E36 328 Sport... Nikasil (sorry!)
Discussion
I know this topic has probably been done to death so sorry for bringing it up again!
Basically I'm looking at buying (what looks like) a nice original '97 328 sport, but the seller isn't sure if it's still got the nikasil lined block.
If I call BMW customer services, will they still be able to tell me if it's been replaced?
Basically I'm looking at buying (what looks like) a nice original '97 328 sport, but the seller isn't sure if it's still got the nikasil lined block.
If I call BMW customer services, will they still be able to tell me if it's been replaced?
Matt UK said:
I would take the view that on a car of that age, if there was a nikasil problem, it would have caused an issue by now.
I'm kind of inclined to agree, but a lot of information I'm reading counters that argument, so it would be useful to find out if possible.Edit: Also the car is quite a long distance away so it's not just a case of popping down the road to have a look.
Edited by PetrolHeadSeb on Wednesday 2nd March 09:46
In that case then, is it not possible to ask the seller? Depends how honest you think they are, but you can at least find out if it has had any work regarding that issue over the years?
If you're genuinely keen on getting the car though, then its a small price to pay for calling them to get any necessary information.
If you're genuinely keen on getting the car though, then its a small price to pay for calling them to get any necessary information.
OK so I called BMW's 090 vehicle information line and they told me they can't tell if the engine has been changed, but one of the dealership's who've seen the car should be able to.
He gave me the dealership details, I called them and they've got no record of the car on their system at all!
So I'm none the wiser! The car sounds good, comes with FSH and has been in the current owners family for 6 years, so all you'd assume it'll be alright....
I might just bite the bullet and do the 6 hour journey there to look at it
He gave me the dealership details, I called them and they've got no record of the car on their system at all!
So I'm none the wiser! The car sounds good, comes with FSH and has been in the current owners family for 6 years, so all you'd assume it'll be alright....
I might just bite the bullet and do the 6 hour journey there to look at it
Its a risk, but if it looks like a good car then hopefully it'll be worth it. That's a bloody long way to travel just to view a car though.
Can you not ask for confirmation from the seller regarding the garages it has been serviced at? If it has FSh then they will have the dealer or indy details and you can contact them to find out whether it has had the work? Surely though if the seller wants to sell the vehicle, he/she should be able to confirm this over the phone? Obviously with full SH, it should be backed up in the paperwork if they are genuine and the car is a good'un.
Can you not ask for confirmation from the seller regarding the garages it has been serviced at? If it has FSh then they will have the dealer or indy details and you can contact them to find out whether it has had the work? Surely though if the seller wants to sell the vehicle, he/she should be able to confirm this over the phone? Obviously with full SH, it should be backed up in the paperwork if they are genuine and the car is a good'un.
Ask the seller to perform the "30 sec Nikasil check".
e36coupe.com said:
Here's a very quick way to check for a nikasil block:
You need to look into the engine bay, from the passengers side of the car, and down the side of the engine toward the middle of the engine where the cylinder head meets the block.
The metal tab you are looking for will be on the face of the block casting that is facing sort of upwards towards you, just along from where the gearbox meets the block (easy to see my nice shiny, new....damned expensive, gearbox on the right of the pic below! )
To help you get your bearings a bit, the black metal support bar you see running from top to bottom across the picture, is the metal support bracket that fits unt underneath the inlet manifold/throttle body area.
A nice SAFE Alusil: block will have the little metal tab on, as ringed in the picture below:
If you can't see the metal tab pictured above, then the engine block is NIKASIL and has not been replaced with the Alusil one.....yet!
and will look like this:
To confirm what block the car has fitted, the best thing to to is to ring the BMW dealer(s) where it has been serviced and give them the chassis number. They should have on their system if the block is Nikasil or replaced with the Alusil - because they should keep a record of if and when it has been replaced.
This check is very handy if you are looking at a car you want to buy, and can't contact a dealer straight away.
Always ring the dealer to confirm this check though.
You need to look into the engine bay, from the passengers side of the car, and down the side of the engine toward the middle of the engine where the cylinder head meets the block.
The metal tab you are looking for will be on the face of the block casting that is facing sort of upwards towards you, just along from where the gearbox meets the block (easy to see my nice shiny, new....damned expensive, gearbox on the right of the pic below! )
To help you get your bearings a bit, the black metal support bar you see running from top to bottom across the picture, is the metal support bracket that fits unt underneath the inlet manifold/throttle body area.
A nice SAFE Alusil: block will have the little metal tab on, as ringed in the picture below:
If you can't see the metal tab pictured above, then the engine block is NIKASIL and has not been replaced with the Alusil one.....yet!
and will look like this:
To confirm what block the car has fitted, the best thing to to is to ring the BMW dealer(s) where it has been serviced and give them the chassis number. They should have on their system if the block is Nikasil or replaced with the Alusil - because they should keep a record of if and when it has been replaced.
This check is very handy if you are looking at a car you want to buy, and can't contact a dealer straight away.
Always ring the dealer to confirm this check though.
Cheers for that Babu 01, I'd been looking around for that.
