What the Heck!? She's Mad At Me

How did the plugs look at 145K?

Photos?

 

I printed out a diagram, drew a drawing of it while looking at it, put it on, checked it, checked it again, and again. I also made note of ribbed wheels, smooth pulleys and everything checked out. Just in case, I will check it again. Thanks for the lessons learned.

 

There is a vacuum hose on the back of the intake housing that supplies vacuum to the variable intake runner system. Mine became disconnected at some point, didn't throw a CEL and cut my mileage by an MPG or two until I noticed the hose dangling.

 

Also clean your throttle body. They're both super easy to do.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-throttle-body-cleaning-2005-v6.94203/

 

That's some significant gap, what do they measure?

 

Yup, mine was off too, and no CEL.

 

I didn't measure them..... I'm guessing a average mans pinky finger?

 

Your engine likes a big gap then, might try increasing the new plugs?

 

I'm guessing because I'm part, but Japs don't like big gaps.

 

My truck still had the original plugs at 168k miles, and switched to denso gapped at .41. I think it just happens from being so damn old.

 

Small plugs?

 

Hahahaha! Exactly! That's why big gaps are a no go!

 

I'll check it out, thank you!

 

Clean or replace your mass airflow sensor

 

OP, I would do a combination of what others here have suggested.

First off I would get rid of the K&N filter and replace with a standard OEM.

Then thoroughly clean your MAF sensor and throttle body, they make a specific cleaner for each and cost about $10 for both cans.

Check to see that your new belt is properly installed and that all hoses and connections are secure. With no CEL light on you should be good.

PS -- Also, last but not least, get a new calculator and check your math again, maybe you miscalculated your mileage...good luck

 

A quick update...
Seems everything is slowly settling in. Before my maintenance, I averaged around 19 mpg no matter how or where I drove, outside of towing. Immediately after doing plugs, trans fluid, front/back diff fluid, transfer case fluid, and serpentine belt I was getting 15-16 mpg (Two tanks worth). Now, after 3 tanks I'm up to 18.3 mpg. Just got my AFE Prodry in today and am going to ditch the oiled K&N filter. This weekend I will dig in and take people's advice and clean MAF and throttle body. I guess it just takes a bit for the truck to recover from the shock of my neglect????

Thank you to everyone that contributed advise! I'll post more results as time goes on!

 

Same gas station? Same gas?

 

Yep. Same station, same gas. For some weird reason I have religiously always checked my mileage while filling up and have never noticed a significant difference from using different stations.

 

Dry filters for MAF equipped engines. Oiled for MAP equipped.