Load sensing valve

[tdurb1327]

How important is it? I had to take it off to bleed the brakes. It was leaking and no good. It costs almost $300 to replace and I can live without it. So I just bypassed it.

 

 

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[jyeager]

The factory proportioning is designed to ensure the rear wheels do not lock up before the fronts. And they need to proportion it for the worst-case scenario for rear traction (empty vehicle).

 

The LSV is Nissan's effort to give you BACK some of the rear wheel braking power when you are heavily loaded in the rear either with cargo or a trailer. That extra weight gives you much more weight on the rear tires and they can apply a lot more braking force relative to the front without losing traction.

 

To accomplish this the LSV works to hold back some of the line pressure under normal conditions when the vehicle is light in the rear. Without it, the rear line pressure will be higher as if the LSV is detecting a heavily loaded vehicle.

So your rear wheels will be more prone to locking up under hard braking conditions before your front wheels do.

 

Since you have anti-lock brakes it may be too alarmist to suggest this could send you in to a spin in an emergency. But it will at least be annoying when you are stopping a little bit aggressively, and have half of your front wheel traction still available, for the rear anti-lock system to kick in when it's dry pavement and you aren't doing anything crazy.

 

That's about all. But I'm not speaking from experience. I'm sure others have removed theirs and can speak to exactly how it behaves and whether it's an issue at all.

 

 

[Karmann]

I wouldn't suggest bypassing it, but this does being up a question of mine- when you lift, does the LSV detect no load at all times? Therefore if towing, will it act like it's empty because of the stiffer springs preventing suspension compression?

[jyeager]

I wouldn't suggest bypassing it, but this does being up a question of mine- when you lift, does the LSV detect no load at all times? Therefore if towing, will it act like it's empty because of the stiffer springs preventing suspension compression?

 

Yes, that is correct. Unless you recalibrate your LSV.

The FSM has the procedure. In a nutshell, you can change the spring or add an extension to the spring to bring the lever back in to the appropriate position.