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

Why the ‘bleep’ do my 10mm & 12mm screws to start this project ALL shear off upon removal?!! WTF unbelievable…. Never seen this anywhere else on this rig.

 

Lefty Loosy ~ Righty Tighty

 

I changed the spark plugs on my 09 tacoma a couple of days ago. My truck has 210250. This is my fourth time changing the plugs. This is a great writeup on how to do it yourself. I just torque them down to where they are a bit snug. And also use anti seize lubricant. The only problem I had was that I stripped the bolt that holds down the coil on the driver side. it will tighten down but if I go past a certain point it starts spinng. Thank you Chris 4x4.

 

112k miles on the 2015 i have. going to do this soon. noticeable improvement on anything i should look out for? only changing because its recommended

 

and better throttle response/ engine performance.

 

Thanks for the response. I'll keep that in mind. @chris4x4 I see you did all Denso plugs is that what you'd recommend?

 

Just did mine at 90k miles, this was the third time they have been changed but the first time I did it myself.

The first 4 came out easily, the last two were tight. No metal from the head on the threads thank God.

One interesting thing is I pulled one of the new plugs back out on the tight cylinder and the sacrificial shiny coating was missing in a few spots. I didn’t use anti seize because denso recommends not to but I think I will pull those two plugs and replace them AGAIN with new ones with a dab of anti seize. The shiny coating missing means no protection from galvanic corrosion.

I’m a bit OCD about this stuff. Don’t want an issue doing it again in a few years.

 

A few weeks ago I picked up a 2015 Tacoma Limited with 70K miles. I changed the serpentine belt a few days ago and the spark plugs today. The belt was probably ok but now I don’t need to worry about it for a while. The plugs definitely needed a change.

• I’d guess they were the original plugs from the factory.
  • Four of the gaps were about 0.060”.
  • One was about 0.055”, the other closer to 0.065”.
  • They were half Denso, half NGK.
• I opted to do all six Denso copper plugs as the original post suggests, sourced from a Toyota dealer.
  • Four of these were gapped to 0.040”, two closer to 0.045” which I regapped to 0.040”.
• I did use anti seize paste.
  
  • Information is all over the place on this.
  • I opted to use the paste and reduce the torque value by 20%. Hopefully the engine doesn’t explode
  • I only had access to an in-lb wrench. In case anyone needs the information…
    • 15 ft-lb = 180 in-lb
    • I torqued to 80% of that, 144 in-lb.
• Things to note:
  • Really not much. The belt and plugs are pretty easy jobs if you have patience and the correct tools.
  • You’ll save a boatload of cash doing it yourself. If you don’t have the tools it’s better to invest in them than pay someone else to do this. A Toyota dealership quoted me $800 to do the plugs and $330 for the belt. That’s stupid money for this work.
    • The belt cost $75 from Toyota and took me about 30 minutes.
      
    • I had most of the tools for the plugs. Borrowed the torque wrench. I invested about $50 in the plugs, and anti sieze, & dielectric grease. It took about 2 hours, taking my time.
    • I’m a hobbyist at best.
  • You can borrow the torque wrench from AutoZone for just a refundable deposit. The rest of the tools are good ones to have in your toolbox.
    
  • The driver side is much more involved than the passenger side but it’s still not bad. You just need to remove a few extra bolts & clamps then work around some hoses. I’d do the driver side first. You’ll feel like a pro when you do the passenger side.

Old plugs with 70K miles on them.

 

First time changed plugs at 39,100 with DENSO K20HR-U11
Second time changed plugs at 78,434 with DENSO K20HR-U11
Forgot to check gaps in old plugs. I didn’t use anti-seize either time but did torque to 15lbs. Plugs came out fine. I did notice several electrical wire looms disintegrate when I touch them. Anyone have a good replacement before I just electrical tape everything?

 

I shoot Trap with an older guy (76) and he has a 2013 Tacoma V6 4.0L. He bought the truck new and has 220K miles on it now. He never has changed the spark plugs!

I offered to help him do the job after he got a quote from the dealership for $600.

The plugs came out without any issues and I honestly think they look good for the amount of miles. The gaps were all .060” +!


He’s all set and ready for the next 220K.

 

I got the Denso copper plugs for my next 30,000 mile change (210,000 miles), and the auto parts guy really put the hard sell on for iridium plugs. He basically told me I was an idiot for using copper plugs instead of iridium.

I got copper anyway

 

Just bought my truck in April with 121k mi on it and no record of plugs ever being done. Im assuming they've been done as all 6 are Denso but what do the people think? Never done spark plugs before.

Swapped with same same but will do copper next time.

Edit: Just realized these are copper. My dumbass...

 

Why go with copper Sparkplugs? Why not Ruthenium, Iridium, or Platinum?

 

So, I have a 2009 Toyota Tacoma Prerunner with 109500 miles. I'm about to switch out the spark plugs on this for the first time ever, I've never switched them out before. I've been reviewing a lot of resources on how to do this but was wondering do I need to apply white lithium grease to the inside spark plug coil boot as some Youtube videos suggest (other don't suggest it).

 

I use dielectric grease. Just a dab on the end of the boot where the plug goes in.

 

I know this is probably too late for your work, but I didn't add anything to mine. I've changed mine twice, and never had major issues with the boots, so I just left them as-is.