I think I will ask the seller if there's anything engine related in the history and see if he can do the quick check.
From the conversations I've had he doesn't seem very mechanical so I was hoping I'd be able to find out myself, but this is now not the case!
Was the switch over to the steel liners definitely September '98? I've been digging a bit and found this car isn't actually a '97 model as I thought. It was actually registered in April 1998, so it may have been built in 1998 too.
Could it possibly have rolled out of the factory with a steel lined block?
I think I will ask the seller if there's anything engine related in the history and see if he can do the quick check.
From the conversations I've had he doesn't seem very mechanical so I was hoping I'd be able to find out myself, but this is now not the case!
Salom said:
Interesting thanks, I was under the impression the M3 Evo was the only E36 with VANOS, obviously not!Was the switch over to the steel liners definitely September '98? I've been digging a bit and found this car isn't actually a '97 model as I thought. It was actually registered in April 1998, so it may have been built in 1998 too.
Could it possibly have rolled out of the factory with a steel lined block?
I picked up a very nice December 1999(V) E36 323i Convertible today. It is the later Ausil engine. I have owned several 97-00 E36 6 cylinder cars before and I am well aware of the Nikasil issues affecting cars up to 97ish. However, when buying the car today the selling garage told me to only use standard 95Ron unleaded in it!..he stated 'the high octane stuff sludges up the engine..these engines were never meant to run on it'..I must admit I was baffled as I had always assumed it has the opposite effect! Im assuming he is mistaken and was refering to the earlier cars..somebody clear this up for me as Im starting to doubt what I previously took as fact as a result of his assurity on the subject! I assumed that the higher octane I used would be better for engine longevity, running, performance and economy?..
PetrolHeadSeb said:
Cheers for that Babu 01, I'd been looking around for that.
I think I will ask the seller if there's anything engine related in the history and see if he can do the quick check.
From the conversations I've had he doesn't seem very mechanical so I was hoping I'd be able to find out myself, but this is now not the case!
Was the switch over to the steel liners definitely September '98? I've been digging a bit and found this car isn't actually a '97 model as I thought. It was actually registered in April 1998, so it may have been built in 1998 too.
Could it possibly have rolled out of the factory with a steel lined block?
i was under the impression that the change over was march 98 BUT there was a massive back log meaning that a car registered in September may actually have been built way before march, thus having Nikasil still.I think I will ask the seller if there's anything engine related in the history and see if he can do the quick check.
From the conversations I've had he doesn't seem very mechanical so I was hoping I'd be able to find out myself, but this is now not the case!
Salom said:
Interesting thanks, I was under the impression the M3 Evo was the only E36 with VANOS, obviously not!Was the switch over to the steel liners definitely September '98? I've been digging a bit and found this car isn't actually a '97 model as I thought. It was actually registered in April 1998, so it may have been built in 1998 too.
Could it possibly have rolled out of the factory with a steel lined block?
I went into my local BMW Dealer and whilst booking my car in for a minor job asked them about the Service history, they were really helpful telling me all about what parts were replaced under warranty for Nikasil in 2001 @70,000 miles. the warranty bill for mine was HUGE as loads more than just the block was replaced.
S3_Graham said:
i was under the impression that the change over was march 98 BUT there was a massive back log meaning that a car registered in September may actually have been built way before march, thus having Nikasil still.
Yeah, I thought it was March 98 also. Pretty sure I've seen a screen grab of a technical bulletin to that effect somewhere.Two ways to check the actual build date.
Check the plaque on the o/s suspension turret or use the last 7 VIN digits here.
Edited by Babu 01 on Thursday 3rd March 08:58
PetrolHeadSeb said:
Was the switch over to the steel liners definitely September '98? I've been digging a bit and found this car isn't actually a '97 model as I thought. It was actually registered in April 1998, so it may have been built in 1998 too.
Could it possibly have rolled out of the factory with a steel lined block?
I believe that the steel liner were used from production week 10 1998 onwards, if this car is April 98 build then it should be steel liner'd.Could it possibly have rolled out of the factory with a steel lined block?
So unless it was built and registered within about a 4 week period, odds are it'll be a nikasil block then.
I'm hoping the seller will do the visual check, if not, I might still try and see it and check the build date using the link above...
... Or I could just wait for one to come up for sale closer to home!
I'm hoping the seller will do the visual check, if not, I might still try and see it and check the build date using the link above...
... Or I could just wait for one to come up for sale closer to home!
PetrolHeadSeb said:
So unless it was built and registered within about a 4 week period, odds are it'll be a nikasil block then.
I'm hoping the seller will do the visual check, if not, I might still try and see it and check the build date using the link above...
... Or I could just wait for one to come up for sale closer to home!
it could be anything tbh, It could well have been replaced in the past! I was all set to cancel the viewing on my car after reading up on Nikasil. Told the seller i wasnt coming due to worry about Nikasil and only then did he pipe up about it being replaced!!! I'm hoping the seller will do the visual check, if not, I might still try and see it and check the build date using the link above...
... Or I could just wait for one to come up for sale closer to home!
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