My wife came home last night in our '97 5spd with 63K miles. Thought something was on fire! The right rear wheel was HOT! After it cooled, took it off and the parking brake was not fully released. Is the recoil spring atop the caliper not doing it's job? Is cable lube required maintenance? Cable seemed to be vinyl or nylon coated inside the sheath. Didn't seem real tight. Was able to rotate the bracket by hand and release the brake. Anyone have any parking brake cable/return spring problems? Hope my pad and rotor are ok. The rotor looks a little smoother than the rest.

This could be caused by a sticking caliper.

The heat from this dragging brake may have "cooked" the lube out of the rear wheel bearing. This will lead to a premature failure.

Ok. Should probably pull the wheel and check the lube. Would it be black if burnt or just plain gone? Do you have a procedure and torques for bearing check? Don't have a service manual yet. Like I said, I could release the brake by giving the return spring a little help. You think this could be the caliper's fault not the spring? Nissan replaced the rear brake pads about 15K miles ago.

The bearing is a sealed assembly. You won't be able to check the lube.

Remove the rear wheel and spin the hub. A growling sound is a bad sign. Dragging (after brake pads have been removed) is a bad sign. Axial end play (measured with a dial indicator gauge) must not exceed 0.002 inches. The torque spec for the rear axle wheel bearing lock nut is 137-188 foot-pounds.

I encourage every home mechanic to have some kind of manual. However, the sad truth is that none of the manuals gives much information about rear wheel bearings.

I think the problem could be a stuck caliper and suggest you check that while you are in there checking other things.

Ok...thanks. I'll check for the sticking caliper by lifting the car off the rt rear, spin the wheel freely, apply the brakes, let off, then see if the wheel spins free again. Sound good? Is the parking brake a mechanical link? I mean, it doesn't use the fluid pressure to move the caliper?

The hand brake is purely mechanical. The car could have lost 100% of its hydraulic fluid and the hand brake will still work. That's why it is sometimes called the Emergency Brake.

One last thing. Do you know what's involved in replacing the parking brake return spring located at the caliper? It's very accessible with the wheel removed, but didn't notice how it was mounted.

No. I believe that spring is an innocent victim in this drama, not the villain. Please let us know after you have made a diagnosis and repair.

Ok...so after not using the handbrake for three days (it's hard to modify behavior!) I've gotten the handbrake to release on it's own. Very good design actually, except the right side cable is longer and seems to have a bit more restriction. The cable exit from the sheath is well protected at the caliper end with rubber boot. cable stranding is vinyl or teflon coated inside the sheath, not sure how far, cause it's not at the handbrake end. The return spring at the caliper is easily removed by hand, seems it could have more tension. Cleaned the debris and lubed the cable loop attachment to the lever and the lever pivot point, then blew it off careful not to get any on the rotor. Now the brake releases. Can spin the wheel, set handbrake, it locks up, release, and spins freely now. Need to get a exploded view of the caliper to understand it's workings more, and if lubing the pivot really did anything. I thought of going to Nissan with the spring and compare the tension to a new one. Now I can get back to leveling the pavers out the back door. Dang frost heave! TIP: Use crushed limestone base under pavers, not sand!