My parking brake works on my superduty however it only compresses maybe a half inch and the pedal is all bent up, I have to hold the rod into get the pedal to compress....blah blah blah, my question is, why is it holding with only a half inch engagement? should I be worried?

 

your truck uses a drum style driveshaft brake behind the trans. when properly adjusted, the pedal does not travel very far. if it went to the floor, than the brake would need to be adjusted or the shoes replaced.