Does the car have the original Nikasil V8 engine block or the updated Alusil engine block?
In 1998 at 75k miles, the original Nikasil engine block was replaced under warranty by BMW with a brand new engine block featuring the updated Alusil material (BMW part number 11-11-9-069-275). BMW performed this warranty repair because the owner of the vehicle at the time was experiencing a rough idle and stalling. This condition was common to many BMW V8 engines at the time because sulfur in U.S. fuels reacted with the Nikasil engine block material, damaging the cylinder bores until the pistons failed to seal properly. BMW’s solution was to replace affected Nikasil engine blocks with Alusil engine blocks, which do not exhibit the same sensitivity to the sulfur in U.S. fuel. Sulfur levels have been reduced dramatically in American gasoline since 1998, so no additional harm should come to cars still equipped with the original Nikasil engines, but some damage may have already occurred prior to the change in fuel formulation. Fortunately, this car received a new Alusil block so the next
