I am looking at a XKR which has the following details.
Can anyone verify that this is a Nikasil or steel liner motor.

Thank you.

 

Steel liners are reported to have been used beginning with engine serial number 0008181043 which translates to August 18, 2000 10:43am.

Yours would appear to be Nikasil, which is not a bad thing if there are no current problems. Is your bypass tube and throttle body oily? If not do not worry about it. I had a Nikasil XK8 with a 110k miles on it and it had new engine compression readings.

 

Thank you for the prompt response. I might give this one a miss as I don't want a possible money pit waiting to happen. The XKR has no warranty so I doubt Jaguar will give me a new engine if and when the lining fails.

 

The point I was trying to make is that Nikasil is not necessarily a bad thing. A lot of engines failed due to sulfur in the gas and overheating because of the failing water pump. Those that escaped those two issues may be better than steel lined ones. That was the original intent of using Nikasil.

If you have no signs of oil in the breather tube or throttle body you may have a perfectly good engine with the potential to last longer than a steel sleeved one.

Neither the steel or Nikasil engines are economically rebuildable.

Negotiate a lower price because of the concerns over the Nikasil.

 

In my opinion, if a Nikasil engine has lasted this far, and has good compression test numbers, it is OK to buy. In fact, I would rather have the coating than not.

High sulfur gas has been phased out and it should not be a considered a threat any longer.

I would be much more concerned about the known problem areas that cause everyone headaches; not the Nikasil phantom.

gordo