veedubb

There’s a way to adjust your brake pedal on a B6. It’s one of the easier jobs but may be a bit of a chore because of the confined space under the dash.

I just put on new OE spec front pads (Textar) and rotors (Zimmerman). The original rotors had a couple of turns on the brake lathe in the past so they were a little thinner than usual. Therefore, my brake pedal engagement is a bit higher than before I did my front brakes and that’s why I’m adjusting the brake pedal height as outlined here.

All you need are 16mm & 19mm open end wrenches and the 8mm to remove the knee bolster in order to access the brake pedal.

NOTE: Depending on the range of your adjustment, this procedure may cause your brake lights to turn on. This can be remedied by another adjustment on the brake switch (see later). Those clever Germans think of everything.

As you can see in the pic, the accordion boot to the right is the connection to the master cylinder and the booster. To the left are the adjusting sleeve nut and a locking nut. At the extreme left is a white plastic ball socket, and the sleeve nut tapers into a ball, so this is a ball and socket connection.


You once you start turning the sleeve part, you can feel the pedal move. Just keep in mind that the shaft connecting your pedal to the booster spins freely so you will have to hold it steady as you turn the adjusting sleeve nut.

I recommend adjusting it about ¼ to ½ turn at a time because a full turn may be a little much depending on why you needed to adjust brake pedal. I think I did a turn and a half and dialed it back but I can’t be sure because I wasn’t paying attention and didn’t realize that the shaft also spins. You probably won’t get it right the first time without driving and getting a feel for it. That’s why I left the knee bolster off until I can get it to my liking.

Brake Switch Adjustment (taken from a service manual):
“ Disconnect brake light switch harness connector. Remove brake light switch by turning brake switch 45 degrees to left. Pull plunger out as far as possible by hand. Being careful not to press down on brake pedal, guide switch into mounting bracket. Turn switch 45 degrees to right. Brake switch adjusts automatically. Connect brake light switch harness connector. “

NOTE: The switch may be brittle with age so turn it slowly and carefully as not to damage it. Some small pieces of my switch crumbled off as I was turning it; so take it easy.


Pulling out the plunger effectively resets the brake switch for re-installation. As you pull out the plunger on the switch, you can feel the adjustment indents in the switch and there are quite a few steps. I managed to pull the plunger out about an inch. As the switch goes back in, it will self-adjust to its new position.

veedubb

Google Pics sucks and unable to be linked to consistently so I've switch to photobucket. Here are the pics that is missing since I can't edit the original post.