how do i unstick my parking brake?

Sometimes the shoes get stuck to the drum with rust. Try moving the car backwards if that doesn't work remove the wheels and striking the drum with a hammer. This should loosen the brakes up and get them to release.

Here is a video that can help

https://youtu.be/UV0kfP17Co0

Roy

If you had the parking brakes on for extended period of time and there are leakages, the shoes can stick and so would the slave cylinders.

Try reversing with sudden jerks.

Thanks guys. we ended up pulling the tires of and using a hammer on the drum. it did sit with the brake on for about four days. needless to say, that mistake will not happen again. This video gave us the idea.

https://youtu.be/UV0kfP17Co0

There is more to the story than sitting for four days. That is not uncommon and does not adversely affect other brands of vehicles. Ford has been famous for decades for having sticking parking brake cables even on cars and trucks that are less than a year old. Many owners know to use the parking brake at least once every day or never at all.

When they first get sluggish and do not release, crawl underneath, (with it in park or the wheels blocked), and you will see the first half inch of the cable coming out of the outer casing is shiny indicating it has not retracted back to the released position. Flexing that outer casing vigorously with both hands will often help them retract under spring pressure. You may also be able to push the cable back into the casing by hand.

Lubricating a sticking cable is never the permanent fix. They must be replaced. Many aftermarket cables from the auto parts stores are less likely to develop sticking problems than replacements from the dealer.

If you do not see that shiny area on a cable that appears to be sticking, it may not be the cable. If banging on the backing plate as suggested frees it up, suspect grooves worn into the drum side of the backing plate. There are six raised surfaces called "lands" that the shoes ride on. Lack of a high-temperature brake grease when installing shoes can lead to grooves wearing in that the shoe frames catch on and stick applied. Some people try to file those grooves down but that can let the shoe sit at an angle and possibly chatter. The proper fix is to replace the backing plate and lube those six surfaces. That lube is usually overlooked by do-it-yourselfers.

i have 2002 ford ranger. i pushed the e-brake & pulled the release lever but the back brakes are still engaged. When driving its dragging & I smell the brakes burning. How do I get them 2 disengage?

Ford wrote the book on sticking parking brake cables. You can try flexing the cables where they come out of the rear brake backing plates while a helper holds the release handle. Since they applied, they are not rusted tight, . . . yet, and should release. Once they become rusted tight and won't move, you'll need an air-powered cutoff tool to cut them.

Look where the cables come out of the front end of the casings. If the cable is shiny for about 1/2" or more, that shows they are not fully retracted yet.

caradiodoc

my parking brake will not release on its own. how do i remove it to lube it or replace it. thanks for taking my question.

the parking brake is on the rear wheels only the wheel must be remove
to remove the drum there is a rubber piece on the back side remove it and inside is the brake shoe adjuster a quarter size gear turn it to release the brake. it will take many turns but the drum then should slide off

make sure none of the springs are broke replace if needed
i dont k of any lube to put on there
check both wheels it most likely one of the springs are broke

wat u can also do pop the parking brake then drive in reverse you should hear it pop and the brake will be released

How difficult is it to fix a stuck e-brake? Truck sits outside in SoCal, daily driver, set e-brake yesterday, and this morning I released the brake from the lever on the inside of the cab (heard the regular 'thumb') but emergency brake remained engaged. I see the e-brake line goes directly into the driver's side rear brake system, but no idea if I can get to it and fix it by just removing the tire or would I need to open up the brake "drum/system" to solve the problem. Thanks for the assistance.

Yes, you need to remove the brake drum. What I would recommend is to lift the rear of the truck and see which side is locked up. By doing that, you will know what side to work with. Chances are the rear brake cable will need replaced. It isn't too hard to do.

Check it and let me know what you find so I can help you figure out the best way to deal with it.

Joe

Joe,

It was the driver-side rear tire. Removed the drum and sprayed some handy WD-40 to ensure all the rust turned a beautiful dark brown, wiggled, and banged the (rotor?) and it came loose. Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.

I'm glad you got it fixed. Let us know if you have any questions in the future, and thanks for using 2carpros.com.

Joe

Hi, I just change the rear brakes on my 94 Ford Ranger 4 cylinder two wheel drive 9 inch drums brakes; I can not turn the wheels by hand, I parked on a hill and put the shift in neutral and the truck did not roll. When I check the emergency brake cable it is tight, I can not fine an adjustment on the emergency brake cable, I adjusted the auto adjuster on the brake shoes all the way in as far as they will go. My question is they any other way I can adjust the emergency brake cable or free the wheels up?

Unless you were having easy rear wheel lockup or the parking brake cables were previously over-adjusted, I don't think the adjustment is the problem. Ford has more than their share of sticking cables that don't fully release and that will cause the problem you're having.

