Making some space between the pedals

[Nongmin]

I have BIG feet. Not quite duck-wide, but getting close. On several occasions, I have gone for the brake pedal quickly, only to have my foot engage both the brake and accelerator. Things get scary real fast! This is the only vehicle I have ever experienced this situation in and I want to try to fix things.

It seems I saw reference to this condition either here or another forum, but can't find it again. Looking at the pedal arrangement, it appears that moving the two apart wouldn't be an easy task. I find myself in other vehicles with my foot straight up and down, but the Town Car requires me to cock my foot at a 45 degree angle, heel under the brake and toes touching the gas pedal. It gets uncomfortable after an hour or so, especially in city driving. Any other Big Foot drivers also have this issue and discover a remedy?? Or do I need to see a podiatrist?

 

[dave42]

Do you have adjustable pedals (that still work)? And if so, does moving them up or back help any?

 

[Norms1stTC]

Do you have adjustable pedals (that still work)? And if so, does moving them up or back help any?

Unfortunately they only move the pedals up and down, not side to side.

 

[Action]

The brake pedal is not easily moveable at all. Done for safety reasons. The brake pedal is suspended from a steel surround that is either welded or securely bolted to the instrument panel and the cowl of the vehicle. To move that would be very serious custom work.

Remove gas pedal - instructions? how hard?

I have a squeak when I press the gas pedal, I tried lubing with silicone spray but it didn't help, so next I will replace it. Can anyone share the instructions on how to do so? Is it hard? Do I access fasteners from under the dash or behind the engine? Thx I reached and took a pic

lincolnforums.com

The accelerator pedal is not easy either. Depending on year, it is bolted to the cowl.
In this thread, post #3 shows a parts diagram typical of accelerator mounting.
It may be possible to make a flat metal mount that attaches to the existing studs and the mount has new studs off set an inch or so.
The other logistics would be accelerator cable location if there is a physical connection to engine. If electronic then as far as the wiring reaches you would be good.


Action

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[G-968095]

Brake with your left foot.

 

[Nongmin]

Been away for a few days, thanks for the replies. My pedals still move correctly, but this isn't much help, as they move in tandem. And due to a previous injury, I don't trust braking with my left foot, especially in heavy traffic. Used to, but not any more.

I don't have this problem with either my F-150 or the wife's Escape. The Lincoln's brake pedal rests higher than the gas pedal, at rest, but both pedals end up almost parallel when depressing the brake. It's at this point that my big foot contacts the gas pedal and I get an undesired (oh, s*$%) response.
When I brake in the truck, the gas pedal is still way down low, there's enough distance so the side of my foot doesn't get near the gas pedal. Same with the little Escape. (Have I expressed/described the condition correctly?) If the accelerator were an inch or two lower, or the brake pedal suspended an inch or two higher, this might not happen. I re-bled the brakes, hoping to get a more firm brake pedal and not have to press as far down, but this hasn't helped. Maybe I'm the only one to find this as being a problem. It's most annoying when someone pulls out or over unexpectedly and I have to stab the brake quickly.

 

[CARR142]

How about a cover over the brake pedal to raise it higher?
Like:

brake pedal covers car at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

 

[Nongmin]

I seem to remember from years ago that folks dealing with Dwarfism had the option to add pedal blocks that attached to the standard pedals, allowing them to reach the accelerator and brake. I don't have to go this route, I can reach the pedals, just need more separation between them.
Might just be SOL.

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[dave42]

I just went out and took a look at my pedals. The brake pedal is already considerably higher than the gas pedal, and I guess it's a little hard for me to imagine hitting both accidently, but obviously that happens to you. This is a little more involved as you would need to disassemble the parts to properly get at the brake pedal, but perhaps the pedal could be cut off from its arm and moved to the left and then reattached (some welding or spacer fabrication likely necessary). There is no clutch pedal in the way.

 

[Nongmin]

I just went out and took a look at my pedals. The brake pedal is already considerably higher than the gas pedal, and I guess it's a little hard for me to imagine hitting both accidently, but obviously that happens to you. This is a little more involved as you would need to disassemble the parts to properly get at the brake pedal, but perhaps the pedal could be cut off from its arm and moved to the left and then reattached (some welding or spacer fabrication likely necessary). There is no clutch pedal in the way.

Dave, your reply caused me to go out and try to take some measurements (quickly, because here comes the next thunderstorm). Measuring the distance between the left side of the accelerator pedal and the right side of the brake pedal, it's about 2.75" edge to edge distance. This is the same measurement I get on the F-150. Hmmmm. Even the actual pedals appear almost identical. I couldn't get a good measurement on pedal throw of the brake, but it appears the forward movement of the Lincoln Town Car brake is far more than my truck. Why this is is yet to be determined. But now I'm starting to think that there is far more movement in the pedal than there should or could be. That's why I bled the brakes again, to try and limit pedal movement.

Stepping on the brake, there's about 1.5" of pedal position difference (higher up) in the truck, but the Lincoln Town Car pedals are side by side when using the brake. That's when my big foot overlaps onto the gas pedal. I just need the brake to be a little bit higher than it currently is and I bet the problem no longer exists. Gonna crawl around under the dash later, between downpours!

