I have two questions...

1st) I've also got a 1989 Lotus Esprit. The Esprit also has the Nikasil liners (as do some Porsches and other contemporary high-perf engines), but the lotus community doesn't consider it the "kiss of death" that I've found since I recently bought a 2000 S-type V8. Is there something inherently worse about the jaguar engine that makes it more difficutl to either 1) insert new sleves or 2) recoat existing sleves? I've read of both in various Lotus forums. Why aren't these reasonable solutions for the Jaguar? FWIW, I had a 1998 XJ-8 that I drove from new to 70K with no problems.

2nd) If I dont' have problems now, will I ever? I know the gas/suflur issue has been greatly improved. My 2000 S-type 4.0 has less than 50K and had less than 25K 2 years ago when the person I bought it from bought it from the original owner. If the probelm stems from sulfur laden gas, and only the first ~20-25k miles were possibly subjected to high sulfer gas between 2000 and 2008, can I forget the issue if the engine has no issues today?

Thanks!

Dale

 

I can't comment on the Lotus vs. the Jaguar nor your sleeving or recoat question, but on your second question, my research told me that if the engine doesn't have any issues of compression loss, you should be fine. It was also my understanding that some of the manufacturers were looking to reintroduce it for it's superior strength and inherent weight reduction.

 

If my information is correct, both Nickasil and Alusil are coatings of very hard material by a plating process directly onto the aluminium bores. The processes are of german invention, used for a long time by such as Porche.
If the plating is eroded by sulphur deposits in the petrol burned, there's not anything can be done outside the factory except replace the engine, which Jaguar have done in many instances. It must have been horrendously expensive for them as the dealers would have to supply the labor to refit. It's especially ironic because legislation has made refiners remove most of the sulphur, both in petrol and diesel, ironic because this was too late to save Jaguar all that cost.
Fortunately, checking your engine for Nickasil bore wear is pretty easy -- with the engine fully hot, lift up the oil filler cap slightly while a helper revs the engine somewhat. If a big wind come out, you have worn bores producing "blow-by", i.e. combustion gasses blowing by between piston and bores and appearing at the oil filler. Normally these gasses are introduced from crankcase into the air inlet to the engine and thence burned. Removing the oil filler cap a little allows these blow-by gasses to exit the oil filler cap where you can see/feel them. Another way is to remove the air inlet hoses and check for a coating of sticky black oil -- this also indicates oil being blown-by via the bore/piston area. Of course, a compression test will give you some hard figures to go on. Another giveaway is an horrendous oil consumption, but you wouldn't know this unless you were the car's driver for a while. Normally, Jag. engines use just about no oil between oil changes. My XJ6 had 155,000mile on the clock and the dipstick oil level remained obstinately constant no matter what.
Sadly, if the car's engine you are about to buy is damaged in this way, the best thing to do is to walk prontissimo. Another engine will be needed, and if you fit a secondhand one, it could well be in the same condition. I don't think a damaged block is repairable, but don't quote me on that one, no doubt someone, somewhere has had a go.
If you discover YOU are the owner if such an engine, probably the best you can do with it to cut the oil consumption would be a couple of cans of that viscosity-improver made by STP et al -- you know, the thick stuff that takes twenty minutes to pour into the engine oil. It will cut the the oil consumption noticeably and not cost a fortune. It will however up the fuel consumption a little. 20W50 oil would be indicated here too.
Leedsman.
p.s. The 6 cyl. engines had NO Nickasil plating, just steel liners. Only the 8 cyl. engines up to m/y around 2000 had the plating. After 2000, Jaguar went back to steel liners, ergo, no prob.

 

Dalefield:

I really wouldn't worry about the Nickasil issue on an 11 year old car. The quality of fuel in Atlanta is very good.

You might just consider using the highest octane fuel available, and try not to make short trips where your engine doesn't fully warm up. They'll take care of you at QT.

 

A couple of points. First, FWIW, the block of my 'project' engine is a '99. It has ferrous liners from the factory.

Second, the Nikasil process electroplates a nickel/silicon matrix onto the bore surfaces. In the most high tech versions, the surface is actually 'acid-washed' to leave the contact 'skin' almost entirely silicon. The silicon is so hard that it offers an almost totally wear-free surface. But sulfur in gas can create sulfuric acid in the oil as a side-component of combustion. This acid will attack the matrix/surface and provide greatly-accelerated wear.

KS

 

do ls's have nicasil in their 3.9 since they are essentially the same block? i might have to hone mine when fitting new rings and if they are steel i can do it myself but would need to take it to a machine shop if they are nicasil, how would i determine that visually or by any other means to make sure?

 

I have information on Nikasil that might help Nikasil I also understand that a Nikasil block can be repaired / recoated but I would need to look for that information if you need it. I hope this helps.

 

The Lincoln AJ30 and AJ35 V8s were always fitted with iron liners.
The nicasil process was adminsistered in Bridgeend engine plant for the Jaguar engines

 

What's odd to me, is that I had several bmws in the 90s with the nikasil liners (including a v12). Yet I cant remember hearing of failures at the time. I wonder if the Jaguar application process/formulation was a contributing factor?

 

BMW had LOTS of failures in the 90s and I sent a bunch of customers to the dealer. They were replacing engines that were tens of thousands of miles out of warranty. I called my buddy that was a service writer for a BMW dealer about a 7 series with low compression in 1 or 2 cylinders. The car had 70K miles and he told me to get the customer to bring it to him for evaluation. The customer later called me and thanked me for introducing him to my buddy. He got a reman engine at no cost and was really pleased with his dealer experience. When everything goes right, the nikasil is great. When things go wrong (sulfur and overheat) it is worn away.

bob gauff

 

Lucky for you the point is moot. No S-Type EVER had a nikasil engine, they are all steel liners. For the most part, the manufacturers that had "trouble" with nikasil were the ones with higher volume sales, like Jaguar and BMW. Lotus and Porsche had less trouble because because of fewer numbers and owners that by and large paid WAY MORE attention to their cars and maintenance. The sulfur in the fuel we used to have just exacerbated the situation, and leedsman is quite right that it is a shame its reduction came only after the damage had been done.

You do still have to consider replacing the primary and secondary timing tensioners and VVT's, based on the age at 12 years. I'm not a big fan of the first generation S-Type, but it sounds like you might have found a nice one. Good luck with it!

Cheers,