In my 97 grand marquis the last couple of days the emerg. Brake wouldn't release when I shifted into drive nor with a pull of the release lever, only after driving a mile or so. Could this be due to the sub-20° temperature or something else. Also, is there another way to release it manually?

Spray critical cable points with WD-40. Adjust the cable, if necessary. Adjustment is likely along the driver's-side rocker panel. Temperature definitely plays a part.

Sounds good. I'll try it. What's a rocker panel?

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Originally Posted by coachdjo

In my 97 grand marquis the last couple of days the emerg. brake wouldn't release when I shifted into drive nor with a pull of the release lever, only after driving a mile or so. Could this be due to the sub-20° temperature or something else. Also, is there another way to release it manually?

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Simply put, yes. The release may be delayed due to colder weather.

The manual release on the brake pedal should do the trick if vacuum won't work.

Have a brake shop inspect the entire system to determine exactly where the hang-up is.
BTW: the rocker panel runns along the under side of the doors, beneath the car.

UPDATE!

As we have had an about face with the weather (61° this morning) I went out to further check the condition. Same problem, ergo freezing is not the problem. I did find out a few other things. First, the manual release lever doesn't do the trick either. But I found that with the engine running and the transmission in drive I could slip my toe behind the foot pedal and force it up. Also could do the same thing with my hand by pulling it up, again, forcibly. Also noticed, while parked in my driveway, that with the engine running and in drive (right foot on brakes), after forcibly releasing it I could then pump is up and down (with my left foot) and it seemed like it was fine. But when I put the gearshift back in park and reapplied the ebrake it was stuck again, necessitating the aforementioned manual release. Finally, with the ignition key turned on but car not running I could not perform the above mentioned release. Only with the car running.

FURTHER UPDATE!

I have checked the emer. Brake cable as advised and found that it is indeed the culprit. It has far too much slack and needs to be adjusted. That's the next problem. How to adjust the emer. Brake cable on this car. I have found it under the driver's side and also found a junction of the 2 rear cables near the driver's side rear wheel. But when I turn what looks to be the adjustment screw it does not tighten the cable. There is a clip over the joint where the screw enters a the bracket. There is a spring over the other end of this screw where it comes out of the bracket, I presume to keep tension on the screw to keep it from backing out? What am I doing wrong?

Before adjusting, remove the left-rear drum and ensure that the cable is attached to the parking brake lever properly.

The cables may be stretched and in need of adjustment. Or corroded and in need of replacement.
Also, check the brake linings. Linings could be worn and allowing too much travel.
Here's the adjuster:

Attachment 16540

Final Update:

I figured out how to adjust the cable. You have to slide the aforementioned clip off the adjusting screw, which then allows the spring to put tension on the cable. Reinsert clip and tension is adjusted. However that still did not solve the problem. After delving further into the brake pedal assembly I saw that the spring assembly would uncoil with great difficulty when trying to release the brake. I sprayed the spring and assembly with WD-40 and the brake is fixed. Works as good as new and have not had a problem with it since.

Thanks to Txgreasemonkey and Captain Rich for all the advice.