To check for that, first check if both shoes are resting against the anchor pin on top of the backing plate. Next, use your thumb to push the parking brake strut rod against the anti-rattle spring pressure. That bar should move easily at least 1/8". If either of those observations don't turn out to be true, flex the parking brake cable with both hands, somewhere behind the backing plate and watch to see if one of the shoes moves outward a little. If it does, the cable is sticking. Use a pry bar to pry the parking brake lever, (hanging behind the rear shoe) rearward, then check the strut rod again for a little free play.

I never had any problems with the brakes locking up before I change the shoes.
The Brake cable was sticking and I free it up. The strut rod was tight with the spring compressed all the way. The emergency cable that is going the full length of the undercarriage has tension on it as if the emergency brake is on, it is not on.

Where is the adjustment for the emergency brake located?

I had adjusted the self adjustments all the way in when I replaced the brakes.

There are two designs of parking brake. One is automatic adjusting. It has a toothed lever that drops down onto the pedal when you push it. If it is tight when the pedal is released, then the front cable is sticking. You should be able to pull on it under the truck unless it is rusted solid. If you have the manually adjusted system, look for a nut on the end of a threaded rod either at the end of the front cable where it connects to the intermediate cable or on the side where it attaches to the frame.

When you found the strut rod that is tight, you found the reason the brakes are tight. You really shouldn't have to adjust the parking brake cable unless someone made it tighter before.

can anyone tell me a web site to get a diagram of the parking brake release mechanism

H there, Is this what you are after? mark (mhpautos)

I pressed down my parking brake and seemingly it did not work, so I tried to pull the release lever it did not move. So I took it for a lap or too it did not seem slowed down or anything along those lines. How do I fix it?

Good afternoon.

Do you mean the part you push to activate the hand brake will not release or if it does, the brakes still hang up?

Roy

INITIAL ADJUSTMENT
Use this procedure when a new tension limiter is installed.



1. Make sure brake drums are cold for correct adjustment.
2. Depress the parking brake pedal fully to the last detent position.
3. Grip the Tension Limiter housing to prevent it from spinning and tighten the equalizer nut 63.50 mm ± 3.175 mm (2 1/2 in ± 1/8 in) up the rod.
4. Check to make sure cinch strap has slipped leaving less than 34.925 mm (1 3/8 in) remaining.

FIELD ADJUSTMENT
Use this procedure to correct a slack system if new tension limiter is not installed.

1. Make sure brake drums are cold for correct adjustment.
2. Apply the parking brake pedal to the fully engaged position.
3. Grip the tension limiter housing to prevent it from spinning and tighten the equalizer nut 6 full turns past its original position on the threaded rod.
4. Attach an appropriate cable tension gauge in front of the equalizer assembly on the front cable and measure cable tension. Cable tension should be 1780-2670 Nm (400-600 ft lb) with the parking brake pedal fully in the last detent position. If tension is low, repeat Steps 2 and 3.
5. Release parking brake and check for rear wheel drag.

NOTICE: The cables should be tight enough to provide full application of the rear brake shoes when the parking brake lever of foot pedal is placed in the fully applied position, yet loose enough to ensure complete release of the brake shoes when the lever is in the released position. The Tension Limiter will reset the parking brake tension any time the system is disconnected provided the distance between the bracket and the cinch strap hook is reduced during adjustment. When the cinch strap contacts the bracket, the system tension will increase significantly and over tensioning may result. If all available adjustment travel has been used, the ension limiter must be replaced.

I set the parking brake on my '92 Ranger,then couldn't disengage it.I tried everything,but it wouldn't free up.I was on the side of the road with a 2 year old on a Sunday so I cut the cable.Replacing the cable is not an issue.The problem seems to be with the pedal assembly itself.I can't get the pedal back up.Is there something I can do to unstick it or do I need a new assembly?

Thanks,Mick

Good thinking on cutting the cable. I assume you knew that the pedal itself was stuck and not stuck somewhere else. Now I guess I would see about pulling out the assembly to look at it closer and determine what is wrong. You probably have lock on the rachet assembly that is sticking and won't release. Have you tried a rust remover and lubricant to let it set on the assembly for a few hours. Then tap the assembly with a hammer softly and see if it lets go. Try this while still in the car before pulling it out. Because if you can't loosen it then you car going to have replace it.

Kind of mixed up there but see about fixing in place then pull it and work on it or replace it. Good luck!

Thanks for the suggestions.One of the first things I tried was lubing it.I took the whole assembly apart yesterday(not something I want to do again).Turns out the bar that pushes back to release the ratchet had a groove worn in it.That was preventing it from having the force to release.I fashioned a sleeve out of sheet metal to cover the groove.It's working ok now.Now my problem is that according to Ford,the cable I need(from the pedal to just forward of the rear wheel) has been discontinued!!!Had the pedal assembly been more accessable,I may have figured out the jam and released it manually before cutting the cable.Oh well,I got moving but now will not pass inspection due to cut brake cable

Discontinued cable but you can buy cable at a hardware store. Can't you feed the new cable into the car and add your own ends?

That's a thought.I didnt even think of that.I'm going to try a couple of aftermarket places first and I know someone who might have one.He stockpiles all kinds of junk.I'll keep it in mind though,thanks