First plug change at 210k miles

Replaced belt yesterday since it was missing a rib.

Funny the dealership didn't mention it.

Found my exhaust leak. Cat flange gasket let go

 

Made it to Nags Head. 1000 Mike trip and truck is doing great.

 

Except you're missing the Gas Tank Fill Door.

 

Blew the door off a while a go

 

...and it's a triple very bad day when the ancient spark plug takes the threads in the aluminum cylinder head with it when you remove one. been there. Only good thing to come out of it was not having a heart attack when the new plug wouldn't screw in and I immediately knew why.... Expensive event. Even at $40 per plug it's cheaper than what it cost me that day to tow the car and get it repaired.

Pull and replace them at 100k: Max ...and only do it on an aluminum head engine that is overnight cold.

 

Re: 1,000,000 oil change:

("whether they need it or not...")

 

My 420 never got new plugs, its been around for 20 years now.
My KDX has factory plug since 97, starts up second kick just like my 91 does with its second plug and the first plug I still have.
My 69 JD 140 has the oem plug in it at 54 years.

all have aluminum heads and never stripped them from checking the gap

 

The guy that had 1.6 million miles on his Tacoma changed his spark plugs at 700k, not saying it’s a good thing but just saying.

He recently pass away tho, RIP Mike Neal.

 

I like how this thread was dead for four years, then leapt back to life yesterday, mid-conversation, as if nothing had happened.

In honor of this, I'll contribute the following, which took place also around four years ago: I changed my plugs as part of a head gasket job, at 180k miles (but less than 10k since buying it). Pretty sure they were original -- half NGK, half Denso. And they looked... honestly not that bad! Truck ran fine... even with the head gasket going out (which hadn't yet caused any problems, I tore into it as soon as I saw even the tiniest bubbles emerging in the tank).

I don't remember exactly what the gaps were, but I'm pretty sure they were only slightly out of spec. Maybe like 46-48. If they were wildly worn I would have written the numbers down.

Wish I had a better photo, but I don't. Here they are:



The back one was gummed up a bit from the head gasket issue.

I definitely replaced them. But not bad for 180k miles on regular ol' plugs. No perceivable change in performance.

 

Those look better than mine did, thanks for the info

 

I've repaired quite a few seized spark plugs, and you're correct, it's no fun. Motorcycles that sit out in the weather can and do have that happen to them. The answer isn't to pull them annually, that's just work. No decent mechanic would ever recommend that approach. They use anti-sieze if it's a concern, it's what the product was designed for and it works very well. Taking them out annually just to ensure they aren't seized is akin to digging a hole just to fill it up. Spend $10 on AS and do the job correctly once when the plugs are new. Work smart not hard.