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

Just changed the plugs on my Taco with 73,538 miles. First time they'd been changed. The plugs looked great- practically new in appearance, not even worn. The only abnormality was that the gap had increased to about 0.050-0.055. Put in the NGK iridiums and it's running very well.

 

spark plugs always come pre gapped. they just never come pre gapped for your application. its a practice of mine as a technician to always always always check the gap, no matter what type of spark plug it is i check it. the only ones you cant really do anything with are the spark plugs for the 3 valve ford engines, 04+ 5.4 V8's in the trucks, and 05+ 4.6's in the mustang, and explorer.

 

What did not feel right? Gas mileage after installing? the running feel?, turning over?

I just installed a set a day or so ago, yet my mileage seems just slightly a bit off, maybe it's running rich? The idle seems normal, nice smooth response and pickup. The Autolite XPs of course are Irridiums and not coppers. Plus, I even hate to ask, but another funny thing I noticed, sitting at idle with the heater blower on, I smell a small whiff of gas smell. When the truck is moving, smell is gone.....Any comments that come to mind that will help put my mind at ease.

Maybe I should consider putting replacing then as well.

I just took out Denso's ran the second set to 71k, the plugs all looked pretty normal.



Thanks,

Patssman

 

Like Chris said, he is the guru.
It just felt a little sluggish and real rough (felt like misfiring); there was not a smooth transition as I accelerate (and I don't mean through the gears). Don't know how to explain it best, but it felt like the truck had lots of congestion, a cold if you will, it did not want to perform smoothly.

Hope this helps and is not a bunch of jibberish.

 

Awesome write up! I would have never attempted this without seeing your step by step pics and instructions. Thanks for saving me some CASH! Just took it for a quick romp around town seems to be running very well.

 

First off, hat tip to Chris for an awesome write up. I was able to get my driver side without unplugging the VSV, but everything else I followed to a T. Took maybe an hour start to finish.

I got my Tacoma with 75,000 miles on it. It's a 2007 and I bought it a little over a year ago. It's right around 90,000 miles now, so time for the scheduled spark plug change interval. I pulled the plugs to find, to my horror, that from what I can tell, they were still the original plugs from the factory (NGKs on drivers side, Densos on Passenger side) and they were burnt to hell (understandable after running 3x their designed service interval. Every plug I pulled out was running somewhere between .060 and .070 gap . Here's a picture of the plugs I pulled out:



Plugs are in order: Passenger side, back to front; Driver side, back to front.

The one that concerns me a bit is the rear driver-side plug. It's the top one in this picture:



It was a little wet on the threads when I pulled it out and the electrode was pretty much gone. I've noticed my 'Taco Tick' getting a lot louder before the tune-up, so my guess is this plug had stopped firing and I had a dead miss in that cylinder causing the wet plug.

The truck doesn't use any oil between changes, so I don't suspect a valve or ring problem.

What do you guys think? Something to be worried about? Or pretty normal for a set of completely worn-out plugs?

Cheers.

 

Does anybody know the interval for plug changes with the supercharged engine?

 

sounds good

 

Didnt feel like reading through the whole thread if this had been posted so I will just post it.

Spark plugs for the 2010 and up Tacomas calls for Iridium spark plugs that only need to be changed every 120K. Called a shop I had service my 96 Tacoma in the past and they quoted me 100 bucks for parts n labor which is 100 less than the dealer and these guys are toyota certified. Granted I am at about 39K and over do for plugs.

 

Nice DIY thread ,im going to attempt mine as soon as the rain stops ,i have 126K miles and never changed them,tried once and got the plug wrench stuck in the tube and had a hell of a time getting it back out so i quit,but after seeing this and the tape on the socket im ready to try again,thanks Chris 4x4. PS do you know if there is a DIY thread any where on how to change the drivers door weather strip? Im new to these forums but i really like the info.

 

Excellent walk through Chris! If you have some sort of aftermarket Air box (AFE, K&N, TRD) its even easier. I took my time and spent about an hour doing this.

I was unsure if the previous owner had changed the plugs, so I started on the drivers side, figured if I pulled out a denso, I would just screw it back in and wait for 60k interval.

However, The previous owner did not change the plugs at 30k. Still had NGK on the drivers side and Denso's on the passenger side.

After changing the plugs, I measured the gaps and figured I would post some info here.

On my truck with 46150 Miles, here were the gaps on my plugs. 1 is the plug closest to the radiator, 2 is middle, 3 is closest to the cabin.

(C2) Drivers 1 NGK - .053
(C4) Drivers 2 NGK - .054
(C6) Drivers 3 NGK - .053

(C1) Passenger 1 Denso - .047
(C3) Passenger 2 Denso - .049
(C5) Passenger 3 Denso - .049

Clearly the Denso plugs don't wear as fast, and I will make sure That is what I use in the future. Color was normal on all plugs, truck idled smoother, about to take it out and enjoy my favorite beverage.

This picture is worth a thousand words, and I don't mean describing everything going on. I simply mean the swear words that come out of my mouth when I can't get the Plug socket off the plug after putting them in!

Electrical tape FTW!

 

Awesome write up, knocked them out in about 30min including air filter, runs very nice!!

 

Ah this is amazing. I will be using this, because the "saving a ton of cash" part is essential! Thanks so much!

 

damn, my dealership is asking $6.90 for spark plugs, is there somewhere i can make them price match with?

 

Sweet write-up! Just did them in the dark with a flashlight in just about an hour. No bleeding, but the middle plug on the driver's side was a tester!

I bought the truck used from the original dealership that it came from. The truck has 117,000 plus miles on it and they told me the plugs hadn't been done in the last 60,000 miles. I bought new Densos, did the job, and the old ones all looked new! All the gaps were at about .045. I gapped the newer new ones at .041-.043. All seems well!

Cleaned up the old, new ones, regapped them, reboxed them, and they are on the shelf for the next 30,000 mile changeout!

I quit drinking a few years back, so I can't go get my favorite beverage, but I still get a "break-time"!

 

I drink ALOT of water! About 1 1/2 - 2 gals a day. I've had kidney stones twice and do NOT want to ever go through that again!!

BTW...AWESOME write up! Before reading it, I wouldn't even know where to start. All my experience is with basic Chevy small/big blocks. Follow the wire, wrench it, replace! All one at a time! This was almost simpler. Too bad my hands aren't the size of a five-year-old! THAT would have made the job easier!!