Correct Spark Plug Gap, 2002, 27L

Hi,

I'm getting conflicting information on the correct gap for a 2.7L. In the 2002 Toyota Repair Manual, Volume 2, page IG-2 it says the correct electrode gap is 0.8mm (0.031in.) On the NGK site when I put in my Tacoma information it shows a gap of 0.044 in. One of the threads on here shows 0.041-0.043. I will be using NGK 5464 BKR5EIX-11 Iridium IX Plugs. Is there a definitive gap to use? There seems to be quite a bit of difference between the factory recommendation and the NGK/Tacoma World Thread recommendation.

Thanks,
John

 

It's a Japanese auto. Stick with metric for better precision. Tacoma 2.7L 2TRFE Spark Plug gaps can range from 1 mm to 1.1 mm. My '05 Taco was running like it had a diesel engine in it. When I took out my original plugs after 250K miles, the gaps were around 1.25mm.

I do the metric with air pressure too in pascals. PSI seems imprecise. The air pressure recommendation in Pascals has just a little bit more pressure. When I used PSI for measuring air pressure, the tires felt underinflated and gas milage was a tad lower. The Taco rides better when you do everything on it with metric.

Taking out the plugs in the Taco was a no brainer. If you don't mind changing your plugs sooner, get the cheaper copper ones and change the plugs every 30k. Copper is ductile and you can gap them with no damage to the plug. But if you gap the iridium plugs, you run the risk of chipping the brittle metal and then you'd have to purchase another plug and those iridium plugs are ridiculously expensive. The official device you gap these iridiums with is a precision instrument and is also way overpriced.

Here's how to gap them using the risky method.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D7FZfrVgAQ

Here's how racing professionals gap them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT5t7mrL-fQ