Wrong plugs in my mini-beast

With the manual shift up as soon as you can with out lugging. You should be able to up shift somewhere around 1500 rpm, 2000max and pull down to 11 to 1200 before down shifting when not hauling or towing. Dont down shift to use engine braking when slowing unless you are hauling or towing someting heavy. Foot off the gas way before the stop, depress clutch, use the brakes, shift directly to the gear needed to accelerate or start from a stop. Not sure what the first gear ratio is but you maybe able to use second for most starts unless its too high a ratio and requires slipping the clutch to avoid chugging the engine. Let out the clutch smoothly with as little slip as possible and without revving the engine. A little practice with feeding gas and letting out the clutch and the rpm doesn't have to rise more that a couple hundred above idle for starting from a stop. Coordinate gas and clutch so that rpms closely match the next gear ratio, apply gas only after the clutch is fully engaged. The 4.0 in this application is tuned for low end torque. Use it and reap the benefits of higher mpg. Yeah it might require a few more up shifts but learning to use a manual smoothly and economically can be a matter of self satisfaction and pride.

 

Im getting 16mpg city with v6 auto and 19 highway 20 if I stay under 70 mph.

 

What load range tires are they? You stated all terrain with stock size but weight plays role as well.

You shift points and driving style play more of a role than anything.

 

14mpg is normal....

change your driving habits

from all the research I have done after my engine go boom I will never put 87 octane in the new engine. mid grade to premium only.

Toyota may say it's OK in a Tacoma but they say mid grade in other vehicles that have the SAME engine. I think the Toyota sneaks just said reg was OK so they could advertise better yearly fuel costs when selling the trucks.

 

What happened to your motor?

 

Clean your MAF Sensor.

 

good question....either: bad rockers, bad oil pump, semi hydrolocked it a long time ago, bent rod, bad bearing, ect etc.

all I truly know is compression in #6 is down and it knocks louder than a jack hammer

when time and money permit I will find out. for now it sits broken

 

could be a bad thermostat as well and about 1,000 other things

 

This, the plugs and a few other things are on my to do list for this weekend. I'll report back and we'll see where I'm at after the next tank.

I've been driving as smooth as possible from the moment I got the truck (not counting the half tank I burned off road). That's why I'm surprised about the mpg. Like I said, I'll let you guys know how it goes after some regular maintenance. Thanx for the help so far.

 

In all seriousness also do your diff like others have said. It's very cheap and very easy to do. I do mine every 15k.

 

It is not entirely stupid to put iridium plugs in your truck, although Toyota does put copper cores in your truck.... You wont notice any performance gain, but you do gain longer service intervals. Check your airfilter, change your oil, check tire pressures, and possible clean your MAF.

 

Due to a lack of funds the diff is gonna have to wait a couple weeks but it's on the list as well.

 

Change all your fluids it definitely helped mine I get 19-21 constantly and that's mixed driving v6 auto using 87 octane. Clean Maf and throttle body takes 30 min and a few dollars for the cleaning spray. There are really good write ups for everything I mentioned in the forums

 

Oh I'm sure 91 would have helped with the oil pump, bent rod from the hydrolock and the rod bearings.

 

4L gets copper plug 2.7L gets Iridium reread your manual.

 

Running the wrong spark plugs won't lower your mpg like that. The only difference between iridium plugs and standard plugs is the electrode is much smaller which allows for a stronger spark.

 

"Wrong plug" defined as incorrect for the engine, IE: wrong heat range, or insufficient projection into the chamber, can easily make a huge difference.


But no... there is no difference in performance between copper, platinum, or iridium.

 

Plugs every 30k non iridium...my understanding on the different plugs is that the heads are assembled at different plants...each plant has a different plug supplier...

 

They're all either NGK or Denso. It's not a supplier issue.

In some cases, it is an ease-of-access issue. Example, my 2006 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 specs copper. Plugs are right there in your face like a Harley.
2006 Vulcan 900 specs iridium. Plugs are on top of the heads. You have to lift the tank to get to the rear plug, and the front plug is tight.

 

Use factory Toyota sparks plugs for the best performance. end of story. my gas mileage sucked ass with aftermarket ngk plugs. never again. more expensive. use that money to buy more gas.