How To: Spark Plug Change (1 GR-FE)

Ok guys I changed my plugs last week and everything ran fine. Now I noticed when I back up and turn the wheel full lock to the right I have bad vibration/ rattling sound. At first thought my tires were rubbing so I checked everything at full lock and no where near touching. So I'm lost anyone have this kinda thing happen before? Like maybe I didn't tighten something back good? Just in case truck has 5100's on front at 1.75 and 1.5 AAL in back. With 265/75/16 cooper st's. it only does this in reverse though any help would be appreciated

 

doesnt sound like anything that has to do with spark plugs

 

Coincidental. Maybe a bad bushing on your steering rack?

 

Sounds like something in your front end differential.


Jim

 

My last tacoma I had to replace drivers side front wheel bearing and passenger side cv axle. It doesn't sound anything like them just like a bad vibration cause I've not rubbing

 

When I put my 5100's on the front (0.85 setting on my 2005) I had bad vibrations but it was going forward (around 40mph). I had to replace the drivers' side front diff CV needle bearing with the East Coast Gear Supply bushing. Fixed it right up. You can check to see how bad the play is by getting under the front of the truck, reach up and push on the axel right where it goes into the front diff (inner CV joint housing). Check both sides, my drivers' side one was pretty bad after the strut change out.

May not be your problem though, seems like its hit or miss if you get that vibration after lifting the front end or not. I thought I'd be okay with as minor of a lift that I did...

 

Ok thanks I knew some people on here had a bad vibe in the front sometimes. I could not think of what people used to fix that, but when u said east coast gear supply I remembered lol. Thanks for the info though guys I'll see what I can figure out

 

Good luck on your quest, hope you can sort it out.

I took advantage of some time I had today, and did the old spark plug change out (125k miles), oil change, air filter change, MAF sensor clean, and throttle body clean. Took about 3 hours to do all that, but figured while I had everything apart, it would be a good time to do the other cleaning. I've done the MAF/TB clean before, maybe 90k miles, and they didn't seem that dirty this time, but still got some deposits off.

Love this write up. Moving that bar on the fuel rail was a life saver. Still really tough to get to the connector on the drivers' side front sparker though. So glad I used anti-siege and a torque wrench on the plugs when I've done them. They all came out rather easily. Only one that made me a little nervous, a little squeaky coming out. May not have had enough anti-siege on it. Really coated all threads well this time.

 

Thanks and subscribed!

 

Changed mine this morning. Took about an hour and a half. Its been a while since I did it last but after changing one plug, I got in to the groove and...done. Thanks for the write-up.

 

Great write up Chris! Couldn't be easier.

Nothing better than spending a Saturday morning wrenching on the Taco.

 

This post helped me out greatly! Replaced my plugs today with OE replacement and it took me about an hour and a half. Not bad. I thought the toughest actually was the front driver side plug.

 

I changed mine yesterday and was very easy using this thread to refer to. Thanks to chris 4x4 for this thread. Tim

 

Great write up, just changed mines this pass weekend. And boy am I lucky reading this thread prior to attempting this!

 

Second time using this how to as a reference. Much easier this time.
Thanks Chris4X4

 

Great write up! Did mine this weekend. One word of advice, make sure not to over tighten the bolts holding the coil packs in. I made this mistake and had the bolt break off inside on the drivers side. So a fairly simple job turned into a slightly larger one. Had to remove the intake assembly to get the right angle to drill the bolt and extract it. 2 hour job turned into almost 5.

 

I finally got around to doing this; not a difficult job at all. Excellent write-up Chris!
One tip that I found ... on the driver's side, I used the long needle-nosed pliers as suggested, however with my left hand, squeezed the connector clip with the pliers, and pushed the connector off with my right hand. I was being careful not to damage the clip. Once off, the plugs were easy to get to. Socket extensions are a must! I started the truck in between sides to verify no problems halfway through.
My old plugs (Denso & NGK) looked normal, but with gaps ranging from .047 - .053.
The truck runs much smoother now.

 

Just finished and it was time! Just got a new to me 2006 with 98, 000. Following this thread made it super easy!

 

Thanks for the instructions! Just finished changing my plugs a few minutes ago and had no problems. The dealer wanted $275 to change them and I just laughed. Even dropping $70 on a torque wrench (I know I could have just winged it, but I've been looking for an excuse to buy one anyway) I came out way ahead.

The dealer also wanted $75 to change the cabin air filter. $6 on Amazon.

 

Adding my thanks to Chris4x4 as well. Just finished changing plugs on my 2009 PreRunner (31,000 miles, mostly 25-mile plus trips, no off-road, no towing). Would have figured this out but this write up made clear what needed to be removed to gain access. And just as important, what wasn't needed for access.

A few additions:

1) The front driver's side electrical clip can be easily removed with the use of two long screwdrivers. Use one to hold down the release and the other to pry the clip. Make sure the release is fully engaged so as not to break anything.

2) The specified gap for new plugs is 0.039-to-0.043. I measured the removed plugs and they were consistently gaped at 0.045. Truck was running fine prior to changing with no noticeable change in performance with the new plugs. Still, peace-of-mind is worth the minor expense and 2-hours of time. Assuming equivalent driving/trips, I plan the next plug change will be after adding ~50,000 miles. Still don't understand why Toyota doesn't recommend the use of iridium plugs. Even more confused by the factory installed Denso brand plugs on the passenger side and the NGK on the driver side. What's with that???

Finally, I noticed the previous poster was quoted $275 by his dealer. Yikes - $275 is a bit much for a job that is really quite simple. My Minneapolis dealer quoted $175 which seems a fair price.