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

thank you so much for posting this.

 

Hey guys, "long time listener, first time caller"

this post was super helpful. changed mine out for the first time on my own. got tired of the dealership prices for $20 of parts and 1 hour of time.

160k miles and from what i can tell, no dealership/garage ever bothered to change the NGK plugs on the driver side, just the Denso's on the passenger side. yeah it's a pain, but it shouldn't be an issue for what those places charge. For the first time in it's life we're running on 6 fresh, brand consistent plugs.

anyways, everything went well thanks to this walk-through however i am now noticing a very low, bellowing noise (WHOOM-WHOOM-WHOOM-WHOOM) when it shifts to 5th in between 40-50mph. no issues in any other gears. all plugs gapped between .040 and .042

any advice is appreciated.

 

Replaced mine today. 33k on them. Avg gap on the ones I took out was .055

 

Changed mine out today didn't have a spark plug wrench so I used a magnet and a piece of fuel line

 

WTF?!?!?!

Decided to change out the plugs yesterday (at 55k) and came across something I never would have expected. I did the passenger side first and then the driver's side (a PITA and, in fact, I had to remove a couple of other pieces beyond what the OP had suggested).

Anyhow, When I got to the last spark plug I noticed I was having difficulty seating the spark plug socket on the spark plug. I spent probably 10 minutes trying to get the socket on and finally accepted that it wasn't going on. I grabbed a flashlight and took a look and saw what I thought at first was plastic or styrofoam. I wondered what in hell it was doing there, and how it got there.

The more I thought about it the more I realized that styrofoam and plastic just didn't make sense. I then took my phone and was able to get some close up pics and it was then I realized that it was ceramic pieces. I took an air compressor and was able to blow all the pieces out and replace the final plug.

What in the world would cause something like this to happen? This is the first plug change. Has anyone else ever experienced such a thing and, is there the potential for damage?

 

The only thing I could think of is that spark plug got over torqued at the factory

 

Thanks for the write up! Changing these plugs was a piece of cake compared to my '06 F-150.

The previous 2 owners of my 09 Tacoma had never changed the plugs so with 176,016 miles I decided to change them. One side was Denso and the other was NGK both with about a .80 gap.

 

Just changed mine out after way too long...a little embarrassed to say. anyways, 5 of the 6 look to have normal wear and tear on them (albeit an abundance due to their overuse), but one looks far worse than the others (far left/second photo). On a cross country trip recently, I had a misfire/code on that particular cylinder which i bandaged with a new coil spring to get me home. Wondering, do the condition of these plugs indicate anything additional that I should be worried about/look into? thanks!

 

NGK on drivers and Denso's on passenger? That's how they come from that factory. Why they come from the factory like that is anyones guess, but a lot of people on here have reported the same results including myself. Wow, 160k on factory plugs!,! No wonder you now have WHOOM, WHOOM. Bet the truck runs much better?

 

it definitely seems to run better. when the NGKs finally came out they look like somebody had colored them with a black sharpie

as for the noise - i've seen on some posts with similar issues on a 4runner site and other Tacoma site that seem to suggest it may be the Front Differential or a wheel bearing. I must admit that i do not know when the last time the front diff fluid was changed.

Just seems peculiar that the noise didn't show up until i changed the spark plugs. there aren't any 'check engine' lights on, and the truck seems to be running just fine, but it's not a sound one would think, "that's what i want to hear coming from the engine compartment of this metal bullet i am driving at 50mph." Am i just paranoid?

 

Not at all.. get the differentials changed and transfer case if 4x4. if 4x4, get tthe u joints greased too. I cant imagine the prior owner doing those if original plugs in there at your mileage.

Good luck man

 

I change my plugs today..hard work.

 

Great write up. Having everything ready from your list made the job go quick, under an hour and a half.

A 1/4 6" and an extra 3/8 6" is all I added to make the job really simple.

 

Awesome write up. Thanks!

 

OK I didn't read all 93 pages, how do you keep the spark plug from falling out of the socket? Is that a dumb question?

 

You use a spark plug socket. Some have rubber to grab the porcelain insulator and some have a metal clip in the shape of a "V".

 

Thanks

 

Just changed my spark plugs today with the denso tt sparkplugs on all 6. Started the truck and noticed there was a check engine line and it idles differently and inside the cab I feel like the truck is shaking when idling.. Did I do anything wrong?

 

I have a 2006 2.7L with about 38,000 miles, which makes it 10 years old. The owners manual says to change the spark plugs at 100,000 miles or 144 months = 12 years. I called Toyota and they said it's OK to let them go 12 years if I don't reach 100,000 miles. I was going to change them next week, with these OEM from Ebay for $24 = $6 each here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272250649946?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT