E39 525 TDS reliability?

Peter Fenwick wrote: Uwe, the number to call is 0870 5050 160.

thanks much appreciated

I am looking at a 528i on a P-plate this Friday. I have never been inside a E39 or even driven one!
So how is that "tiptronic" gearbox thing working? Do I need to some specific tests/switch buttons?
And what is going on with the advise to ignore the "oil for life" statement and get the oil changed? Is this advisable?
As for the Nikasil Problem I have decided to take my chances and just to buy the car. I have spoken to my BMW dealer but they are not very helpful in that regard.
Is there another number I can ring with the VIN number at hand to get a fast response? I mean fast enough before I put the money on the table?

Thanks to everyon for all help so far. I do now my way round the E30 M3 but with the "modern" stuff I don't know anything.

'Tis true! Parkside garage, a BMW specialist up here
had a customer with a Nikasil 520i which overheated
and literally fried the engine alive. It got so hot the
plastic inlet manifold distorted! The stink of burned
oil when the sump was taken off....jeeeeez!

They built another engine from scratch using an
E36/E34 iron block, new pistons and a reconditioned
2 litre head. The only difference is that the alloy
blocks don't have the correct engine mounting lugs
on the inlet side so they had to make up a plate that
bolted to the alloy block and would accept the E39
engine mounting. I think the total bill was £2000 but
it was rebored, new pistons, bearings, seals etc so it
was effectively a new engine.

This is a really nice conversion because you could
buy a very cheap E39 with a ruined engine and fix it
for very little. Not only that but once an alloy block
engine has been overheated there's a very strong
chance the head bolt threads have weakened. You
don't get that with iron blocks - you'd need a nuclear
blast to melt one of those!

There's a lot of misinformation about Nikasil. It's odd
how every Porsche 928, most 911's and virtually all
BMW bikes used it and never had a problem. Nikasil
is a very hard coating but for some reason high
sulphur combined with poor running in (too many
stop start short trips) knackered quite a few of them.

It's like this; at 185'000 miles, any Nikasil engine still
running smoothly is going to be fine. There are still
plenty of Nikasil engined cars running (there were
THOUSANDS sold here) and cars that were well
used from day one with lots of long trips were fine.
Yes, some of them do use a bit of oil and the answer
to that is simple - just put oil in when it needs it. A
mate of mine bought a 1995 320i Touring 3 or 4
years ago. It became obvious that it was using some
oil - about 800 miles to a litre. There was much
panic and talk of new engines etc until I suggested
that he just keep running it until it was completely
shagged and literally wouldn't run - may as well get
as many miles from the engine as possible. Well it
still goes and still uses a litre of oil every 7-800
miles after 45'000 + miles (It's on 150k now).

The much vaunted steel liner engines are a double
edged sword. Some of these were old Nikasil blocks
bored out and sleeved and the liners can shift in the
block leading to head gasket failure. Then it's well
and truly game over, new engine. I'd personally
rather have a good high mileage Nikasil engine than
one of these.

At 185k this 523i is either going to be running the
original engine which is still going well or it had a
replacment long ago. I reckon £2300 might buy that
and it's a cheap E39 Touring.

Don't forget that an iron block E34 /E36 engine (with
a new passenger side mounting bracket made up)
will drop straight into a single Vanos E39 and you
can buy any number of those engines for £150.

As long as it idles smoothly and goes well, forget
about Nikasil. They run as rough as hell and idle like
a tractor long before they give up. But doing a
compression test is a good idea.

UweM3 wrote: Peter Fenwick wrote: The easiest way to check about Nikasil is to contact BMW uk customer services and ask if the car has had the engine block replaced under warranty.   I know, but how are you going to do so without a VIN? Other solution would be to buy a 1999 car.

Usual way is to ask the seller for the last dealership at which it was serviced. They will have it on list for around 5 years before wiping it off the database.
I bought a 728i that the dealership swore was not one of the ones that would suffer from nicasil - but it did - so they had to put in a new engine at 55K miles - the normal limit is 50K miles. If the car was not run for a long period in the North West, where the petrol was particularly high in sulphur, then there is usually no problem. But the best way by far is to ensure the block has been changed.

The easiest way to check about Nikasil is to contact BMW uk customer services and ask if the car has had the engine block replaced under warranty.

 

Andyboy wrote: Check this out; http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1997-BMW-523I-SE-TOURING- GREY_W0QQitemZ270057161402QQihZ017QQcate goryZ9837QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem It's done 185'000 but it looks a decent colour and spec, Cheap enough too.

Yep, have seen that. I probably have any possible 5 series tourer on my EBAY watch list right now
But how serious is the NIKASIL problem?
I know if I buy a 1999 car I will be fine, but who do you make sure not to get a lemon? I can't drive up and down the country with a compression tester under my arm.

I have asked a few sellers about the VIN numbers and NIKASIL stuff and (surprise surprise) not got ONE answer back so far....

Have a look at this 540i for 2.5k starting bid.
There are onezillion pictures in the auction but when I asked about a possible rust spot on the rear wheel arch I didn't get a reply.
Quote from the auction text:

I am here on eBay for the long haul and i want you, the customer, to have a positive experience and to spread the word that eBay is a safe place to trade.
I trust in eBay and I want you to do the same.

Quote end.

any comments?


Edited by UweM3

530d - turbos, leaking injectors, air mass meters.
The trouble is that the service intervals on modern
cars are too long so when they get to 100'000 miles
they're ticking bombs. Same with everything else
now sadly.
The 523i and 528i are okay. The manual 528i goes
pretty well. Avoid autos (another big bill waiting to
happen) and the V8's.

Ebay??

Andyboy wrote: DON'T TOUCH IT!!!!!! £800 diesel pumps, feul lift pumps. Turbos, rear self levelling air bags etc etc. They were a decent car but that's too many miles and you just know it's going to go expensively wrong. They aren't even that great on fuel. Go for an E34 525i manual Touring. £800 will buy a decent one and they're a good reliable car that is DIY fixable with loads of cheap bits. Yes, it's the same basic engine as the E34 with Bosch DDE 11 but different manifolds, turbos and sump.

Thanks. I was more looking for an E39 528i anyway, but thought if a Diesel comes up I go for that.
So 530 diesel then?
I don't want an E34, just looks to bulky to me as a tourer.

I would want to know it had a new Turbo fitted at some point in it's life. At that milage it wants to be very cheap.

I could be wrong but I thought it was the same unit as fitted to the E34?