I just recently bought a 87 T2. I'm fairly new to FC's, however I was under the presumption that FC's were considered to be generally light cars. However, when I put my FC in neutral. It's hard to impossible to push it.

Another problem is the brakes are extremely soft. I get no response till the brake pedal is almost to the floor. A mechanic I talked to suspects either the brake calipers have a leak or the brake master cylinder is shot.

If the brake calipers are leaking and rusted over, could this be the reason my FC feels like it's so damn heavy?

 

They are fairly light as far as cars go..but it is still ~2800+ lbs. I can push mine fairly easily..but if there is almost any resistance (low tire pressure, slight uphill, rough pavement,wheel bearings, etc.. ) it can make it rough. I wouldnt think leaking calipers or a blown master cylinder would cause any issues such as that, it would have to be a stuck caliper piston, or E-brake cable not releasing properly, ..something along those lines. Either way, the brakes should feel very firm. Bleed the system completely, and if it is still doing the same thing, look into the master cylinder more.

 

Jack the car up.... put it on four jackstands, put it in neutral... Turn the car on hit the brakes, HARD. Get out and check each wheel to see if its stuck.

I second the bleeding the brakes..

once you bleed the brakes, pump the pedal til it gets hard and then keep constant pressure on it.. if it slowly (or quickly) drops to the floor under your foot.. you have a master cylinder that is about to take a dirt nap.

 

I had symptons like that, and my rear pistons were sticking. Rebuilt them for $20, now they work just fine.

 

rusted pistons on the caliper, causes it not to release and they lock up, makes pushing a pain in the ***. You can generally tell fairly easily just by taking the calipers off and looking at the pistons, if there's rust around the rim, chances are that's the culprit. Just replace them with rebuilt ones, they're only like $40 (after core)