Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam
I'm wondering if these issues aren't related and there's some kind of leaky vacuum operated switch that releases the parking break when the car is in drive.
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You hit the nail on the head. Most of these Lincolns, if not all, have a vacuum actuator that releases the parking brake whenever you put the car in gear. A very nice feature that's sadly forgotten in cars today. Likely, the vacuum actuator's rubber diaphragm is torn and leaking vacuum, so it won't auto release. And because it's meant to be automatic, the manual release is, as you say, way up under the dash. My advice: don't even bother applying the parking brake... unless you are parking on steep hills, but even then, it's not really necessary. At least until you get a replacement actuator. You might want to remove the vacuum hose from it and plug it, to silence the noisy leak. Be careful though, those plastic vacuum hoses are very brittle now.