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My first check would be the rear brakes. I'd raise one rear wheel of the ground, set the parking brake then see if that tire will turn by hand (then repeat on the other side). Whether you have disc or drum brakes on the rear, if the shoes/pads are worn out, it'll affect your parking brake. Also, most parking brake systems will allow you to back up a little without locking up the rear wheels.
 
Could be the brake cable, they corrode easily or it could be the caliper, they too corrode easily. If the caliper is malfunctioning, you'll find the brake pad not being released properly. Same can be said for the brake cable, if its corroded it won't allow the cable to release properly. I had my cable replaced, fixed the problem with the hand brake, but later found I had a bad caliper, so replaced them both with Ford OEM rear calipers, problem solved.
 
hmmmm . . . if the cable is moving, and pulling on the lever on the caliper like it should, then the cable is OK -- with the wheel off, you can try it to see if it is working

it could also be the self-adjusting feature is stuck or not working . . . as the pads wear, the adjusting mechanism should feed so that the lever pull stays about the same . . . if there is a gap between the pads and the rotor, then this is probably the issue . . . I am not sure how you can un-stick it, but part of the normal pad replacement is to screw back the pistons and that would usually free it up
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
Brake pads are tight to rotor. When I manually pull the parking brake it pulls them. They just aren't grabbing the rotor. With everything pulled apart the cables pull and I have to pull on them when released. I'm sure the spring on the caliper pulls them back when released. I just dont understand why it's not grabbing. Like I wrote, when I use a screwdriver to pull on the mechanism on the caliper it pushes the piston against the pad/rotor. But, when I pull the handle, it doesnt grab. IDK?
 
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