 

[dave42]

Well, I wish we had some of your downpours here in Texas! The Town Car brake pedal does seem to have a long travel. I previously hadn't really noticed, but lately I've been driving my mom's Hyundai Sonata due to the high gas prices, and when I get back in the Town Car the long brake pedal travel is very noticeable!

 

[Nongmin]

Well, I wish we had some of your downpours here in Texas! The Town Car brake pedal does seem to have a long travel. I previously hadn't really noticed, but lately I've been driving my mom's Hyundai Sonata due to the high gas prices, and when I get back in the Town Car the long brake pedal travel is very noticeable!

Thanks for confirming that there is a lot of travel in the brake pedal. I know now it's not just my perception of the issue. I'm gonna try to figure out a way to address this condition.

I'm more than happy to share the toad strangler rains we've had lately, if there was a way to do so. Had one about a week ago blow up over the house, drop 4" of water in about 25 minutes, which then washed away about $400 of new mulch in the yard.

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[Action]

I'm more than happy to share the toad strangler rains we've had lately, if there was a way to do so. Had one about a week ago blow up over the house, drop 4" of water in about 25 minutes, which then washed away about $400 of new mulch in the yard.

NC is a bit far away. And I always wondered why pipelines to ship water have not been created list the gas pipe lines across the US..

There are areas that flood and there is the Soutwest. Lake Mead and Lake Powell are close to all time lows. Then there are places that are flooding like Montana and Colorado. The Colorado river could take all of the flooding near by. Just build a pipe and fix two problems.

Action

 

[etinpa]

Nongmin:

You say that "My pedals still move correctly, but this isn't much help, as they move in tandem." and this is true when you actuate the pedal adjust switch. However, I don't believe the two pedals are mounted on the same framework there appears to be a service procedure to adjust the two separately to get them into alignment with each other.

I have attached the procedure for a 2006 Town Car (I don't have the '07 service info). I haven't investigated enough to fully understand the procedure but it may help you.

 

[Nongmin]

Nongmin:

You say that "My pedals still move correctly, but this isn't much help, as they move in tandem." and this is true when you actuate the pedal adjust switch. However, I don't believe the two pedals are mounted on the same framework there appears to be a service procedure to adjust the two separately to get them into alignment with each other.

I have attached the procedure for a 2006 Town Car (I don't have the '07 service info). I haven't investigated enough to fully understand the procedure but it may help you.

Thanks for the link, I'll look and see if it can provide some guidance. The last line in the general procedures text states that "the accelerator pedal height should be approximately 1.96" below the brake pedal height". My arrangement achieves this spec, but the overall travel of the brake arm/pedal seems far more excessive than expected, especially when compared to the F-150. I know, they're two different vehicles, but even the "feel" of the brake pedal travel between the two seems far different, especially when either vehicle is in motion. Lightly touch the truck brake and it slows to a stop. To get the same effect in the Town Car, I have to push much further. Front pads have only 2,000 miles of use.

I don't see any leaks in the system, the master cylinder is full. One thought that crossed my mind is the age of the car and mileage (152,000). I don't see any apparent swelling or sponginess in the rubber brake lines up front. The car stops just fine, pads are the CPVI police pads and are semi-metallic. Maybe a pad change might help, something that requires less effort? Powerstop? But this still might not solve the pedal travel I'm experiencing?

 

[Nongmin]

NC is a bit far away. And I always wondered why pipelines to ship water have not been created list the gas pipe lines across the US..

There are areas that flood and there is the Soutwest. Lake Mead and Lake Powell are close to all time lows. Then there are places that are flooding like Montana and Colorado. The Colorado river could take all of the flooding near by. Just build a pipe and fix two problems.

Action

Haha, believe me, I'd be happy to share water with you. I know it's been dry out West. The state government claims we've been in a bit of a drought, but not at my house. The late afternoon blow-up thunderstorms are brutal at times. Last week's storm was worse than Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and the F2 tornado that ripped through our neighborhood two years ago.

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[wolf_walker]

Just to throw in my few pence, my 04's brake pedal is way higher than the throttle, and it too has a lot of travel (down to the level of the accelerator pedal). I suspect the travel is by design, but I've often wondered if the pedals are adjusted correctly with the height difference. Never had occasion to take stuff apart down there and I'm fairly used to it. It's not comfortable though.

To the original poster, I've known people that cut a chunk off the brake pedal on AT cars when swapping to a MT with a clutch, no reason you couldn't do that to yours. Have to find a pedal pad that fits or glue the cut one on there but there is usually plenty of meat for narrowing it. I've also bent the clutch and brake pedal arms on cars to space them better if they were too tight. Can't really bend em in the car but you could cut one.

 

[adams]

I have BIG feet. Not quite duck-wide, but getting close. On several occasions, I have gone for the brake pedal quickly, only to have my foot engage both the brake and accelerator. Things get scary real fast! This is the only vehicle I have ever experienced this situation in and I want to try to fix things.

It seems I saw reference to this condition either here or another forum, but can't find it again. Looking at the pedal arrangement, it appears that moving the two apart wouldn't be an easy task. I find myself in other vehicles with my foot straight up and down, but the Town Car requires me to cock my foot at a 45 degree angle, heel under the brake and toes touching the gas pedal. It gets uncomfortable after an hour or so, especially in city driving. Any other Big Foot drivers also have this issue and discover a remedy?? Or do I need to see a podiatrist?

My husband has the same problem!!!! Let me know if you find a solution