Nikasil - Is it over?

[swindorski]

I'm becoming tempted by a high miler (100k ish) late 90's XK8/R but keep reading about the Nikasil issues that these cars went through.

Understanding what little I do about the problem, now that all fuel is low sulphur and has been for a while, would I be right in saying that if the car has not had a Nikasil issue yet then one will not develop?

I know the history of the issue I would just like to know if it is still current.

Thanks in advance,

Joe.

[drummerboyXJR]

Just take the oil cap off, should be a slight sucking back pressure there, NOT blowing.

[Markymark69]

If it hasnt developed a problem by now, i wouldnt have thought it was going to.

[xkr Giles]

Unless its a very low miler, any issues would of reared their head by now.

I wouldnt worry about it, just ensure that the startup is smooth & idle is stable. Problem engines would be drinking oil at the same rate as fuel

I have a Nikasil 4.0 XKR and its great

[robgee1964]

swindorski said:

I'm becoming tempted by a high miler (100k ish) late 90's XK8/R but keep reading about the Nikasil issues that these cars went through.

Understanding what little I do about the problem, now that all fuel is low sulphur and has been for a while, would I be right in saying that if the car has not had a Nikasil issue yet then one will not develop?

Joe.

The thing with the nikasil problem is, it develops quite suddenly, ie the engine will go bad in a matter of weeks. So being good on the day of purchase is no guarantee it will remain so for long. Whilst its true that the sulphur content of fuel has been reduced in recent years, an older engine will still have been exposed to the earlier fuels. So in theory the risk should be quite low now, however it would be be a huge expense if problems did occur.

Its not just nikasil failure you have to watch for, the earlier engines suffer from timing chain issues. I think the problem lies with the tensioners, but this too can happen quite suddenly, you don't get much prior warning, such as a chain rattling for some weeks or months beforehand. When the failure occurs, it can write off the engine.

This of course is where good history is important, if its an early car you really want one which has had new block fitted (with cast iron liners), and also had the chains done. I believe you can upgrade the chains and/or tensioners to the later, improved design.

If the cars cheap enough you can afford to take a chance on all these things, however when I was doing my homework last year, I did find that good second hand engines were quite sought after, and were fetching premium prices.

[P700DEE]

"The thing with the nikasil problem is, it develops quite suddenly, ie the engine will go bad in a matter of weeks."

Where did this info. come from ? When I attended Jaguar service training they stated that Nikasil problems did not suddenly occur ! Are you muddling this with problems caused by flooding the engine ? This is often misdiagnosed as Nikasil issues even to the extent of engine replacement.

Mikasil engines are lower friction than steel lined and should outlast a steel lined engine. A good Nikasil should represent a better decision

[jonboy07]

dont think there has been any of these cases in long time or at least long enought to concern us now, so dont listen to the scare mongers, what you do have to do is make sure that its been looked after, and should really have a full service history, but the age there getting too more people will tend to self service, if so its down to trust and recipts for oils plugs and such, but should defo have a good soild history for its younger days, give her a good drive and this will give away the most about its self, even a high miller should be a good smooth tight drive, so i would'nt worry about it, had high miles nikasil (100k) was great, only prob i had was the service cost from stratstone and the "2 cold starts prob" but that was no big drama to sort out, so what i will say is do plenty of research and lern how to own one kinda lol,things to look for are new type water pump/thermostat( no big drama)/ timmimg chains/ floor pan rust-holes/ g box oil change, and you should be fine,but now most of these things will be sorted on most cars sounds like alot but its not really, just bear it all in mind and get one, youll love it

[Pettsie]

99 XJ8, 66k and no issues at all. It's still on it's original exhaust! Tyres, front and rear pads, rear shockers and both front wheel bearings.

[S6 Devil]

You could always get a compression test done prior to purchase, I am led to believe this should indicate the state of the engine.

[jonboy07]

ye you could,not always as esay as that though if you have to travel or other factors, you could stip the whole car if you want but u just dont, dive it and see,unless its a low miles example i really dont think its worth the worry now

[xkr Giles]

robgee1964 said:

The thing with the nikasil problem is, it develops quite suddenly, ie the engine will go bad in a matter of weeks. So being good on the day of purchase is no guarantee it will remain so for long. Whilst its true that the sulphur content of fuel has been reduced in recent years, an older engine will still have been exposed to the earlier fuels. So in theory the risk should be quite low now, however it would be be a huge expense if problems did occur.

