FG shaking front end while braking
- Thread starter Dellorto
- Start date
biggoolies
Adventurer
Perhaps just the ABS. When my tires slip I get the same sensation.
Last edited:
texasnielsen
Outdoorsman
As a potential future Fuso / ER owner, I am intrigued that this thread died back in November. There's no update to the story and hopefully resolution to the OPs "shaking"?
Dellorto
New member
Sorry about the lack of communication. With the holidays, I haven't had the time to work on the FG and promise to provide updates when I have more to report. What I have accomplished so far is to measure runout on the aluminum rims and they seemed within spec. Left front, near the tire 0.003” and right side is 0.008”. Towards the inside of the rims, just outboard if the nuts, both were around 0.003”. All the steering components seemed tight and hoses in place. I created a checklist from all of the great recommendations above and then found the steepest hill in town to start evaluating various symptoms. Unfortunately, our steepest hill is also a 25mph zone, so there was no shaking. At this point I'm fairly certain that the shaking is a high speed, moderate gradient problem and I need to find a long, fast hill to start working my way down the checklist. I promise I will provide updates when I have more info. Happy New Year!
warrantchief
Member
Interesting that after all the complaining by the fellow on page 1 in other threads (and this one) about EC wheels yours weren't even bent. 
Interesting that after all the complaining by the fellow on page 1 in other threads (and this one) about EC wheels yours weren't even bent.
Interesting, but not surprising! We've owned 11 of the EC wheels & had no problems with any of them.
Howard
yeh i have a 15 same same problem standdard tyres Same shaking under braking every now and then sometimes real bad had the problem since new dealershit did nothing
skippythedog
Observer
Interesting that after all the complaining by the fellow on page 1 in other threads (and this one) about EC wheels yours weren't even bent.
FYI...I was told directly by the previous owner of that truck (when it occurred) that the wheels were bent...and were bent when his tire shop tightened the lugs after applying (and pinching) tape weights.......So, there goes your ****************** hypothesis about my motives.....The fact that there is only slight runout now is indeed puzzling...but lots of things might have happened before the current owner got it....and I allowed for that in my post (s). Everything else happened exactly as I wrote it w/ no embellishment. EC had ample opportunity to publish their findings to allay my fears and those of others but chose not to and were in fact, quite evasive.....Just because someone's had "11 wheels" doesn't mean squat. With that much experience, you'd think they'd have some constructive input or advice for the current owner.
Damn, Skippy you caught me there. I hope you have a happy & productive new year. We ought to go camping sometime. Let me know if you pass through central New Mexico & would like to see some great local spots.
Howard
Hello Hodor:
I and some colleagues who drive 2012 through 2017 Fuso FGs with alloy wheels purchased through EarthCruiser have found that braking shudder can be completely eliminated. Others doubt our results or have been unable to satisfactorily reduce the shudder. If you'd like to try what has been successful for some, here are suggestions (honestly - only suggestions, nothing more, nothing less):
1. Make sure that wheel weights applied during balancing don't contact the brake drums.
2. Make sure your wheels are balanced well on balance machines with cones of appropriate size for the large "hub holes" required by the Fuso FG hubs, or better yet on balance machines that can truly "lug centrically" balance the wheels.
3. Do not allow tire technicians to over torque the lug nuts with their air tools. Many of us have our best results when we mount our own wheels to our trucks and carefully torque the lug nuts to 350 - 400 foot pounds via multiple circuits of a star pattern - only tightening about 1/4 to 1/2 a turn in each circuit. Prior to tightening with a wrench, I find it helpful to make sure I've centered the rim well on the hub by getting the shoulders of the lug nuts well centered in the six holes of the rim.
Why so much delicate attention to centering and equal distribution of appropriate torque among lug nuts? The assumption (shared by several of us, but certainly not everyone) is that uneven torque can minutely distort the brake drum. When braking that minor distortion causes the drums to behave as though they were warped and leads to the shudder. That assumption may be 100% wrong. But, for several of us, the ritual works and we enjoy smooth braking, reasonable tire wear and we even sleep well at night.
I'm certain that these suggestions will cause great mirth among some participants of this thread. I'm not interested in arguing about the subject - if you want to try these steps and see if they help your situation - have at it!
Howard Snell
I and some colleagues who drive 2012 through 2017 Fuso FGs with alloy wheels purchased through EarthCruiser have found that braking shudder can be completely eliminated. Others doubt our results or have been unable to satisfactorily reduce the shudder. If you'd like to try what has been successful for some, here are suggestions (honestly - only suggestions, nothing more, nothing less):
1. Make sure that wheel weights applied during balancing don't contact the brake drums.
2. Make sure your wheels are balanced well on balance machines with cones of appropriate size for the large "hub holes" required by the Fuso FG hubs, or better yet on balance machines that can truly "lug centrically" balance the wheels.
3. Do not allow tire technicians to over torque the lug nuts with their air tools. Many of us have our best results when we mount our own wheels to our trucks and carefully torque the lug nuts to 350 - 400 foot pounds via multiple circuits of a star pattern - only tightening about 1/4 to 1/2 a turn in each circuit. Prior to tightening with a wrench, I find it helpful to make sure I've centered the rim well on the hub by getting the shoulders of the lug nuts well centered in the six holes of the rim.
Why so much delicate attention to centering and equal distribution of appropriate torque among lug nuts? The assumption (shared by several of us, but certainly not everyone) is that uneven torque can minutely distort the brake drum. When braking that minor distortion causes the drums to behave as though they were warped and leads to the shudder. That assumption may be 100% wrong. But, for several of us, the ritual works and we enjoy smooth braking, reasonable tire wear and we even sleep well at night.
I'm certain that these suggestions will cause great mirth among some participants of this thread. I'm not interested in arguing about the subject - if you want to try these steps and see if they help your situation - have at it!
Howard Snell
Dellorto
New member
Thanks for the reply Howard! After I wrote my initial post so many years ago, I changed my driving style to accommodate the shudder AND rotated my tires. I thought it was my changed driving style that solved the problem, but last week I determined it was rotating my tires that solved the problem. Why? I rotated my tires myself and did it similar to as Howard described when it comes to torquing the nuts.
Before a big trip last month, I rotated my tires myself and was having some troubles with the nuts on the front, right wheel. I still got the nuts to the correct torque, but the torque wrench wasn’t behaving correctly. During our trip, under braking, the front end shuddered like I haven’t felt in years and I was fairly certain it was the right front wheel. So While camping in the Okanogan Highlands I decided to remove the front right wheel, inspect it, and retightened the nuts with more patience. This effort paid off and the shudder went away! I was confused by this seemingly miraculous fix and after reading Howard’s reply, it makes perfect sense.
More patience means I tightened the nuts in five increments instead of three. 150, 200, 250, 300, 350ft-lbs.
It worked and I’m grateful that Howard confirmed my suspicion.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Before a big trip last month, I rotated my tires myself and was having some troubles with the nuts on the front, right wheel. I still got the nuts to the correct torque, but the torque wrench wasn’t behaving correctly. During our trip, under braking, the front end shuddered like I haven’t felt in years and I was fairly certain it was the right front wheel. So While camping in the Okanogan Highlands I decided to remove the front right wheel, inspect it, and retightened the nuts with more patience. This effort paid off and the shudder went away! I was confused by this seemingly miraculous fix and after reading Howard’s reply, it makes perfect sense.
More patience means I tightened the nuts in five increments instead of three. 150, 200, 250, 300, 350ft-lbs.
It worked and I’m grateful that Howard confirmed my suspicion.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk