Nikasil again....
Discussion
Hi,
I'm thinking of buying a 99 XJR, but the nikasil bore wear issue is worrying me. I know it's been discussed quite a bit here but what I can't figure out is just how likely it is that one of these engines will fail ? Does anyone know the failure rate or have any pointers on it ?
The car I'm looking at is a '99 (so it will have the nikasil coating) with 72k on the clock for £12.5k. I'm trying to figure out if it's worth taking the risk (assuming it passes a compression test or course)
I can't afford a 2000 car as they don't seem to drop much below £20k at sensible mileages.
Thanks in advance.
I'm thinking of buying a 99 XJR, but the nikasil bore wear issue is worrying me. I know it's been discussed quite a bit here but what I can't figure out is just how likely it is that one of these engines will fail ? Does anyone know the failure rate or have any pointers on it ?
The car I'm looking at is a '99 (so it will have the nikasil coating) with 72k on the clock for £12.5k. I'm trying to figure out if it's worth taking the risk (assuming it passes a compression test or course)
I can't afford a 2000 car as they don't seem to drop much below £20k at sensible mileages.
Thanks in advance.
Frome what I understand, this problem is due to a number of factors. The high sulphur content petrol which used to be around was the main contributor, as the Sulphur attacked the Nikasil, but this has since been phased out. Another quick way to remove all the Nikasil from the bores is if the engine badly overheats. Apart from that it is probably dependent on driving style, i.e. general wear prevention like not using all the revs from cold. My understanding (although I'm not an expert, just an owner) is that if a car has survived this long and has full compression then it will survive indefinitely if properly cared for. Many of the Nikasil engines have done very high mileages with no problems....
Pity that Marquis Rex isn't reading this because he really is the expert, but in general the Nikasil erosion occurs because of higher sulphur content of bad petrol combining with water to make sulphuric acid, which then eats into the coating.
If you give the engine nothing more than a mile down the road to get a paper and creep along in traffic, then that is where you are most likely to see the conditions leading to acid collection and hence bore erosion.
A well used car that has normal compression would be unlikely to suffer the issue, and provided you avoid continuous operation in traffic with little chance to warm up you'll be OK.
Bear in mind also that the V8 has a VERY advanced cooling system and warm up is very fast.
If you give the engine nothing more than a mile down the road to get a paper and creep along in traffic, then that is where you are most likely to see the conditions leading to acid collection and hence bore erosion.
A well used car that has normal compression would be unlikely to suffer the issue, and provided you avoid continuous operation in traffic with little chance to warm up you'll be OK.
Bear in mind also that the V8 has a VERY advanced cooling system and warm up is very fast.
My understanding is that Jaguar are sympathetic up to 100,000 miles, and I have heard of engine replacements anywhere from 30,000 to 150,000. At each Service the main dealers are supposed to conduct a "blow-by" test and the current failure figure is 40 (litres/min?) - as you are paying for the service, you presumably have a right to know, but Lancaster Reading appear to be opaque and unhelpful in this regard. The early symptoms of nikasil failure include poor cold starting - my 1998 / 71k XK8 seems fine so far
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