Sorry Robgee but I disagree, your viewpoint sounds like a journalist who has documented a couple of bad stories and decided that its all bad news.

Dig deeper, do more research and you find more & more confidence in the engine. The issues did occur but it was a long time ago. Its all manageable and didnt put me off at all. Best recommendation is to join the XKEC and search their forum, it will tell you everything you need to know

[jith]

xkr Giles said:

robgee1964 said:

The thing with the nikasil problem is, it develops quite suddenly, ie the engine will go bad in a matter of weeks. So being good on the day of purchase is no guarantee it will remain so for long. Whilst its true that the sulphur content of fuel has been reduced in recent years, an older engine will still have been exposed to the earlier fuels. So in theory the risk should be quite low now, however it would be be a huge expense if problems did occur.

Sorry Robgee but I disagree, your viewpoint sounds like a journalist who has documented a couple of bad stories and decided that its all bad news.

Dig deeper, do more research and you find more & more confidence in the engine. The issues did occur but it was a long time ago. Its all manageable and didnt put me off at all. Best recommendation is to join the XKEC and search their forum, it will tell you everything you need to know

Well, I'm sorry too, but I'm with Rob 100% on this.

He is, like myself, a highly experienced project engineer,(check out the Rover forum and my website), and these problems are down to Jaguar as usual failing to carry out suitably intensive development: we are most certainly not journalists!

I still deal with these problems almost on a weekly basis with the V8 engine. I have a '98 xj8 supercharge coming in next week with the dreaded timing chain rattle, but it's also beginning to use oil. It is almost certainly a Nikasil engine. It has 1 owner and has been pampered throughout its life, with only 69K on the clock. If it only needs chains I will do it, but if the engine has cylinder problems it's simply not economically viable. We will probably seek out a good second hand non-Nik engine, do the chains and fit that.

As my father used to frequently say, "there is no substitute for experience", and when you are in the thick of things, you find out the reality; not from the manufacturer's bulletins that have a distinct reluctance to reveal the truth of the matter, or from enthusiasts websites, who have the best of intentions, but perhaps just a tad too much enthusiasm.

[a8hex]

jith said:

or from enthusiasts websites, who have the best of intentions, but perhaps just a tad too much enthusiasm.

The other side of forums is that you very often hear a disproportionate number of postings about problems. People are very quick to post to say they have a problem but highly unlikely to post say their car is just fine today thanks. Good news is no news.

I used to work in computer support and it was the same thing there, we only used to hear from customers with problems. So all your experience is about the problems. I used to have a few friends who ran the systems I used to support and I'd take them out for a drink from time to time with my colleagues because it was good for the team to talk to a happy customer from time to time.

I wish more people would remember your point about experience. Too often I come across cases where experienced people have been replaced by cheaper bright but inexperienced people and then they wonder why productivity goes down and there are more problems.

[jonboy07]

my xk is A ok, all good over here!thats the thing, one car out of fu*k knows how many comes into a garage with x problem and thats all you see of the car, all bad, just not the case though, with that many cars ofcorse theres gonna be a prob with a few, same with anything, even with if not more so a car just out the showroom, its the chance you have to take if you want a car,ANY CAR, but overall the chances are slim really, and even slimmer if you apply common sense and a little knowlage when buying, so go try, you like you buy, you no like you fly lol

[xkr Giles]

jith - I do accept your points, and bow to your experience.

Personally I am more used to TVR ownership, where an engine rebuild or a body removal for chassis restoration are all part of the ownership and so not quite so daunting for me.

You are totally correct about under-engineered product and i'm sure BMW or PORSCHE would never of made those mistakes. However I find over engineered stuff to be very boring, in many ways I dont like reliability and prefer character

Thats why I chose my XKR over an Evo, Monaro, M5 or 996

[RW774]

Don`t forget all the other german manufacturers had exactly the same nikasil issues as Jaguar.A certain german sportscar manufacturer re designed the transaxle mountings so as future issues with engines would neccessitate a gearbox change aswell,justy so they could re coup the costs.
.Good to hear from you Jith, I wish you well with the venture.