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

Those bolts hold the Valve Covers to the Head.

 

That's what I thought. Have never removed them myself, so I didn't want to say.

 

Yeah, I was looking beyond that.
On another note, while I was cleaning up and taking a closer look at the factory plugs, I saw the NGKs from the driver side had very small grooves in the center electrode that aligned with the ground electrode groove. These were still clearly visible after 30k. Pretty sure this was Toyota's attempt to reduce the dreaded Taco lean.

 

Today was plug day. after all the notes and how too's here i had everything i needed.Took a little over an hour for all 6 plugs being the first time. If i get my son to help next time i should be able to complete it in 30 minutes.
i know there are differing opinions on it but gave the threads a super light coat of anti-seize (one little dab that i then used a paper towel to remove most of)
Also used a dab of dielectric on the boots and a inch pound wrench to get them to (168 in/lbs)/ 14 ft/lbs.

Without the wealth of knowledge here i would have been a little anxious doing it the first time on the tacoma.
But compared to doing it on a 1990's series chrysler minivan this was a breeze)

 

have any of you noticed any difference in performance and/or gas mileage using "fancy" plugs? Other than longer life is there any reason at all to use iridium or any of the other higher priced types? Mine need to be replaced, it's been about 50,000 since I last did it (I'm at 130,000 right now) and I'm wondering if it's worth it to buy plugs that are twice as expensive as standard plugs?

I'm also assuming that Denso vs NGK is similar but has anybody used other brands?

 

First time doing it at 60k looks like previous owner never did them still OG pugs. And does the factory not use anti-seize cause they took some elbow grease to break loose..

And i couldn't find my torque wrench fml. So i just snugged them up.

Fyi you have to remove the air pump to access the intake tube to remove it. Its also nice to have a couple different extensions handy

 

I change the plugs in my wife's FJ Monday. Same engine as the Tacoma. She just passed 100K.

This write-up was a huge help. I had my laptop out there with me, with this thread pulled up for reference as needed. The passenger's side took about 15 minutes and overall it took me less than an hour. The biggest help was having a good tool list. I only had to go back to get a universal joint. I took the engine cover off and unlatched the filter housing. Otherwise, the only thing I had to actually undo was the vent hose next to the surge tank stay. I just worked around everything else. The U-joint was just to reach the center / driver's side coil bolt. I ended up not even needing the 12mm socket.

Here's the tools I used:



The tiny screwdriver helped undo the coil plugs and the light with a magnetic bottom was a huge help. I purchased the Gearwrench plug socket that somebody suggested and its awesome. It uses a magnet and is attached to the extension with a swivel. Its much easier to use than my older rubber grommet sockets.

 

Iridiums have longer life, reducing required change intervals. That is all. The only kinds of performance improvements you will see regardless of plug type or brand is by replacing them when the gap exceeds specified tolerances in the manual.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-truth-about-spark-plugs.152726/

 

For what it's worth, I had one of those disk gauges once, and when compared to wire gauges, the disk is hopelessly inaccurate. I threw mine in the trash. Go buy a good wire gauge.

 

Thanks chris4X4 for the post. I replaced the plugs with the NGK ones - why - IDK - random choice on Amazon. I'll report back in 30K miles and let you know if these gap/wear faster. The Denso's I pulled were ~.045 - so worn, but looked good. Gapped the new plugs to .040 with a wire gap tool. The things were about .045+ in the box.

While I had the patient open, I cleaned the MAF and Throttle Body as well to keep the engine doing it's job efficiently.

I bought the MAF spray cleaner at the auto parts store. Unscrewed it, removed the module, cleaned it, and replaced it. Simple.

I bought a can of spray throttle body cleaner and pulled the four throttle body bolts (left it hooked up to the coolant hoses), and cleaned it and the intake surface with a toothbrush + rags, being careful not to trash the o-ring gasket to the intake manifold. Bolted it back up.

While re-assembling, I noticed a cut in a wire (green with black stripe) to what looks to be to be a water temp sensor, right next to the connector. Meh. I pulled the connector, completed the cut (~3mm from the connector - how nice) before it broke on it's own on the road. I then pulled apart the connector (used a paper clip), soldered new wire on as a pig tail, and shrink wrapped that joint, and put the connector back together. Then I used a Raychem SolderGrip Heat Shrink Butt Splice (those things are sweet) to solder it back to the loom, and electrical taped it all up for good measure + anti chafing/recurrence.

Truck idles nicely, runs fine. But it ran fine before too. Maybe I'll get more miles per tank - certainly won't get less. Regardless, I'm a believer in maintenance. Now I'm off to replace the coolant...

The spark plug change and MAF + Throttle Body cleaning is an easy job that takes a couple hours if you are not in a rush (an hour if you are and have done it before).

 

thought id take a second and give a thanks for the write. Many of us know how to change plugs, but its the little tips, what to remove, etc that make it worth while.

Id like to add, follow the recommended mileage guidelines for changing, forgot what they are though, 30k i think. I changed many plugs in my life, but never seen plugs so worn down at 70k miles. they were gapping around 0.055-0.06

 

Replaced mine today, truck has 240k miles and they looked original, NGK on one side and Denso on the other. They came out rather easy with the steps listed here. It ran good before, should run really good now. Also cleaned the throttle body while it had it apart.

 

Holy crap, there's nothing left! Should make a huge difference!

From the FSM:

Electrode gap 1.0 to 1.1 mm (0.039 to 0.043 in.)
Maximum electrode gap 1.46 mm (0.057 in.)

 

didn't know plugs could last 240K. Did you happen to measure the gap?

 

They were between .085 and .095

 

I have both types, and I prefer the wire type. Both of mine are the Kastar brand, and the wire gauge has a .041 wire.

 

I'm getting ready to do mine for the second time (60,000 miles). I removed the air pump the first time around, and it was a PITA. I think this time around I'm just going to loosen the clamp and pull the air cleaner but leave the tube in place. The FSM for 2013 procedure for removing the air cleaner and throttle body says to do that.

 

The air pump pissed me off so much I pulled the whole thing out and modified it with a hammer and replaced the long bolt with a shorter one.

 

Clarkson School for the Mechanically Challenged.