eBay MAFs?

[5907]

Does anyone have any experience with the cheap MAFs on eBay?

I'm thinking of changing mine, and at £25 vs £160 for a Bosch MAF, it does look tempting. A lot of them are sold with a year's warranty.

Just wondering if it would be a false economy though?

Cheers.

 

[Cole@MBS]

Very false, your be changing it again in a few weeks time if you buy a cheapy!!!!

 

[jibcl500]

I read somewhere about one of these MAF's, the over fueling caused a massive explosion in the inlet manifold, killed the driver apparently.

jib

 

[television]

I read somewhere about one of these MAF's, the over fueling caused a massive explosion in the inlet manifold, killed the driver apparently.

jib

No no, thats the MAFia

 

[jibcl500]

Yes that was it....

jib

 

[brandwooddixon]

Bosch sell them for about £75 I gather. A lot of those on ebay are fake Bosch units from China. You only have to look at the Bosch website to see that they are having a great deal of trouble with fake units.

Look at it this way is saving £50 ( less than a tank full of fuel) really worth causing irrepairable damage to your car?

 

[television]

Many years ago when I first joined the forum, I used to tell members to unscrew the sensor assembly and buy the insert circa £50 from Bosch and fit it back into their own housing, this is what the ML sensor is, just the insert.

The components in the MAF cost no more than £1 if bought loose, but it has always been said that 1p in manufacturing equals £1 retail.

So all of you clever people out there, invent something that everyone must have, make sure that the average life is 5 years, and you have a good income for life

 

[philharve]

Genuine Mercedes MAFs on ebay

Hi All

You can buy 'genuine' Mercedes MAFs on ebay along with a large range of other Mercedes parts. I have purchased a few items and been delighted with my purchases, particularly with the savings I've made. But I have never purchased a MAF (never needed one) and I would imagine the purchase of such a component would be comparatively safe and trouble free, if it was new?

I'd have second thoughts about buying secondhand though, even if the part was genuine. Would the level of risk be about the same as buying a MAF from a breakers? Come to think about it, breakers probably sell on ebay although I have never knowingly purchased from one. I have always purchased new and genuine Mercedes items.

REGARDS

Phil

 

[deejaybee]

Don't buy a cheap MAF

Just out of interest, I had to buy a MAF for a W210 E320 about 9 months ago. I found that both GSF and Eurocarpart both sell a "cheap" version for about £60 as well as the genuine article. Somewhat suprisingly they both said that they would not recommend the cheaper units and they could not gaurantee how long they would last, one even said that they did not know why they even sold them because they had never sold one without getting complaints about it!! My local Indie also said exactly the same thing.

I ended up getting one from GSF and they were happy to sell it for trade price because it was an expensive component - I "only" paid £135 for a genuine Bosch part.

Dave

 

[5907]

Look at it this way is saving £50 ( less than a tank full of fuel) really worth causing irrepairable damage to your car?

That sounds unlikely to me; I doubt it would do any long term damage.

I will probably get a genuine one anyway though.

 

[brandwooddixon]

Long term over fuelling could damage your catalysts and long term underfuelling could burn out the valves.

 

[television]

Long term over fuelling could damage your catalysts and long term underfuelling could burn out the valves.

This is not so as the burnt fuel is monitored by the O2 sensor, this in turn adjust the fuel at the intake, if the MAF pushes the O2 sensor too far then the engine lamp will turn on, MBs do readily turn the warning lamp easily when the MAF is out of spec, but my V70r will

 

[brandwooddixon]

That's very true Malcolm.

I humbly apologise for misleading people. I typed without thinking about the lambda probes and the closed circuit fuelling system.

It'll certainly affect the power output though and if complaints about the cheap ones are anything to go by you could end up replacing it faily shortly.

 

[television]

That's very true Malcolm.

I humbly apologise for misleading people. I typed without thinking about the lambda probes and the closed circuit fuelling system.

It'll certainly affect the power output though and if complaints about the cheap ones are anything to go by you could end up replacing it faily shortly.

Dont be daft,,Its so easy to think in one direction, you have not mislead anyone, we had the MAF before the Lambda, but they were the hot wire types, and these did not have the same influence, if you include the 7 new systems since the first 124 came out, life gets very complicated

 

[5907]

This is not so as the burnt fuel is monitored by the O2 sensor, this in turn adjust the fuel at the intake, if the MAF pushes the O2 sensor too far then the engine lamp will turn on, MBs do readily turn the warning lamp easily when the MAF is out of spec, but my V70r will

UK-sold W124s don't have an engine light, as far as I know.

 

[television]

UK-sold W124s don't have an engine light, as far as I know.

No they do not, only cars with an O2 sensor do.
They did have a MAF though, do not read too much into all of the postings as we are talking a wide range of engines,

 

[HERBIEMERCMAN]

i had a new maf fitted by dronsfields in oldham, 97. e300 td.it was a piersburg from stutgart, £80 inc. vat. they have found these to be the best over the past ten years, they use them on diesel and petrol and all the sprinter vans. the hot wire sensor and pitot pressure device are much more robust to my eye, it's a small die casting with finning, looks much more robust than the bosch one i had, the £45 is also better in my pocket. herbiemercman.