Brake pedal position?

[1996 328ti]

I had my flexible brake lines replaced and the rear hard lines replaced.
When stepping on the brake pedal at a traffic light I could get my foot to slide below the gas pedal.

We figure there may still be air in the lines.

Today my wife helped me bleed the brakes.
I saw lots of air bubbles in the rear come out.
Some air from the front too.
I bleed them twice.

There is a noticeable improvement.
I'm still not sure if the brake pedal is at the correct level when being pressed.

Now when I move my foot to the right it is hitting the gas pedal.
The pedal is just a little below the gas pedal where the bottom part of my shoe now hits the gas pedal.

This normal?

I just don't remember what normal is and I'm a bit paranoid when it comes to brakes.

I may end up bleeding them a third time, this time removing the rear calipers so the bleed valve is at the highest point of the caliper.

[xxxJohnBoyxxx]

Originally Posted by 1996 328ti

I had my flexible brake lines replaced and the rear hard lines replaced.
When stepping on the brake pedal at a traffic light I could get my foot to slide below the gas pedal.

We figure there may still be air in the lines.

Today my wife helped me bleed the brakes.
I saw lots of air bubbles in the rear come out.
Some air from the front too.
I bleed them twice.

There is a noticeable improvement.
I'm still not sure if the brake pedal is at the correct level when being pressed.

Now when I move my foot to the right it is hitting the gas pedal.
The pedal is just a little below the gas pedal where the bottom part of my shoe now hits the gas pedal.

This normal?

I just don't remember what normal is and I'm a bit paranoid when it comes to brakes.

I may end up bleeding them a third time, this time removing the rear calipers so the bleed valve is at the highest point of the caliper.

Ok my brake petal is high all the way to the top of travel and as soon as I hit brakes it drops 1/8 inch then the brakes are on and I have a very firm petal. When you bleed it removes fluid at a fast rate so refill the master cylinder res often to ensure you don't suck in more bubbles that will need to work their way through. Also anti lock valves can hold air bubbles. It can be tricky but drive it and if you have a spongy petal you have air in there. If not then maybe the petal stop is set too high and your travel to the linkage it too big.

My brake petal never comes close to my accelerator petal when it is in the idle position, it is always above it so you don't accidentally hit the gass on a hard brake situation.

My opinion and my car only...Hope this helps.

Also after you drive it and let it sit bubbles tend to float to locations where they can be bleed out.

Best of luck and I hope someone else can help more since I have not had issues with my BMW brakes so I'm going off bleeding another BMW I worked on...

[1996 328ti]

At rest the brake pedal is higher than my gas pedal.
My brakes are fine under normal driving. Even when they had air in the lines they stopped.
The reservoir never became dry and I jumped the ABS relay to cycle the ABS pump while bleeding.

My question is when your foot is on the brake pedal, is it below the gas pedal?
I can pump the brakes several times and the height is always the same when pressed.

And it's pedal, not petal for goodness sake.

[xxxJohnBoyxxx]

I will go out and check my "petal" right now and report back.

[xxxJohnBoyxxx]

Ok drive around the block and my previous post was incorrect.

Here is my petal and I think it is normal:

30mph normal stop = Brake petal even with accel petal.

30mph fast stop = Brake petal maybe 1" below accel petal

45mph panic stop = Brake petal at least 2.5" below accel petal

When I came to a stop I put my finger down there and measured a nuckle count and measured when I got home for my inch counts so it's not exact science.

Brake line original with 200K on them. Soft light metalic pads, OEM rotors.

[1996 328ti]

Thanks.
I'm thinking my brakes are normal then.
But I think you need to get your brake fluid bleed.
You should be doing it MINIMUM every 2 years.

I am so paranoid when it comes to brakes.

[xxxJohnBoyxxx]

Originally Posted by 1996 328ti

Thanks.
I'm thinking my brakes are normal then.
But I think you need to get your brake fluid bleed.
You should be doing it MINIMUM every 2 years.

I am so paranoid when it comes to brakes.

Brake fluid is good, I don't play with that and change since it absorbs water, just all hoses are original. I want to go stainless on the hoses for a solid feel

[1996 328ti]

Originally Posted by xxxJohnBoyxxx

Brake fluid is good, I don't play with that and change since it absorbs water, just all hoses are original. I want to go stainless on the hoses for a solid feel

Seems your pedal may be going further down than it should.

Do S/S lines for looks. I have S/S lines because I got a good deal on them and my old ones had broken rubber supports.
I really think any better feel is in your [my] head.
Rubber brake lines are steel reinforced on the inside.

Thanks again.
I'm going to bring the car to my indie on Monday so he can give the brakes a feel too.

[xxxJohnBoyxxx]

Originally Posted by 1996 328ti

Seems your pedal may be going further down than it should.

Do S/S lines for looks. I have S/S lines because I got a good deal on them and my old ones had broken rubber supports.
I really think any better feel is in your [my] head.
Rubber brake lines are steel reinforced on the inside.

Thanks again.
I'm going to bring the car to my indie on Monday so he can give the brakes a feel too.

Thanks for the tip. Maybe I should just replace my OEM and bleed. I did dry the brake res with a clutch master cylinder issue...

Thanks again for helping me not waste money, that is always appreaciated

[1996 328ti]

Although some people will say there is a noticeable improvement with SS brake lines.
Normally when people are changing brake lines, they may also be replacing rotors, pads and fluid which all contribute to the pedal feel.

I'm bleeding the brakes one more time.
This time removing the rear calipers so the bleed valve will be positioned towards the top.