330i N53 injectors

[Luke33]

Hi everyone!

Once again, I know this has been covered a few times but I just need to ask a few questions of the index 11/12 injectors.

So I have my heart pretty much set on a E92 330i with the N53 engine and I've been doing alot of research on the cars/engines. One thing that worrys me alot are the injectors, so I had a quick browse online and index 11 seem pretty rare to find apart from a full set of just shy of £2500, which is pretty eye watering. I have heard of people using index 12 and working? They are still expensive though.

My question is, if I find a car which has had all injectors changed to index 11 and I pretty safe? And if one does fail can I change it for a single index 12 or do I have to replace all six? Also, there are companies selling index 11/12 on Amazon for around £400ish for three, are these legit or just scams?

A bit of a side question as well, if I can find a N52 (which I'm really struggling to do) is there a noticeable power difference between the N52 and N53. I know on paper it's around 15hp but can you feel it while drive etc? Do the N52 suffer with the same issues or are they alot more reliable?

I'm asking alot of questions I know, I just want to be sure before I commit myself to buying one.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[Court_S]

As far as I’m aware index 11 and 12 can be mixed, you’re just not supposed to mix them with 10 or less (although there appear to be people who have managed). Given the price of OE ones, I’d be wary of the ones on Amazon; if it looks too cheap / good to be true then it usually is.

The N52 is generally considered to be more reliable but it does have its issues, namely oil leaks from the rocker cover, oil filter housing, oil cooler, sump and valvetronic motor. The sump is the most expensive leak to sort.

Things like the VANOS solenoids can cause issues but they’re relatively easy to sort. Eccentric shaft sensors fail and are unfortunately expensive and under the rocker cover.

The N52 is worse on fuel than a happy, sorted N53 and costs more to tax. I don’t think the power gains will be that noticeable and there are plenty of companies out there who can remap the N52 to get it more or less to N53 power.

[Luke33]

Court_S said:

As far as I’m aware index 11 and 12 can be mixed, you’re just not supposed to mix them with 10 or less (although there appear to be people who have managed). Given the price of OE ones, I’d be wary of the ones on Amazon; if it looks too cheap / good to be true then it usually is.

The N52 is generally considered to be more reliable but it does have its issues, namely oil leaks from the rocker cover, oil filter housing, oil cooler, sump and valvetronic motor. The sump is the most expensive leak to sort.

Things like the VANOS solenoids can cause issues but they’re relatively easy to sort. Eccentric shaft sensors fail and are unfortunately expensive and under the rocker cover.

The N52 is worse on fuel than a happy, sorted N53 and costs more to tax. I don’t think the power gains will be that noticeable and there are plenty of companies out there who can remap the N52 to get it more or less to N53 power.

Thank you for the response, you've definitely put my mind at rest regarding the injectors. I was under the impression if they're index 11 they have to be replaced with index 11 (which are incredibly hard to find) or you place all 6 with index 12 (which is incredibly expensive) but I have found single injectors on eBay etc, so that's definitely good news haha.

I didn't realise that the N52 is about £100 more on tax a year than the N53, I think I'll stick to the N53. I just got cold feet over the injectors. I'll make sure when I buy on it has all of the main issues seen to (injectors, hpfp, etc) and has paper work to go with it.

Once again, thanks mate

[Court_S]

No worries, good luck with the search. Given the numbers sold, not all N53’s can be a headache (that’s what I told myself about N54 I bought ).

[Luke33]

Thanks man!

Out of curiosity, how as your N54 been?

[sdh2903]

Court_S said:

The N52 is generally considered to be more reliable but it does have its issues, namely oil leaks from the rocker cover, oil filter housing, oil cooler, sump and valvetronic motor. The sump is the most expensive leak to sort.

Sadly most of those leaks are prominent on the n53 too. Rocker cover slightly harder to do on the 53 too as there's the hp fuel plumbing to remove aswell. Diy'able but the sump was a pig.

If looking at n53 check to see if it's had a hpfp or budget for one if keeping long term (1k for the part) and a nox sensor too (replace with a nox emulator)

I bought a neglected 630i with the n53 and had all the above issues, bar any injector probs. Once sorted though it was an incredibly smooth cruiser and could return 40mpg on a run, felt slightly more refined than the 52 too. Tax on the 6 series was 360 quid Vs 600 if it had the n52 don't know if the 3 series is the same. You don't notice the extra hp of the n53.

[Court_S]

sdh2903 said:

Sadly most of those leaks are prominent on the n53 too. Rocker cover slightly harder to do on the 53 too as there's the hp fuel plumbing to remove aswell. Diy'able but the sump was a pig.

