How old is this spark plug?

My Taco has a checkered past and I don't have any service records in hand as yet so I don't know what got serviced when. Yeah, I bought it anyway, with 111K miles. Be that as it may, I pulled a plug today to see what it looked like. It's a NGK, forgot the part #, and didn't check the gap. Just curious how old ya'll think it might be; it doesn't look too bad but I think it's probably got the requisite 30K on it. In any case, going to put a set of Iridiums in tomorrow.



- Leo

 

Don't waste money on iridium's, just get replacement Denso or NGK copper plugs for a couple bucks each and save a ton of money.

 

But... but... the Powerpoint presentation said I'd get CRAZEE better mileage, and that women will think I'm 16% better looking if I use Iridium plugs. And I need all the help I can get!

I bought the truck knowing it needed some work. As part of my "let's just do everything now so we get a proper baseline" plan, a few extra bucks for "maybe better, maybe not" isn't really a concern. For comparison, the missing trim strip on the roof cost me $110 to replace. Maybe it's a waste, I dunno.

 

Just use stock. $30 a set. No problems. Your equation is off, it is: “maybe better, maybe not, maybe worse.” I can’t imagine any plug will be better unless you have forced induction, built high compression engine, etc..

 

Pull one plug on the opposite side and if its stamped NGK, then you know that the original plugs have never been changed.

 

I replaced the fancy plugs(

$44 NGK 6619 Iridium Spark Plugs LFR6AIX-11-6 PCSNEW

NGK LFR6AIX-11) with the plane old copper Denso plugs(K20HR-U11)
And my mpg went up...
As far as "I'm 16% better looking if I use Iridium plugs".... You mileage may very.

 

Stick with basic Denso copper base plugs with 30k mile change intervals.

Iridiums have been known to cause trouble in the V-6, 1GR-FE, engine.

 

FSM gap is about .040". In my 2nd gen, the gaps were about .060" after 31K. Hard to tell by just the photo. Was this plug from the driver or passenger side?

Denso Iridium Long Life plugs will let you increase the change interval from 30K to 100K, so it's great if you're lazy and don't want to spend more effort on maintenance than you have to. I did exactly that and didn't have any problems.

 

It was from the passenger side. Haven't pulled one on the driver's side yet, but that'll happen when I replace the plugs. Will be interesting to see if I've got the two-brand thing going on.

 

At the other end of the spark plug, sometimes there’s a stamping on it. If there is… they be original. May look something like this. Also buy oem plugs as others stated

 

I'll echo what everyone else has already said - stick with the OE style copper Denso plugs and change them at proper intervals.

RockAuto sells them as DENSO 3381 (which is an exact 1:1 cross-reference to K20HR-U11 and even says K20HR-U11 on the box) for $3/ea. O'Reillys has them local to me for $5/ea.

 

Passenger side is Denso from the factory, so your plugs were changed at least once.

 

FWIW, I got my plugs from the local Toyota dealer. IIRC, the 6 plug set was less than $15 with tax.

 

Hey Knute - So less than $2.50 each from a dealer, please pass on which dealer this was and when.

 

Wilson Toyota in Ames, IA.

Full story. I went to the local Autozone for plugs. The counter person was insisting that iridium was the correct plug. I had doubts because I had looked in the Owner's Manual and TW and RockAuto. Plus Autozone price was high in my opinion. So, I left. Slipped into the other 2 big box auto stores, received conflicting recommendations. WTH. Stopped at Toyota, figured they would know for sure. Bought a set from the Parts Counter at Toyota, basic Densos.

My cost is based in my memory, I did this work in August 2020. I'm sure prices have shifted since and many projects have crossed through my hands since then.

My point.....Check your local Toyota dealer. They get plugs by the case. Many Yotas use this plug. The big box auto stores have a wide focus on customers and limited vehicle details. The auto stores only know what their computer spits up......the data maybe incorrect.

 

so u say data maybe incorrect, does this pertain to the $15 set of 6 plugs??

 

Read carefully.

The data in the computer at the big box auto store.................... The counter jockeys at those places only know whats in the magic box. If the magic box has incorrect or incomplete data, then you are likely being led to the wrong part.

 

I got all six swapped out yesterday (big shout out to @chris4x4 for his great post on the steps). All six were the same and the gap was a consistent .052" on them.

When I got the air intake removed and set aside, I heard something rattling in there. It was acorns.

 

Leo.... you may need to consider a piece of hardware cloth over the air intake opening in the right front wheel wheel.

 

Better mpg too