Having a 97 XK8 since sept. 2010, 34K miles and running like new, and after taking care of the major issues (tensioners, water pump, shock mounts and other fews), and hearing more and more that Nikasyl is no longer a major issue, still have the fear in the back of my mind that someday, the worst is going to happen. Will like to know if someone here has had the Nikasyl death in the recent past.

 

Worth reading this article, arguably nikasil is an advantage nowadays

Nikasil is a trademarked electrodeposited lipophilic nickel matrix silicon carbide coating for engine components, mainly piston engine cylinder liners. It was introduced by Mahle in 1967, initially developed to allow rotary engine apex seals (NSU Ro80 and Mercedes C111) to work directly against the aluminum housing. This coating allowed aluminum cylinders and pistons to work directly against each other with low wear and friction. Unlike other methods, including cast iron cylinder liners, Nikasil allowed very large cylinder bores with tight tolerances and thus allowed existing engine designs to be expanded easily, the aluminium cylinders also gave a much better heat conductivity than cast iron liners, which is an important factor for a high output engine. The coating was further developed by US Chrome Corporation in the USA in the early 1990s (under the trade name of "Nicom"), as a replacement for hard-chrome plated cylinder bores for Mecury Marine Racing, Kohler Engines, and as a repair replacement for factory-chromed snowmobiles, dirt bikes, ATVs, watercraft and automotive V8 liners/bores.
Porsche started using this on the 1970 917 race car, and later on the 1973 911 RS. Porsche also used it on production cars, but for a short time switched to Alusil due to cost savings for their base 911. Nikasil cylinders were always used for the 911 Turbo and RS models. Nikasil coated aluminum cylinders allowed Porsche to build air-cooled engines that had the highest specific output of any engine of their time. Nikasil is still used in today's 911s with great success.
Nikasil was very popular in the 1990s. It was used by companies such as Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Jaguar Cars and Moto Guzzi in their new engine families. However, the sulfur found in much of the world's low quality gasoline caused some Nikasil cylinders to break down over time [1], causing costly engine failures.
Nikasil or similar coatings under other trademarks are also still widely used in racing engines, including those used in Formula One and ChampCar. Suzuki currently uses a race-proven nickel phosphorus-silicon-carbide proprietary coating trademarked SCEM (Suzuki Composite Electro-chemical Material) to maximize cylinder size and improve heat dissipation, e.g., on the engine of the Suzuki TL1000S, V-Strom 650, and Hayabusa motorcycles.[1]
Engines using Nikasil:

• Aprilia RS125 And Aprilia SX/RX 125
• Armstrong MT500 - Rotax engine cylinder lining
• Chevrolet LT5 engine, designed by Lotus and used exclusively in the Corvette ZR-1
• Citroën Visa twin
• Citroën GS birotor wankel engine made by Comotor
• Compact Radial Engines MZ34
• BMW M52 I6, except exports to North America
• BMW M52TU I6, same as M52 except with VVT on both camshafts
• BMW M60 V8
• BMW R80GS, as measure to reduce weight over cast-iron lined cylinders
• BMW S1000RR, scheduled for early 2010 release.
• Ferrari F50 V12
• Ford RS200
• Honda RS125R [2] - cylinder lining
• Honda RS250R [3] - cylinder lining
• Honda NSR 150SP
• Honda XR650R
• Jaguar AJ-V8, 1997 - 2000 (XK series VIN range 001036-042775, XJ V8 series VIN 812256-878717) [2]
• Kawasaki KLX650R
• KTM LC4
• Kreidler Florett,Flory
• Lambretta TS1
• Lotus Esprit Turbo 2.2
• Maserati Biturbo 2.0 V6 Engines
• Moto Guzzi 850 T3 and derived engines
• NSU Ro80
• Porsche 912 engine ( engine in 917 car, not to be confused with the Porsche 912 car )
• Porsche 911 1973+ (excluding some 1975-1978 911S)
• Suzuki LTR450
• Suzuki RGV250
• Suzuki Raider R150
• Tomos *** engine
• Tomos E90
• Vespa T5
• Sonex AeroVee Aircraft Engine [3]

• Yamaha ATV motors
• Yamaha WR250R
• Ford Puma

 

Nikasil, with the exception of bad gas during the late 90's, is a good thing.

 

I will send you a link to my page that covers the Nikasil issue. I spent a great deal of time researching the cause, concerns and what you can do to prevent un-necessary issues. Please take a moment and read it and post you questions you might have. My opinion is that any sulfur contamination is history. I also feel proper maintenance will provide you trouble free driving. A Nikasil block is a great engine!

Nikasil

I hope this helps!

 

. . . welcome to the forum!

Based on the MY you provided you have an AJ26 engine. Any '96 - 98 XK8/XJ8 engines will swap. It get much more complicated, but not impossible, to move to the '99 AJ 27 engine.