If looking at n53 check to see if it's had a hpfp or budget for one if keeping long term (1k for the part) and a nox sensor too (replace with a nox emulator)

I bought a neglected 630i with the n53 and had all the above issues, bar any injector probs. Once sorted though it was an incredibly smooth cruiser and could return 40mpg on a run, felt slightly more refined than the 52 too. Tax on the 6 series was 360 quid Vs 600 if it had the n52 don't know if the 3 series is the same. You don't notice the extra hp of the n53.

Tax on my wife’s 330i is about £360, not great but not terrible either.

Is it even a real BMW is it’s not leaking oil from somewhere? I need to get the sump sorted on my wife’s 330i, but that can wait until the spring. Oil consumption is currently 250ml every 1,000 miles or so. I’m going to do the other gaskets this autumn (the cooler and filter housing are leaking).

[Court_S]

Luke33 said:

Thanks man!

Out of curiosity, how as your N54 been?

It’s had its moments! BMW diagnosed the cam ledges as being worn and presented me with an estimated bill of nearly £4K. My local indy couldn’t see anything pointing to worn ledges and it’s largely been ok since I’ve replaced the VANOS solenoids and both cam position sensors. Although the yellow light of doom has popped up once or twice since it’s been mapped.

[Luke33]

Sadly most of those leaks are prominent on the n53 too. Rocker cover slightly harder to do on the 53 too as there's the hp fuel plumbing to remove aswell. Diy'able but the sump was a pig.

If looking at n53 check to see if it's had a hpfp or budget for one if keeping long term (1k for the part) and a nox sensor too (replace with a nox emulator)

I bought a neglected 630i with the n53 and had all the above issues, bar any injector probs. Once sorted though it was an incredibly smooth cruiser and could return 40mpg on a run, felt slightly more refined than the 52 too. Tax on the 6 series was 360 quid Vs 600 if it had the n52 don't know if the 3 series is the same. You don't notice the extra hp of the n53.
[/quote]


When I'm looking at 330i the three things I'm mainly asking is for full service history, index 11 or higher injectors and is the hpfp has been changed. So far I haven't found any that has had all three, unfortunately haha.

[Luke33]

Court_S said:

Luke33 said:

Thanks man!

Out of curiosity, how as your N54 been?

It’s had its moments! BMW diagnosed the cam ledges as being worn and presented me with an estimated bill of nearly £4K. My local indy couldn’t see anything pointing to worn ledges and it’s largely been ok since I’ve replaced the VANOS solenoids and both cam position sensors. Although the yellow light of doom has popped up once or twice since it’s been mapped.

Ah okay, that's not too bad in comparison to some of the issues I've heard from them haha. I always wanted a 335i but was too paranoid to own one haha.

[Luke33]

Also, can I mix 11 and 12 in the same bay? Or do all three have to be the same? So could I have two index 11 and one index 12?

[sdh2903]

Luke33 said:

When I'm looking at 330i the three things I'm mainly asking is for full service history, index 11 or higher injectors and is the hpfp has been changed. So far I haven't found any that has had all three, unfortunately haha.

I would prioritise the pump and the history. If the pumps not been done and as these cars are getting up there in age and miles, it's a case of when not if. Mine went to 95k which is deemed pretty good. The injectors might go they might be ok. Also depends if you can spanner yourself, if you can the pump can be done in a day then it save a chunk of cash.

[bmwmike]

The early hpfp were unreliable but they will all have been sorted. How often do you hear of n55 hpfp failing these days? It's the same pump as the n53. For that matter n54 pumps don't appear on forums so much these days either. It's not a part I was overly concerned at when I owned one.

NOx is £380 ish from bmw - expect it every 80k or thereabouts.
Injectors £340 each - even index 11 fail and I got about 50k out of mine. Not great but they work 4 times harder than the similar n54 injectors due to stratified injection.
CCV in cam cover is £450 part unless you repair the diaphragm in situ then it's peanuts.

Coilpacks and plugs are all service items and reasonably cheap.
Chains are pretty solid.
Coolant pumps same risk as n52 or n55.

Front aux belt and tensioner as a kit £70 and is easy to fit yourself. Don't leave it if it's cracked or got oil on it as it can get sucked into the engine.

Mine never used any oil of note between 8k oil services.

Apart from all that they're pretty solid engines imo, sound nice, go well enough, and have v good throttle response.

