What years did the alusil block problems appear in??
 

My buddy bought a 99 740 il last year. The thing belches smoke upon startup, and is now oil fouling plugs at nearly 1000 miles. It seems to be limited to two cylinders on the left bank. Could this be the famous block problem, or is there any chance it could be valve guides and seals?? Car has 105,000 miles, and the crankcase vent valve ( back of intake ) was replace recently at the dealership.

that refers to the M60 engine, but not the M62 engine in the E38.
http://www.e38.org/nikosil.html


http://www.e38.org/