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

Did mine last night. Started on the drivers side, it was actually easy. The hardest part was the wiring harness on the the first coil. Other thank that, ez pz.
I used Denison iridium IKH20.

 

Nice write up.

 

I echo the sentiments in this thread. Thank you for the write up. Helps scaredy cats like me take action on the simpler things in the world of tacoma maintenance. Cheers.

 

Just changed mine today. Still had the original ones in at 120k. Anyways afterwards I realized I didn’t use any dielectric grease on the coil pack boots. Is it worth taking the coil packs out and putting some in? or should I just wait 30k miles when I change them again.

 

No, or I should say I don’t think it’s needed, I don’t use the stuff on cop setups. The coil is a sorta spring loaded connection to the plug so not needed, in my opinion. If you’re working on a older distributor ignition, then yes, but I still don’t. In my opinion, anti seize on the plug threads is far more important.

What I learned in here is there is no apparent correct way to do it. Everyone has their opinion, everyone is right, everyone has always done it their own way.

What dielectric grease is really good for is oring seals. Brake caliper pistons, slave cylinder pistons, anywhere an oring contacts metal.

 

My tacoma is starting better and runs a lot smoother, throttle response is greatly improved. I haven't checked the mpg yet but will soon. I have some time now to get the denso plugs for the next change at 120000km.

 

Last time the plugs were changed was warranty, been 60,000 miles since them. Hopefully they used anti seize but I'll find out tommorrow if they did or not.
Haven't used dialetic on this rig, didn't seem like there was any need for the coils. Different story on the 37' & 38' Fords.

 

I did my spark plug change today on my 2011 and it went smoothly. This thread and a few youtube videos both helped speed it up and made sure I was prepared beforehand with all the right tools and some tricks to help get to some of those tricky coil pack connectors off (front drivers side especially). Took me about 1 hour and 15 minutes or so to do the job with a few interruptions not including setup and picking up my tools after I finished. Passenger side was literally 15 minutes and the drivers side gave me a bit of trouble getting front coil pack connector off and bottom bracket bolt was stuck so had to use a 1/2in drive breaker bar with a 12mm impact socket I had handy. Compressing the front drivers side coil pack connector clip with my finger and nudging the connector off gently with a flat head was the trick. My plugs were at about 40k or bit more actually because never had my odo recalibrated after going to 33s. Gaps weren’t terrible but out of spec for sure all were about .048-.049. Gapped the new plugs at .040. In my pic of the the plugs the drivers side are all labeled right as far as back, middle and front. Back drivers side plug had a bit of what appeared to be oil/dampness on threads and other two drivers side plugs bit darker on the threads than the passenger side, but all the passenger side plugs were about the same wear/appearance and wear across all 6 was about identical with electrodes looking clean and normal to me other than the gaps over spec on all 6. Anyone ever find out why the back drivers side plug always seems to be have the dirtier threads?

The two things I did not do was add anti seize to plug threads or any dielectric or lithium grease to the tips of the boots. Boots seemed fine for over 10 years old and I was afraid anti seize would possibly make me over torque the plugs. From now on they are coming out right at every 30k interval so I don’t foresee an issue getting them out.

All I can say is what a difference. My truck seems to start better and idle better. Took it for a cruise and acceleration and shifting seem so much better and smoother with more power. Took it on the highway and its no longer a dog trying to merge with the RPMs going way up and just getting louder then a sudden jump in acceleration. Accelerates much better and shifts smoother while keeping RPMs much lower than before. I think my computer likes it lol . Excited to see how much my mileage improves around town and on the highway when I’m not towing the boat!

Now onto the diffs and transfer case tomorrow…

 

Changed my plugs and this is how the old ones looked. Should I be worried? The driver side has oil residue on them by the crush washers and base of the porcelain.

 

I’m not sure why, but drivers side especially the plug closest to the cab is known for a bit more oil residue. Seen it in several threads. I’d say it depends on on how many miles you have on them and the condition of passengers side also. My drivers side was a lot darker than passengers side when I just changed them at 160k after 40k run time especially the plug closest to firewall. Tips of your plugs look ok to me. I’m no expert, but you probably just had them in a bit too long.

 

Yeah I just did a deep dive after posting this. Sounds pretty common. Thanks for chiming in. I had them in for a little over 30k miles.

 

which of these spark plugs would be best? I'm not sure if the OE Denso plugs are iridium or platinum. Do any of them have any practical benefits over the others? Looking to try this job out soon!

 

Neither. The factory plugs for the 1 GRFE engine are regular resistor plugs not iridium or platinum which is why replacement interval is 30k. Get them from a local dealer I paid $32 a few weeks ago for all 6 plugs and check the gaps they were not all pre gapped to spec as they say. I gapped them all at .040 and my truck is running great. I couldn’t find the Denso plugs the factory uses at any auto parts stores. The 4 cylinder engine does run irridiums. But don’t put them in the V6 lot of guys saw decreased fuel economy or were throwing codes. Factory spec for these plugs and the engine is happy!

 

Just changed these at 50K miles out of my 2015 pre-runner. most gapped at .50 which isn't bad i guess. There's a bit of dried oil on the ceramic though, should I be worried?

 

I’d say normal for 50k. First change at 50k or 50k since your last spark plug change? The recommended interval is 30k so you changed them 20k after the recommended interval 2/3 away from double the recommended interval. Your gaps were quite a bit over factory spec which is .039-.044 so your engine was not running optimally. Probably just carbon buildup on the ceramic they look fine to me for the mileage just do them closer to 30k next time. I bet your truck is running way better and your gas mileage is improving!

 

2nd change to my knowledge? I bought the truck with 34K miles on it, changed it myself at 65K, then just yesterday at 115K. I think i was motivated by recent gas prices to change them again ($40/day in Socal just to go to work ($5.50 gal, 120mile commute)! I was getting 17.5mpg, when I used to be able to get 19, so I figured i'd do spark plugs this weekend, then clean throttle body and maf sensor.

 

I don't know if this was mentioned earlier in the thread, but I hear that you should NOT use anti-sieze on silver threaded spark plugs as they already have anti seizing coatings applied to them?

It seems that the torque values will change when using anti-seize vs when not, so I am not sure what the torque spec should actually be for "lubricated" threads.

 

i'm in a bit of a bind here. My plug socket is stuck to the new plug, and I can't retrieve it. I'm trying with a pair of needle nose pliers, but it can't get a good enough grip to disconnect the socket from the plug...

I had some tape on the socket, connected to the extender, as pictured in the instructions to prevent this, but I guess it wasn't enough.

Any ideas on how to proceed?

 

Two things:
Try back pedaling on the socket, it might break free.
Try changing the orientation of the extension. Often a socket has a deeper divet in one of the locations which allows the little ball to seat better.
Take the spark plug out and figure out what might work best.

 

I could be mistaken, but the torque values are for "lubricated" threads.