[Luke33]

sdh2903 said:

Luke33 said:

When I'm looking at 330i the three things I'm mainly asking is for full service history, index 11 or higher injectors and is the hpfp has been changed. So far I haven't found any that has had all three, unfortunately haha.

I would prioritise the pump and the history. If the pumps not been done and as these cars are getting up there in age and miles, it's a case of when not if. Mine went to 95k which is deemed pretty good. The injectors might go they might be ok. Also depends if you can spanner yourself, if you can the pump can be done in a day then it save a chunk of cash.

Thanks for the advice man, I'm definitely making sure the hpfp has been done. Just worried about the injectors and they're pretty expensive haha. I reckon I could probably do some the of diy. I could also get access to a ramp if needs be

[Luke33]

bmwmike said:

The early hpfp were unreliable but they will all have been sorted. How often do you hear of n55 hpfp failing these days? It's the same pump as the n53. For that matter n54 pumps don't appear on forums so much these days either. It's not a part I was overly concerned at when I owned one.

NOx is £380 ish from bmw - expect it every 80k or thereabouts.
Injectors £340 each - even index 11 fail and I got about 50k out of mine. Not great but they work 4 times harder than the similar n54 injectors due to stratified injection.
CCV in cam cover is £450 part unless you repair the diaphragm in situ then it's peanuts.

Coilpacks and plugs are all service items and reasonably cheap.
Chains are pretty solid.
Coolant pumps same risk as n52 or n55.

Front aux belt and tensioner as a kit £70 and is easy to fit yourself. Don't leave it if it's cracked or got oil on it as it can get sucked into the engine.

Mine never used any oil of note between 8k oil services.

Apart from all that they're pretty solid engines imo, sound nice, go well enough, and have v good throttle response.

I'm looking at cars around 80kish as well, so I'll ask if it's been done. If not, I'll have to expect it to go. It's mainly the injectors I'm really concerned about as they seem to cost an arm and a leg. Do you know if you can mix index 11 and 12 in the same bank?

Is it easy to repair the diaphragm in situ? I imagine there videos etc online

From the sounds of the list it doesn't seem too bad to be honest, I had a Mercedes C220 CDI for a couple years and I paid out a fair bit on maintenance.

Excited to get one but just waiting for the right spec and of course the right history/maintenance.

Thanks for the advice mate!

[RECr]

Are the index 12 injectors currently cheaper than index 11s? Otherwise there isn't much reason to mix index 11s and 12s.

Bimmerprofs reckon index 11s can be mixed with earlier revisions. There seems to be nothing to lose from replacing injectors as they fail rather than replacing a whole bank at once. It's not laborious to change them so not the end of the world if you do have to go back and change the whole bank.

[sdh2903]

bmwmike said:

The early hpfp were unreliable but they will all have been sorted. How often do you hear of n55 hpfp failing these days? It's the same pump as the n53. For that matter n54 pumps don't appear on forums so much these days either. It's not a part I was overly concerned at when I owned one.

Simply because how many cars get past 180-200k?. One pump change will likely see most cars through their life. I believe (I may well be wrong on this) that there was an extended grace period on n55 pumps that were covered under warranty that didn't extend to the n53. I can only assume it's a different part no. They definitely look similar externally though.

[Luke33]

RECr said:

Are the index 12 injectors currently cheaper than index 11s? Otherwise there isn't much reason to mix index 11s and 12s.

Bimmerprofs reckon index 11s can be mixed with earlier revisions. There seems to be nothing to lose from replacing injectors as they fail rather than replacing a whole bank at once. It's not laborious to change them so not the end of the world if you do have to go back and change the whole bank.

I don't think there's a price difference between them (could be wrong) but index 11 seems to be alot harder to find than index 12. But I have only had a quick browse last night.

[bmwmike]

sdh2903 said:

Simply because how many cars get past 180-200k?. One pump change will likely see most cars through their life. I believe (I may well be wrong on this) that there was an extended grace period on n55 pumps that were covered under warranty that didn't extend to the n53. I can only assume it's a different part no. They definitely look similar externally though.

Same part number last time I looked.. or at least the later 2012 n53s were

[Kondeeler]

RECr said:

Are the index 12 injectors currently cheaper than index 11s? Otherwise there isn't much reason to mix index 11s and 12s.

Bimmerprofs reckon index 11s can be mixed with earlier revisions. There seems to be nothing to lose from replacing injectors as they fail rather than replacing a whole bank at once. It's not laborious to change them so not the end of the world if you do have to go back and change the whole bank.

I have been running 5 index 11 and one index 9 for the last 3.5 years no problems. I’m