How to check if parking brake has seized?

[goheels681]

I just bought a 2000 Explorer XLT a couple days ago and love it so far. 4.0l OHV 5 speed auto with 106k, and it seems to run perfectly for the most part.

I noticed today, though, that the parking brake does absolutely nothing for me. An old lady drove it from 1,500 miles to 106,000 miles when I got it. I'm hoping that she just never used it and it's seized up. I searched the forums for parking brake issues, and most things I find say how to replace, but I just want to know how to check and tell if it's seized and needs replacing.

While I'm here, a couple other issues that someone may be able to help with..
-Right direction on the side-mirror control doesn't work
-Rear wiper gets stuck between tailgate and rear window
-DPFE sensor failure (though I fixed that myself )
and the only other seriously perplexing problem..
-Both front doors click loudly when opened past a certain point, and the tailgate scrubs a little bit somewhere within the hinges when opened.

Thanks everyone!

 

[rhauf]

if the brake feels stiff, like it's working then maybe the cable is siezed.. if it drops to the floor with no resistance, then either the cable is broke, disconnected, or our of adjustment.

if mirror moves left but not right, then clean the switch (right contact is dirty) use rubbing alchehol.

remove rear wiper arm and move it one tooth on the splines so it doesn't go down as far (unless it has a perch it needs to go down to.. i dont know how the '00's are.

open the door very slowly, and listen for what part is clickng.. could just be a loose bolt on one of the hinges, or maybe they need to be lubricated.

 

[goheels681]

Okay, so I fixed the door clicking. There's a plastic ring that rubs against a plate in the bottom hinge. If you hold the door up and spin that ring around to another spot, it will stop clicking. No idea why, but it worked perfectly.

With the parking brake, the pedal feels perfectly normal. I checked the cable directly under the driver's side and it appears to be as tight as it should be, and slackens up when the pedal is released. What is the next step to determine if the actual parking brake pads are seized?

 

[rhauf]

take the rear drums off, and have somebody press the brakes (As well as the parking brake) and see if the pads move at all. maybe they're just mis-adjusted.

are you sure the e-brake doesn't work at ALL? it's not just barely working?

 

[my pos mounty]

take the rear drums off, and have somebody press the brakes (As well as the parking brake) and see if the pads move at all. maybe they're just mis-adjusted.

are you sure the e-brake doesn't work at ALL? it's not just barely working?

Sounds like a sure way to end up rebuilding the rear calipers when the pucks come out due to the fact that the rotors are not installed.
If you dont want that, have a c-clamp at the ready, take off the outer pad and install the c-clamp loosely over the inner set of pads and the caliper body. At least this way will prevent the puck from coming out of the caliper body.
Your trouble may be mal-adjusted parking brake shoes. Try applying the parking brake, and backing the vehicle up.
That will activate the self-adjusters and will adjust themselves. Might take a couple of times for it to tighten them up, but as long as everything isn't seized internally, it will work. To adjust them manually, remove the little black rubber plug on the back of the backing plate and adjust them as you would the old drum style brakes.

 

[goheels681]

I'm pretty much positive that it does absolutely nothing. I tried backing up a few times with the parking brake on and it made it the entire way without acting like it should, or seeming like it adjusted itself.

The whole field of car repair is new to me, and I'm just now getting into it. Can someone explain, in a little more detail, how to go about checking the pads and what I'm looking for? Or should I just wait until my Haynes manual comes in?

 

[firepop5]

Place rear of car on jack stands
Remove rear tires
While someone steps on parking brake pedal, look at top rear of back of brake back plate. You will see parking brake cable attached to a lever. If this lever moves, parking brakes are probably not seized but need to be adjusted or replaced. If the lever does not move, it is probably seized. Check for lever movement on both sides. See this thread for more info:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147823&highlight=parking+brakes