I don't want to hijack the thread, to gs sparhawk: The 1-2 shift timing and hardness of the shifts depend quite a bit on the vacuum and the engine's torque output. check out the "ITS CRITICAL -- How you set your vacuum..." thread that pops up on the first page from time to time, and also try using something like Diesel Lube (Power Service in the white bottle) to up the torque a little, along with double-checking your fuel and air filters and tire pressures. Back to the vacuum, though, make sure you don't have leaks in the vacuum system. the door lock pods on my '84 are shot, so I blocked the vacuum lines to them until I get new pods, and the difference in the shifts was like day and night. Although on the '84 I can influence the shifts with ALDA adjustments, but that's a whole different, turbo-charged can of worms.

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1981 300SD - Sunburn Gold, 200ish k.
1984 300D Turbo "The Green Lantern" - Mango Green (DD) - 183k with no more fingers to count on
1979 300SD "The Whale" - Black (Back-up mega-sled, soon to be for sale!) - 160k and no longer keeping track...
Confucius say: Man who run behind car get exhausted, man who run in front of car get tired.