Early 540i engine problems

["Frank Natoli" <frankn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

BMW all aluminum (no liner) engine blocks have been cast
from two different alloys: nikosil and alusil. The former
alloy has a nickel content, hence the name, and the high
sulfur gasoline North Americans get, courtesy of our
Venezuelan friends, reacts with the nickel to corrode the
bores, resulting in poor compression. BMW's initial response
was to offer generous prices (by BMW standards) on
replacement blocks, which unfortunately were still cast from
nikosil. Final solution was to switch to alusil. I was
slightly panicked when taking delivery of my 2000 323i,
until officially notified that their aluminum engine blocks
have cast iron cylinder liners.

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