Replace plugs every 30k?

Did mine at 30000,60000,90000 and I will do at 120000,150000,180000,210000,240000,270000,300000,330000,360000,390000. Too easy to NOT do.

 

Really? Scroll down to page 24. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...OYHPjhuVnlTFuuArw&sig2=2H4iPv5BrZfqlM2ayQM24A

That said, I just swapped out a set of Iridiums in my rig with 80,000 miles on them. The gap had opened up to .055 on some of them, but I run my motor harder than most.

 

What is the interval on the 4 cyl and is it as critical for engine performance as the 6?

 

No sir. 80K miles of WOT. Let me put it this way, I installed them in Germany in 2006 and hit the autobahn. I traveled through 18 countries from the Arctic Circle (Finland) to North Africa, shipped it to the states and did a couple baja trips, desert runs every weekend in SoCal, snow wheelin' the Sierra Nevada's, baking in Death Valley, and crawling the Oregon cascades before changing them 7 years later. No issues. Even running on pemex hand pumped out of a 55 gallon drum, or old two stroke race gas (I almost made it!), it ran fine. Sure, the motors are not mechanically identical, but they are functionally identical. Run Iridiums and quit wasting money.

 

The V6 uses copper plugs which the gap widens from the fuel detonation and burning. The wider the gap the poorer the spark and the fuel will not burn as well in the cylinder giving you less power. The Engineers at Toyota have determined to keep the engine running at its Optimum Performance they need to be replaced at 30K miles.

The only plugs that are rated for 100K are the Iridium Tipped plugs. The only reason they will last that long as iridium is Very Hard Dense and corrosive resistant.

 

Hmmm, trying to remember when I replaced the plugs on my last truck... oh, that's right, never! 230k miles, original plugs!

 

The following two quotes explain exactly why. I was going to say the same as them, but they beat me to it.

I want to make a comment about something, but if I misunderstood your post, let me know. The iridium plugs are NOT the only plugs rated to 100k miles. The platinum tips have been around longer than the iridium, and the platinum tip plugs are also rated to 100k miles. I actually run platinum tips in my 2.7 and have no issues with them at all.

 

The 2.7 4 cylinder engine does not recommend replacement of the sparkplugs till 120,000 miles or 144 month (12 years) according to the 2012 owners manual. There is no severe use listing for the maintenance manual, just mileage and time intervals. It is their instructions to you to use as a guide line to prolong the life of your Taco. It is your choice to choose when to change your plugs, Toyota is just telling when they think it should be done.

 

It's either 100k or 120k, the owner's manual will tell you.

 

I just checked and this the case for the 2013 owners manual as well -- 120k spark plug change for the 2.7.

Are they a different type of plug? Or is the difference because of the much lower power of the 2.7?

 

They use different plugs.

 

The 2.7 uses platinum plugs. Different interval.

 

I'm not going to quote anybody because I don't want to cause any embarrassment, but why don't people look at their owners manuals?

There really shouldn't be any question about when to do what, toyota spells out the maintenance schedule very clearly, better than some other manufacturers I've seen.

If you haven't done it you should also be signed up for the toyota owners site, it keeps track of all maintenance done at a dealer automatically and also lets you enter any DIY stuff you've done. It also has the entire maintenance schedule.

 

I looked in my Owners manual and couldn't find anything on scheduled maintenance. What page is it on? Is it in the big book or a separate one?

I know it sounds like a dumb question, but I flipped through the big manual and couldn't find it anywhere, just a section on "Do it yourself maintenance".

 

Checked mine at 30K still looked good. Checked again at 60K and still wasn't bad. Went on ahead and replaced them, can't tell much difference in idle or performance. Maybe it has to do with my driving is mostly highway miles and not a lot of stop and go.

 

Well I learned something today. I didn't know the platinums were ever rated to 100K. Or maybe I did know and just don't remember that I did. The only vehicle I owned with Platinum Plugs was was one of the first version Toyota Space Vans back in the early 1980's.

 

Pics of your Space Van?

 

It is long gone but this is what it looked like:

The engine is under the front seats.

 

Hard to tell which is the front and which is the back....lol

 

It was a great van, we bought it when my wife was pregnant. Great for trips. We disposed of it at 200K miles and it was still like new.