Hi, newbie owner here and exploring the forum and just found this thread. I just got an 85 300TD and found my system didn't seem to work, even with fairly heavy loads. But when I crawled under the car and pushed arm on the valve up maybe a good 3/4" the car picked itself right up. Of course in doing so I was fighting the torsion in the cross rod pretty hard. But anyhow it seems that the system works but does not trigger until the back end is VERY weighted down. I had carried two large tubs of dirt for the yard and measured at least 1-1/4" drop (at the axle, not the back end) and it wouldn't pick up then. Studying the linkage it appears that there is approx 2:1 ratio of movement at the springs vs on the valve, so I'd have had to load the car to more like 1-1/2" plus. Seems like the system should trigger well before that point.

So the question is: How far should the lever on the valve deflect before it begins to lift the car. Or how far should the back end of the car drop before it lifts. I'm trying to figure out if my linkage just needs adjustment or if the valve needs a rebuild or something.

Thanks