I just drove home from a party and I had my parking brake on while at the party and disengaged it like normal. When I was driving it felt slightly sluggish, and suddenly smelled something terrible for about 30 seconds. I immediately looked at the dash and everything checked out okay. When I got home I checked all around the rear brake assembly and didn't find anything excessively hot. I'm just kind worried at this point. What do I check in terms of the parking brake. I know it's a drum but which side on the axle is it? I think it's on the right.

 

It's a drum setup on the interior of both rear rotors.

 

Yea that's what I thought. I'm just kinda confused

 

There's a cable running from the pedal down the length of the truck to the rear axle. That has an adjustment in it, it may have also not released due to moisture freezing the cable in place (Don't know where you are, bad juju to use the parking brake in the north in the winter, they freeze up and cause exactly what you're describing.)

 

The parking brake is on both sides. If you have rear drum brakes it manualy applys the brake shoes if you have rear discs then it aplys seperate shoes in a drum be hind the disks. They are both controled by cables conected to the e brake pedel it might have stuck and then broke loose you want to check the cables and the brake shoe adjustment Bubbabud

 

Well I'm in Alabama and its about 45 degrees.. So I'm not sure. I'll check more into it tomorrow.

 

There is NO ADJUSTMENT on the 04 to 08 Ford F150 e-brake cable(s). They are self adjust at the shoe mechanism, within the drum, but not within the cable itself.

 

^ thanks, that's helpful to know.

 

Boot to the head! Now I'm mixing generations. :facepalm:

 

My parking brake froze up, pedal had no tension and had a smell driving home. There is a cable pivot arm like device, don't know the part description, you should check that it isn't froze up. Need to take the drum/disk assembly off and check the part at the top of the shoes that the cable attaches to, it was frozen on me and I had to take it out, clean it and put some aniti-sieze on it. Brake has worked fine ever since.