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

Well, he is a drunkensloth... I'm amazed he finished at all!

 

LOL!

 

Hey... Don't exaggerate... I started in December thank you very much

 

I'm proud of myself

 

I just finished doing mine and am extremely happy with the results. Bought my Taco with 48K miles and had always wondered if the OG owner had ever replaced the plugs so at 53K I did them myself. The OG had NOT done them and I feel a noticeable difference in how smooth it runs now. The Densos looked a little worn but the NGK side were just plain done. Took me 1 1/2 hours start to finish including putting away all tools and closing the the garage up. Thanks to Chris4X4 for taking the time to create "The Idiots Guide To Plug Changing" thread as it certainly helped me out.....

 

Just did mine for the first time today 78000 miles. (Yea I know way over due the gap on the old plugs was .06 )

Thanks chris4x4 for the writeup

 

OMG dude- How does the engine feel now?? Did clean the throttle body and reset the EFI system??

 

Yea cleaned throttle body and MAF also. Hell if ran nice and smooth before now you can't tell its running except for the exhaust rumble

 

And how do I reset the EFI system?

 

Ok thanks. Thats what I though just wanted to make sure

 

I'm on deck in about 2000 to 3000 miles...should be a good time.

On a related note: I love my DD Corolla. Plug change interval on that thing is 120,000 mi. Every 30,000mi on the Taco is almost a pain in the ass.

 

Did this today. Pictures and "how to" walked me through everything! Super easy on the passenger side, tricky on the driver side. This was my first time ever changing spark plugs and i thought it went nice and smooth. Right after i was done i started the truck up and heard a loud air blowing noise, got a little paranoid at first, then i looked at the vent hose, forgot to put the hose back on the vent valve. Haha. Put the hose back in and every things good!

Thanks to the community here at TW on helping me and other taco owners save money on maintenance issues! Saved about 150 bucks today!!

 

Did mine today. Took about 90 minutes start to finish working at a relaxed pace.

A few notes:

- If running TRD Cold-Air (Old Version), removal of the air intake assembly and engine cover is unnecessary. Nice, saves a little time.

- Unclipping the VSV connector and its cable bracket isn't technically necessary. There is clearance to work around them if you have sufficiently girly fingers (apparently I do).

- I feel Toyota may have overtorqued my factory plugs. They took a LOT more force to break loose than to torque the new ones into place, although since Toyota did not appear to use anti-seize from factory either, this simply may have been lack of lube. Before anyone asks: I had my torque wrench calibrated less than a month ago, I know it is accurate. (EDIT: Chris4x4 has since informed me that crush gaskets often do this. Likely nothing to worry about.)

- All 6 new plugs (Denso, part # in Chris's OP) were gapped at the top end of the tolerance out of the box (.043 to .044). Since plug electrodes corrode with time and therefore widen the gap, I opted to close all the gaps to .040. I note this because the parts guy at the dealership said "These are pre-gapped, you won't need to adjust them or check them or anything". I replied that I always check part tolerances, but thanks for his input.

Glad I checked. So I don't care what ToMoCo says, check your gaps before install.


Tools:

- 3/8 drive ratchet
- 3/8 drive torque wrench (0 to 80lb)
- 5/8 spark plug socket, 3/8 drive
- 12mm socket, 3/8 drive
- 10mm socket, 1/4 drive
- 3/8 to 1/4 drive adapter
- 10" 3/8 drive extension
- 6" 3/8 drive extension (two)
- New Plugs
- Anti-seize

The plugs look excellent. It would seem that my 1GR is very happy and should have a nice long lifespan
Gaps were a little wide (.047 across the board except for a single NGK at .048), but not horrible.

 

Very nice write up. Dealer wanted $175 for this job. HAHAHAHA..
I'm about 200 miles close to 30K so I'm getting the plugs next weekend. This is as easy as my 1985 corolla.

So does everyone who read this go with Denso K20HR-U11 which is whats on the owners manual? Whats wrong with

$10 NGK LFR6C11 NGK (7787) LFR6C-11 V-Power Spark Plug, Pack of 1

NGK LFR6C11?

 

If you go to the dealer and ask for plugs for a Tacoma with the 4.0 then Denso plugs is what you'll get.

 

Technically nothing. But Denso is a Toyota company, for one, and I prefer to give them my money.

Also, the Densos I pulled out of my engine the other day had better gaps than the NGKs after use, suggesting they hold their spec longer.