Nikasil issue - E36

[BGarside]

Well, having recently paid good money for an immaculate, 33k mile 328i my local specialist has carried out a compression and leakdown test and informs me the engine has bore wear to the nikasil block.

The car drove fine on the test drive and seemed to idle OK so no obvious symptoms of the problem.

Obviously pissed off as the car wasn't cheap and being a private sale I've got no comeback.

My choice is either sell the car at a significant loss with the engine issue or try to find a good secondhand steel linered M52 motor and pay £500 to get it fitted.

Anyone have any suggestions of places to find decent used motors??

[BGarside]

Compression 190 psi-plus, but leakdown test indicates an issue.

The car's a '95 and definitely has nikasil.

I can keep using it but not happy knowing the engine has an issue.

[BGarside]

Can get engine swapped for £500 which isn't too bad, but as you say the challenge is to find a decent used non-nikasil motor without intergalactic mileage.

Would an E39 or Z3 unit fit??

[BGarside]

The engine seems to run OK once warmed up but slightly jerky power delivery after a cold start.

Leakdown test was performed by my local specialist who tested engines for BMW dealership when the nikasil cars were undergoing warranty replacements when they were new so I trust his verdict.

I suspect a rebuild with new block and pistons would be uneconomic with parts and labour costs so I think a good used engine transplant would be the cost effective option, but finding such an engine not so easy.

I think the car overall is probably worth sorting though. It's just harder to motivate myself to throw more money at it when my 325 is such a good and trouble free car....

[BGarside]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Of course, but I'm not sure how they are diagnosing nikasil bore wear if there is no oil use or loss of compression...

Not sure about oil use yet as I've not driven the car far enough, but given the compression figures I think the engine might be good for a few miles yet while I search for a good replacement engine.

I might try some of that 'Restore' oil additive Quentin Wilson's been flogging, supposedly it helps to fill in bore damage and helps to reduce oil burning and loss of compression in worn engines.

Does anyone know of 5W30 is the correct oil grade for the M52, as my 325's manual recommends 15W40 for the M50 motor?

[BGarside]

Thanks for the feedback.

I'll have to test the car more to see if there's a Vanos issue, but there's definitely a rattle when revving the engine when cold at 1500 - 2000rpm or so.

Didn't know about the LL04 spec. but will make sure I get some. Might use 5W40 as the slightly higher hot viscosity might help with the bore wear issue.

Anyone used the Ametech Engine Restore additive?