Hi all.. I'm Dan and new here. I've got a line on a 1995 540 with only 120,000km. It is in great shape body wise with no rust and the seller has kept all of his repair records for as long as he has had the car here in Toronto. It originally was his dearly departed aunt's from a Ottawa dealer...registered in Quebec for a while and landed here in Toronto. He is a doctor and his wife drove the car.

All the info I can find (Carfax) says that the mileage is correct and the car is cherry...BUT nobody can tell me if the engine was changed out.

I've called the original Ottawa dealer...his records do not go back that far
The local Mississauga dealer who has been servicing the car can't tell me
I've called BMW Headoffice and they can't find records of the engine being done...
AND I've even called two Quebec dealers near where this guy lived and they don't have any records of this car.

It drives like a dream, seems very strong, just purrs at an idle.

The price is right...but not if I have to change the engine soon.

Any advice????? Please help...I'm suppossed to pick it up on Wednesday

By-the-way everybody I've talk to have been really great...even for an old car they have treated me as part of the BMW family...I love this marque!!!

Thanks Dan

My car has roughly 190000 miles on its originial nikasil engine. I've heard of others with more too. It still runs great, and hasn't been torn apart or rebuilt yet. From what others have been saying, basically, if the nikasil hasn't been an issue yet, its not likely to be an issue in the future, because gas quality has increased since then, and so its not likely to be a problem. Get a quality PPI done, and then you'll know for sure what needs to be done. Also, a leakdown test will tell you the condition of the engine.

The Nikasil blocks were really only a problem in the US when high-sulphur gas was being supplied. Not long after the problem surfaced low-sulphur gas was mandated and this became a non-issue. I don't know if the offending gasoline was ever available in Canada, but if the engine isn't exhibiting the bad idle problems from corrosion of the cylinder walls as a result of using hih-sulphur gas I'd guess that it never will.

Thanks...Great to be back driving a Bimmer. This is a good deal...if I'm not wacked for a bunch of expensive repairs. So you guys have really put my mind at ease. Thanks
(now I won't worry about hanging a paint job on it <G>)

It shouldn't be an issue now, but I would still do a compression and leakdown test before you buy.

You can crawl under the car and look at the casting numbers on the block to determine if it is a Nikasil or Alusil.

No.


















:stickoutt

My nik engine has been running perfectly for the last 150k miles. Compression is good.

spend the money for a leakdown test. Just doing a compression will only tell you 1/3 the story.

The Nikasil blocks were really only a problem in the US when high-sulphur gas was being supplied.

I think this was a problem in the UK too. Worse, I think the UK E36 328's also suffered from Nikasil failures.... but I'm not 100% certain.

I think this was a problem in the UK too. Worse, I think the UK E36 328's also suffered from Nikasil failures.... but I'm not 100% certain.
True.

You'll have to check the serial number on the engine block to see what it is. IIRC, you have to look up from underneath with a mirror to read this.

http://www.koalamotorsport.com/article-m60v8.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M60

At a minimum, get the car inspected and have a leak-down test run on the engine.

Hey BigD: Before you spring for that 540 you might want to know that my buddy in Vancouver sent me a message about a week ago about one of the EXTREMELY RARE Canadian M540s you chaps up there were fortunate enough to get. Only 32 in existence-very very very hard to find. Check out Charlie Kindel's website for the specs on the U S model, which wasn't quite as well equipped as the Canadian models, which came stock with shadowline, bigger brakes, and a 3.15LS (I think). It's a whole lotta car for the money. As I recall it was around $20K, relatively low mileage and not a bad color.

Check it out-if it's the genuine article you have a shot at owning one of the rarest cars on the planet.............