Over the last few days it takes alot of presure on the petal to come to a complete stop. I know CL's have rotor warping problems. Can i tell from just looking at them through the wheels if they are warped. Should i just take it into one of those places that do free brake checks.

 

A good read about brakes http://www.ebcbrakes.com/assets/typicalq&a.html

As for the rotor warping, rotors very rarely actually warp. That is to say that it is rare for a rotor to warp to a visible bend.

More likely than not the rotor actually has Disc Thickness Variation caused by runout on the pads OR because of uneven build up on the rotor. The former is caused by problems with the hub or the installation while the latter is most likely caused by hard braking to a stop and holding that stop - thus trapping heat and gas that causes a pattern in the shape of the brake pad not on the rest of the rotor.

As for rotor warping the rule of thumb is to drive and then break (not to a stop but enough to tell) to look for vibration. If the vibration comes only while breaking and can be felt on the steering wheel then it is most likely the front (if you get vibration when not breaking you have other problems). On the other hand, if it is the rear setup you will get vibration that you can feel from the floorboard of the car (but not in the wheel).

Hope this helps.

 

ok as for the alot of pressure thing, I am sure it goes without saying but you have to understand that when you press that pedal that break fluid (hydraulic fluid) is used to make a piston (or more in some cars) apply pressure to the brake pad to make it apply pressure to the rotor thus slowing / stopping the car.

If your rotors were warped you would get the vibration above however having to use more pressure on the pedal is a sign of either less pressure being translated down to the pads OR the pads / rotor combination not getting a decent grip (and stopping).

This means that either you have a loss of hydraulic pressure (maybe rubber tubes have expanded over the years, maybe the fluid needs to be changed, etc etc) or a loss of grip. The loss of grip would more likely than not be the brake pad being used up. However, you should get some kind of noise out of the pad before this happens.

That being said, I did see one rotor that a guy had used until you could see the supports from the back of the rotor on the front. I have no idea how that car was even stopping as the pads were also severely beyond the service life.

 

Ive done my own brake jobs so Im not completely clueless but Ive never had this problem before. last time i had my brakes checked I had about 60% left on the pads. I dont get any vibration when I brake.

 

air ? try bleeding them again

 

Then you just answered your own question, right?

You have one of four problems (or all of them):
1. A leak in your braking system
2. A messed up MC
3. Water in your brake fluid
4. Air

Warped rotors have a primary symptom of vibration when braking. You cannot just look at a rotor and see that they are warped. They must be removed off the car and spun.

 

Other possibilities are a bad brake booster or vacume leak.

 

This is the most likely cause of needing high pressure on the pedal to stop.