasil engines with Alusil engines on a case by case basis, where it was shown that the Nikasil engines were suffering premature bore wear or other warranty related issues. At no time did BMW replace Nikasil engines that were not showing signs of premature/imminent failure.
Where the problem comes is that Nikasil bore issues were not instant failures, it took several months/years for the damage to occur as the Nikasil linings were slowly being washed away, and the symptoms became apparent quite slowly.
That means that it is highly likely that some engines ended up with wear to their bore linings that was not spotted at the time, and that was not terminal at the time, but they were then more prone to premature bore wear/failures later on because their Nikasil linings were much thinner and less resistant to wear than unaffected engines.
This is what many "Nikasil is no longer an issue" supporters seem to fail to recognise. Once the bore linings had started to be worn away "back in the day", they didn't fail instantly, and they didn't miraculously heal themselves over the following years, the Nikasil linings were thinner than they should have been, and normal wear from the pistons operating wore through the remainder if the linings at an accelerated rate.
Engine failures due to Nikasil bore wear are rare today I agree, but it's wrong for anyone to claim that is no longer an issue at all, as though every single car that could have suffered a Nikasil failure has been dealt with. The fact is, it is still possible for a car with a Nikasil engine to develop problems due to premature wear caused to the bore linings when the cars were new.
The first thing is, not every Nikasil engine suffered problems "back in the day" because they were never run on high sulphur petrol, and the engines that did not suffer back then should not suffer issues today.
Some Nikasil engines did suffer major failures "back in the day" due to owners using high sulphur petrol that was washing the Nikasil bore linings away, and in some cases, the replacement engines fitted by BMW Main Dealers under warranty suffered the exact same failure because BMW at first did not realise what the cause of failure was and replaced Nikasil engines with another Nikasil engine.
Once BMW realised what the cause of failure actually was, they replaced the Nikasil engines with Alusil engines on a case by case basis, where it was shown that the Nikasil engines were suffering premature bore wear or other warranty related issues. At no time did BMW replace Nikasil engines that were not showing signs of premature/imminent failure.
Where the problem comes is that Nikasil bore issues were not instant failures, it took several months/years for the damage to occur as the Nikasil linings were slowly being washed away, and the symptoms became apparent quite slowly.
That means that it is highly likely that some engines ended up with wear to their bore linings that was not spotted at the time, and that was not terminal at the time, but they were then more prone to premature bore wear/failures later on because their Nikasil linings were much thinner and less resistant to wear than unaffected engines.
This is what many "Nikasil is no longer an issue" supporters seem to fail to recognise. Once the bore linings had started to be worn away "back in the day", they didn't fail instantly, and they didn't miraculously heal themselves over the following years, the Nikasil linings were thinner than they should have been, and normal wear from the pistons operating wore through the remainder if the linings at an accelerated rate.
Engine failures due to Nikasil bore wear are rare today I agree, but it's wrong for anyone to claim that is no longer an issue at all, as though every single car that could have suffered a Nikasil failure has been dealt with. The fact is, it is still possible for a car with a Nikasil engine to develop problems due to premature wear caused to the bore linings when the cars were new.
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