One of the readers of my blog informed me about his negative experience.
Some time, in eBay, he has purchased “refurbished” injectors for his N53 series engine.
Unfortunately, when these injectors were installed, the engine was not able to perform normally – it was shivering, the EML symbol lighted un in KOMBI, smoke clouds are flowing out of the exhaust, it was stinking of fuel.
The situation was even worse even comparing with the “old” injectors – much more worse. The owner of the car immediately installed back the “old” injectors, because at least with them, he was able to drive more or less normally.
I have already heard about such cases and suspiciously cheap injectors (part of them – as if used, but in good condition; part – refurbished; part – as if completely new) but in this case, the unfortunate buyer sent me also the images of the injector.
Before publishing the images, I will mention several nuances:
a) these piezo injectors CAN NOT be refurbished. Nobody is even disassembling them. Even disassembling them, there are no mechanical parts, which could be refurbished (as for “usual” injectors);
b) cleaning of the injectors includes measuring of their parameters (leaking, flowrate for different openings) both before and after cleaning; during cleaning the injectors have to be activated; the liquid has to be put through the injector. This is a very labor-intensive procedure, it requires expensive equipment. If the seller is not able to send the report for each injector, can be considered, that there was no cleaning done at all.
And here, the images:
1. The packaging (cardboard boxes) does not match the original. The original injectors are packed in a transparent plastic box;
2. plastic parts of the injector are black, not grey. Injectors of the first generations were colored in black, but BMW asked to replace them later. The replacement was performed by dealers without charge – it was performed in the recall campaign. The coloring changed to make the identification easier – the engine has installed the injectors of an old or new type;
3. inscriptions are in white, not yellowish – as for original injectors;
4. injectors are identified as one of the 11-th release (the newest one). Well, the real injectors of this release are not in black;
5. all injectors have the same encoding data! How is that possible?
This time, smart people have gone the easiest way: they (I believe, for very symbolic costs) have purchased a large number of injectors of the old releases, with some dissolver washed off the old inscriptions and layed on the new inscriptions – the newest release and the same encoding data for all. There is no doubt – the true parameters of the injectors are not even measured, encoding doesn’t correspond the truth. It is clear, that it doesn’t pay off to search for appropriate printing equipment, prepare the template. These men have prepared quite a large number of fake injectors.
Be careful! Do not buy these injectors! These are counterfeits of old, worn out and not working injectors!
Here, how the “real” injector looks alike:
1. although this injector is very old release (03), it already has a grey body;
2. inscriptions on the body – in yellowish color;
3. encoding data – unique for each injector (different from the “magical” 581/203).
