The Nikasil Myth, Bag yourself a bargain V8

[shogun]

http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/546008

Written by Timm from the U.K. board

[Paul in NZ]

i am contemplating a e 39 540,and spoke today to the service manager of my local dealer he said(as I thought) that Nikasil was not an issue in NZ.However he is from the UK,and nikasil or not he said at one time his dealership were "replacing 2 or 3 engines" PER WEEK!

[Tiger]

It is true... Nikasil is overblown. We even did an informal survey here on Bimmernut and the result is about 90% of us have no problem.

[yaofeng]

Gas price is the sticking point. You will notice in auto commercials mpg is again being stressed instead of horse power. Despite the sweetness of ride, 17 mpg around town is not going to be good enough at $4 a gllon.

[Paul in NZ]

17 mpg compared to what....And what happens to all these old cars?You can buy lots and lots and lots of petrol for the price difference of an older car compared to a new one.

[Zeuk in Oz]

17 mpg compared to what....
My 528iTA uses 9.5 litres / 100 km in mixed driving - down to 8.4 on a trip.
Plenty of power, IMHO, and rack & pinion steering.
The M52TU is seriously sweet to drive AND to listen to between 5 & 6 k rpm. :D

[Paul in NZ]

if only you could get a 530 manual trans.

[yaofeng]

17 mpg compared to what....And what happens to all these old cars?You can buy lots and lots and lots of petrol for the price difference of an older car compared to a new one.

17 mpg compared to 35 mpg and above for gas mizers. The 1982 Honda Civic 5 speed wagon I used to own years ago get 37 mpg around town and up to 50 highway. That was when gas was below a buck a gallon. A trip to the gas station cost about $10. Now it is $60 to $75.

[Super90]

Well, I don't know that it "wasn't an issue". Yes there were lots of cars that were getting new motors around here. One tech I know personally replaced dozens of them.

I will say, that the ones that were very problematic have most likely been replaced, and the ones that were good, are still good. Evidently, statistically speaking, the cars with auto tranny seemed to show signs of problems more often than those with manual tranny. No one I have talked to has a theory as to why.

I tried and tried to get a new motor, but, mine was and is a good one, never really showed any issues, and couldn't fail the tests. I tried on several occasions. Leakdown is still good.

I would run nothing but synthetic in the car though. The M60 and M62motors with all their complex valvetrain don't seem to respond well to infrequent changes with the dyno juice.

Agreed, if you find a well cared for car, it could be a great bargain. I know if I had to sell mine I wouldn't be able to get much for it.

[Ross]

if only you could get a 530 manual trans.
They are plentiful.

[bubba966]

Evidently, statistically speaking, the cars with auto tranny seemed to show signs of problems more often than those with manual tranny. No one I have talked to has a theory as to why.

How many 530 & 540 autos were built? How many 530 & 540 manuals built. Look at those numbers and you'll have your answer.


I tried and tried to get a new motor, but, mine was and is a good one, never really showed any issues, and couldn't fail the tests. I tried on several occasions. Leakdown is still good.

Shouda bribed your tech that was doing the leakdown test. I know that not all engines that were replaced were bad.

[BMWCCA1]

The 530i is not a stand-out performer, compared to a 535i or an M50TU 525i with a chip. And the 5-speed tranny doesn't help it that much, either.

The theory that autos suffered from the Nikasil problem more than manuals is silly since the autos outnumbered the manuals probably nine-to-one. Same with those folks who say the 4.0L had the problem more than the 3.0L; there were tons more 740i and 540i than 530i here, so there were obviously fewer 3.0L with the problem but they all had it at the same rate. The first failure at our dealership was on a '93 740iL with only 20,000 miles; rough idle and failed leak-down test. BMW had us replace the rings. Then we replaced the engine with another Nikasil. We were putting new Nikasil engines in these dogs even into 1996 before BMW started to supply Alusil blocks. In our region (eastern U.S.) it was rare for a V8 to go past 50,000 miles without needing an engine, even after the thermostat "update" to make them run hotter to burn off the sulfur.

BTW, that first car belonged to John Kluge who was the richest man in the country before Bill Gates took that title away from him. He came back in the shop to get something out of the glove box and saw his engine in pieces laying on the ground on a tarp (we had no unit stands for that engine back then) and freaked. He had a new car within a week.

[Ross]

He had a new car within a week.

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As in given?

[dennyg]

I have a 1995 740I with Nik. Bought the engine and trans with almost no miles on them. PO stored the parts for twelve yrs before he sold them to me. Problem I am having although minor is the electrical glitches. There is a lot of wires modules and fuses in these cars. The engine does have a ticking sound albeit very minor. I am hoping its just injector noise that will go away after a few gas treatments. I need a good indy nearby to help me with the electrical.......anyone know of one in central Michigan?

[BMWCCA1]

He had a new car within a week.

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As in given?As in BMW NA sent a replacement vehicle. White, as opposed to the original black one, FWIW.

[Super90]

I think the point was, not that the total number of autos versus manual cars was higher, but rather, a higher percentage of the automatics failed versus the manual cars. That is what I was told.

Without a doubt there were more 540's than 530's and more auto trannys than manual, so that comparison on a nominal basis is of no use.

[Paul in NZ]

i have never seen a e39 or later 530 manual in this part of the world..and they go well enough for me!Very good balance of power and economy.

[h2oyo]

17 mpg compared to 35 mpg and above for gas mizers. The 1982 Honda Civic 5 speed wagon I used to own years ago get 37 mpg around town and up to 50 highway. That was when gas was below a buck a gallon. A trip to the gas station cost about $10. Now it is $60 to $75.

I love my 95 540i. I will keep it until I find a car that I enjoy driving more. The biggest key to that is and one I can afford to buy lol. Really though the 540 is great car and mileage isn't so bad. I had a old ford pickup with a 390 V8 that couldn't pass a gas station. This is my daily driver and i absolutely love it.
Johan

[saluki540i]

I had pulled the lower oil pan on my 540i a year ago to do the oil pump inspection from the archives. It was a good call, by the way, but I digress. It was impressive that all the crosshatches were very apparent in all 8 cylinders when I borescoped them. No visible wear whatsoever. Pretty impressive, though my car only has 77,000 miles now. It had 76,000 when I did the inspection. It is the original Nikasil engine, and has just had the routine dealer maintenance til I bought it.