The engine has no power till 2000-2500rpm, after that it slowly builds to about 3750-4000rpm and then the car takes off.
I am guessing that's a clogged, sticky egr valve, going to coean it outand make a blanking plate and see if that will fix it.
Maybe I will source an inlet manifold and clean that out too.
Anything other I could check, vacuum lines somewhere maybe?
And... should my car have a cat/sooth filter? If so, that will be bypassed as well.
Anything else I could upgrade in addition to having it mapped?

 

Sounds like you did ok matey. The injerctor that leaks is number four I think but its not a common fault. The pump that fails is the pre delivery pump in the diesel tank and is an easy fix through a hole in the floor under the rear seat. The hot start issue isan odd one as the engine does not switch on the glow plugs or pre delivery pump when the engine is warm and this meant on mine I had to turn it over for a while before it would start. The relay just tricks the engine for 30 seconds into thinking its cold so the pump and glow plugs switch on and then the relay switched off and the engine runs as normal, dead easy fix and again not a common issue but one that affected mine. No idea about the SLS but you sound handy with a spanner and reckon you will soon have it sorted. Should be easy to get a nice leather interior. Enjoy your new motor.
Cheers
jim

 

I bought the car I was going to see today, it was a steal money-wise, let's hope my technical knowledge of cars aided by what I've read here made me have a good buy in stead of a disaster.
It's a 1998 525tds touring, other than it being a black line, I don't think it has much options ticked, as it's already a well equipped car in standard form.
Lots of miles, 249k, but no problems with the clutch, driveline or engine; it just clunks a little when I step on the gas and when I release it, can not remember if that's the drive shaft bearing or the rubber disc, but it's usually a cheap and easy fix.
I started the engine cold after opening the bonnet, had my head over the engine for a minute to sniff but no diesel; starter motor is a bit sticky, so might need cleaning or refurbishing.
Cloth interior with a worn drivers seat, but I'll try to source a nice leather interior... tail lights need polishing and fronts are not knock-offs but Hella's; me likey.
There is one thing though, the sls is 'inactive', but the rear is not on the ground, not extremely loose or stiff nor is the drive horrible; I was told there were two new bags in the rear so I'll have to check that; I guess it's a dead sensor or the fault just needs to be deleted after said repair, and to be honest, I think I will get a fresh set of shock absorbers.
Also has some rust blisters here and there, but it's a very decent car for it's age and mileage, and especially for what I paid.

So, those are the bad parts... seems like a bit of a list, but overall I love the car, I don't think I did too bad for what my budget allowed!

 

The one I'm looking at tomorrow looks pretty clean in the pictures, but it also already has 249k miles on it... I know BMW engines can take a lot of miles, and a replacement is easy to find and cheap to buy (plus I can do everything myself if the engine needs replacement).
Having owned an e36, I know exactly what you're talking about... and quite the crunchy one it turned out.
I've been looking at another tds, a saloon, it was rusty but just on bolt-on parts as the bonnet, front fenders, trunk; nothing on the body itself; is this what I can expect from a car that has not been in an accident, or do the bodies themselves rot too?
About the mileage, that is about 1 liter of diesel every 12.3 kilometers, was yours a manual or auto?
And the injector with the trace wire, is that thing known as the main injector? Seen that flying around in a topic before (but I believe it was about the non-tu from the e34).
And not too fast, I know; at least it's not slow like the four cylinders of the time, or unreliable like the VAG 2.5 tdi (sorry, that one IS pretty reliable... you know it's living on borrowed time driving one).
I'll look into the hot start problem, and plan to change fluids as soon as I can anyway (I do not trust previous owners, unless they are enthusiasts like me) so perfect time to change out the pump.
Suspension wise... I changed all front suspension parts on the e36, the previous owner had front and rears done on my e34, and the e32 had everything in the rear done. I know what to expect there

EDIT: about the leaking injector, is that about the no. 4 that just develops a leak and needs to be replaced?
EDIT 2: when people mention a broken fuel pump, are they (commonly) referring to the hot start issue? If so, this would be great, as I like the timed relay type fix.

 

Hi I had an e39 tds and took it to 300 thousand miles. It only needed the water pump changing at 250 thou and I put two clutches in it. It was still on the original flywheel. They develop a hot starting issue which I cured with a cheap timed relay off eBay. It was smooth but not overly fast by modern standards. It averaged about 35 mpg on normal running about. They are prone to knocking front suspension joints but they are cheap an easy to sort. Rust may be an issue but no where as bad as the three series. It's was a cracking car and caused me less issues than my current E60. 525 D. I put a tuning box on it which livened it up a fair bit. They are very well built and good value. On some the injector with the trace wire can leak so worth checking you can not smell diesel when it's ticking over.
Cheers
Jim