Could be me, but my brake pedal seems a bit too high. Honestly, it's uncomfortably and annoyingly high at times. I do realize that it has to be higher than the gas pedal to differentiate the two, but I was hoping I could lower it a bit to smooth out my foot transitions. As it stands, the only way to alleviate the problem (somewhat) is too put the seat further back, but that comprimises the comfort level in my arms. I guess I'm looking for that all encompasing comfort zone and my (perhaps unusually high) brake pedal is fricken it up.

My questions to y'all:
Q1: Can it be done or have any of you guys done it?

Q2: If you can, how would you go about doing it & how would you characterzie the difficulty of it?

Q3: What do you reckon it will cost to have somebody do it for me (seen as I don't have the tools or the confidence to do it myself)



Thanks for any help or insight you can provide me with.


If it helps or sheds light, I've got an auto.

 

Interesting.. A few friends of mine have complained about the brake pedal on my car to be low and too close together.

I dont think you can lower it without it actually applying the brakes? I could be wrong

 

why not jsut raise everything aroudn it?

 

Interesting indeed. Do you have an auto or a manual?

 

95 Auto.. I always assumed it was because they were used to driving around big Tahoe's all the time. The brake pedal on that car is pretty high.

 

rise gas pedal-that will be easier

 

DRAIN SOME FLUID! that will lower it alright! (just kidding, youll probably end up killing youself.)

although i must say...i cant believe this is a serious question lol

 

i've heard some people saying if u pump the pedal while the car is off and then turn it on and keep transitioning between that, it can help release pressure and lower the pedal

 

Im shure its possible with some cutting and welding but does it bother you that much?

 

no offense....but DUH! when you pump it without the car on the pressure builds up in the system and the pedal becomes stiff to the point where it wont compress anymore, then magically when u turn the car on the pressure is let out returning the brake pedal to its NORMAL position.

 

I dunno, perhaps this is an assinine question, but the recently percieved discomfort and fatigue in my heel, ankle and calf has promted me to ask. It's essentially siphoning out the enjoyment of driving my Max. To bad they don't make the pedal adjustable like they do in the Crown Vics/G Marq's.

Anyway...

Would the amount of air or fluid in the lines have anything to do with the resting pedal height? I've had the car for 2 years and have not had the lines bled yet, so perhaps that would solve my problem. I certainly don't want to cut or weld anything, but if it's an easy bolt/bar adjustment, then that's definately worth exploring.

I reckon people fit in cars differently. It's quite possible that i just don't fit well in my Max, especially if it turns out that the height of my pedal is at oem spec.

 

put more carpet under the pedal?

 

^^The pedal shouldnt be sinking to the floor in the first place. What the poster is saying is that the pedal is too high in the rested position not in the pedal travel.

Maybe something you can try is the remove the rubber pad on the pedal and you might lower it an extra quarter inch of height or however thick it is.

 

Could do that, but it might get a little slick

 

even if u bled the brakes youde still have to add more new/clean fluid back in(unless you for some reason added fluid when none was needed and never bled them). you dont just bled them and then drive.

 

No der, I know you have to put new brake fluid in. If I didn't, I'd be bled out too when my pedal goes to the floor and I blast a tree or something, but wouldn't that get rid of any excess air that might be hiding in the lines. I have noticed that I've got a slight pulse in my pedal when braking, so maybe it is time to bleed them anyway. I've owned the car for 2 plus years and haven't done it yet, so maybe it is time, regardless.

Anybody know how often you should bleed the brakes (is it a scheduled maintenance thing, say every 2-3 years or 30-60k) or is it a symptom thing, only to be done when somethings up with the brakes?

 

a pulse would mean your rotors need to be machined or replaced due to out of round or grooves.

EDIT: but like you said, its a slight pulse. so its probably not a big deal yet (mine are the same way)

 

There is no way to adjust the pedal height, period.

 

You could probably raise the gas pedal, its jsut a spring.. might have to play with the lines a bit but shouldnt be too hard?

 

Actually, pumping the pedal with the car off just uses up the vacuum left in the brake booster to the point where it has no boosting power, essentially to the point where you have manual brakes (same feeling, having to stand on the brake pedal to stop). After you get the engine running, a vacuum is pulled in the brake booster again.

The system is only under any sort of high pressure when you are depressing the brake pedal, otherwise the fluid runs back out of the caliper pistons back into the lines, further up into the reservoir.

 

You can put an thick aftermarket pedal cover on the gas to raise it up a bit and to go further you can remove the rubber pad off the brake pedal to lower it some and stick on some skateboard grip tape to add some traction. That might even it out a bit but you might lose asthetics if your converned with looks.

 

you can take the pedal out and bend the massive metal hanger.... that woudl be the only way

 

i actually looked into this a while ago but never figured out how to do it. i want to do it for a slightly different reason though. heel-toe shifting is almost impossible with the way the pedals are set up stock.