My foot operated parking break level intermittently can't be pressed all the way toward the firewall. It gets stuck about 50% of the time half way down. I also noticed that the foot lever does not return to the fully up position when the break release handle is operated.

Any clues on what is going on?
Thank you!
Eric

 

There is a good chance there is more than one problem there.
Make sure the foot pedal assy doesn't need to be lubricated.
There is also a good possibility the cables going to the rear brakes are frozen with dirt and rust. If you look under the driver's side under the driver's door you will be able to see the cables where they connect to the one going into the cab. A lot will be revealed by what you see there. The cables could be held in the applied position.
If that is the case , best solution is to replace the cables and whatever you see with the rear brakes once you remove the disc/drums.

 

Hanky,
Thank you for your response.
All that you mentioned is good as I recently replaced the short cable that goes from the foot lever to the "main" cables. The brake worked perfectly after the short cable was swapped out. I swapped it because it broke at the lead end piece (ferrel?).
But this new stuff became apparent when the foot lever no longer returned to the full up position after releasing the parking brake. I have to reach down and lift the lever to clear the red brake warning light.
Regards,
Eric

 

Why don't you try this?
Have someone hold the release in the cab while you pull on the cable under the vehicle. If returns then, start looking at the rear brakes and cables, both of them.

 

OK I'll give that a try. Thank you!
Eric

 

Hi! I desire to change my parking brake shoes on my ford 350. Can anyone explain me the steps for modifying the parking brake shoes on a 1999 ford f350 crew cab 4x4 diesel?

 

Not sure what you mean by "modifying". If you mean replacing and you have never done brake work before you might want to look at a few videos first.