Spark Plug Change Interval

The ONLY reason given on that site not to use anti seize was

"Anti-seize can act as a lubricant, altering torque values up to 20 percent"

The same applies for people who use locktite on threads or anything that can act like a lubricant.

If you know what you are doing and reduce the torque as I do there is no issue.

They are only trying to limit their liability for people who do not know what they are doing and lather on the ant-seize, then torque the plugs to spec and strip the threads.

I follow the recommended change intervals for plugs (in my case 30 K miles) but if I had the 100,000 mile plugs they would be in their for over 15 years or more.

And that "smarter than a Toyota engineer" oil change interval doesn't apply to all situations... I only drive 4000 miles a year now that I am retired. I am NOT going to dump perfectly good 5w30 synthetic at 6 months and only 2000 miles on the oil. I do it once a year now and that still exceeds the toyota severe service interval for mileage. I even try to combine my trips so that in total its at least 25 miles so the oil has a chance to heat up and boil off any condensation.

Remembers its the Toyota Engineers who recommend changing the rear diff lube at something like 30 or 60 thousand miles. This is what it looks like at 3000. You are more than welcome to believe the smarter engineers and leave that wear metal eating away at bearings and seals... I am not.




Remember the sludgeomatic 3.0 V6

http://www.toyotaproblems.com/oil-sludge/

Follow the smarter toyota engineers oil change interval and you had a ruined engine. They make mistakes also.

 

Change out the break in plugs at 500 miles, then every 10k after that for optimal performance

 

Yep, your rusted out frame wasn't toyota's fault... You chose to actually drive your truck so its yours

 

I changed my plugs just shy of the 96,000km recommended interval. I found all my plugs were tight and in good working condition. I also decided to remove the upper intake to make the job easier on myself. I found the intake runners clean and free of contamination and I don't use an oil seperator.

 

Haven't actually looked at a 3rd gen? Is it that much easier with manifold removed? Fairly simple on the 2nd gen 4.0. i hear one generation of the Tundra you have to remove the intake to change the starter..

My sister has a new BMW X5 with the inline 3.0L 6 cylinder.. They located the timing chain at the back of the engine. I know timing chains are generally very reliable but that just doesnt sound good...

And in my university days I worked in the computer department at the GM engine plant in St. Catherine's Ontario. At the time they were building the 2.8 litre V6 used in a lot of the front wheel drive cars.. They had one on an engine stand and I commented that with all the covers and arrangement of parts that it looked like it would be hard to service.. One of the engineers commented "we didn't design it to be serviceable, we designed it to look good" .. So keep that in mind when you thing the engineers really care about design.

 

To be fair, rusted out frames really is due to people driving around on salted slush roads and not rinsing off and caring for their frame afterwards. Toyota's don't have a single problem with rust down here in the south where we don't salt our roads. Toyota was nice enough to take care of these people when any vehicle subjected to those conditions would rust.

 

And Dana who made the frames paid 25 million to Toyota to settle the frame issue.
Sounds like it was more than just a user issue if the manufacturer of the frames is paying out???

https://www.reuters.com/article/retire-us-dana-idUSTRE70B7KZ20110112

 

Weird how it's only an issue for people that live in salted road states / the "Salt Belt".

Any C-Channel frame will rust in those conditions.

Toyota was nice enough to not tell people to kick rocks and started replacing frames for free to stand by their product. Toyota then sued Dana who settled outside of court to help subsidize the choice Toyota made to offer free frame replacements.

 

Living in Toro

Living in Toronto I know to well the effect of salt on every part of a car and we both agree on that. I have mine Krown oil sprayed every year and after 8 years the frame is in terrific shape..

The issue was not that the early frames rusted (they all will). Its that they rusted out prematurely and the quality and treatment of the frames from Dana was the issue.

If there was no manufacturing issue with the frames Dana wouldn't have paid out a cent

Greasy side after 7 Toronto winters and regular krown oil sprays

 

That's not at all how civil lawsuits work. It is not a criminal case and is not held to the same "beyond a shadow of a doubt" standard of evidence but to a "preponderance of the available evidence" standard. This is why a vast majority (greater than 95%) of all civil suits are settled outside of court. It's much cheaper to settle than to incur all the legal expenses to fight a potentially losing legal battle (very easy to win in civil court). Settling a civil suit is not admitting guilt, not even close.

 

Its recommended to pull the intake for the 3rd gen as well. Some people say you can change without pulling the top. I found that pulling the top was easier than having to work around it. And then I had to walk to the hardware store when I realized my socket extensions wouldn't reach the bottomless pits they buried the dang plugs in.


Hoo boy, I sure can't wait for the next 60k interval.

 

This is why you can never have nice things.

 

Found this spark plug socket works very will compared to the ones with the rubber insert that grips the spark plug.. Magnet is very strong and no risk of plug falling out of socket... And its has a flexible joint at extension/socket end.

$10 GEARWRENCH 3/8" Drive 6 Pt. 5/8" x 6" Magnetic Swivel Spark Plug Socket - 80546

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0014ZVSVK?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

Well
".. An ounce of practice is generally worth more than a ton of theory..""
I've changed plugs without any issues on the the Toyota engine well past recommended intervals.
On the other note, 2gr-fks interval is to short and plugs can go up to 80-90k miles before replacing in my opinion.

 

My local Lexus dealer had a better price than the local Toyota dealer. Some Toyota dealers on eBay have them for around $100 a set too.

 

Toyota engineers also have to listen to corporate. The automatic transmission never needs to have the fluid change because it is “life of the transmission fluid ”. But no one with Toyota can define what the life of a transmission should be. My guess is up to the end of the warranty period. Engineers work for the manufacturer not the consumer.

 

Having a magnetic socket is definitely something I would recommend over the rubber style retainer. If you drop the plug into the plug hole, you will bend the electrode, that's a long drop!!!

I just happen to have a Snap-On socket from working on Natural Gas engines. Milwaukee also just released a magnetic sparkplug socket too.

As @Rock Lobster mentioned removing the intake makes removing the driver's side plugs much easier to get to. You could reuse the gasket but it was cheap enough at the dealership, I just replaced it.

 

Exactly. Even though my existing snows had like 40% tread on them they were 8 years old. Gave then to a friend how will use them on his farm. So easy to read the new DOT code to determine date of manufacture. And you can check it when buying tires to ensure you are not getting stale ones.

 

Read this and then decide if you still believe in the "smarter engineers" who came up with the idea of a sealed transmission and lifetime fluid...

And in truth I think the EPA is partly to blame because they wanted manufacturers to reduce the volume of used fluids.

And I have nothing against engineers. Have 5 of them of various types in extended family.. (chemical, mechanical, nuclear power, computer science)
But i have know practical hands on engineers as well as those that want to be nothing but paper pushers.

In nearly 30 years of study, engineers John Eleftherakis and Ibrahim Khalil defined the failure modes of automatics due to contaminants and determined the typical types and allowable amounts of contaminants. The results of those studies have been published in various Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) technical papers since 1990.


https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/129-1002-automatic-transmission-and-power-steering-filters/


And this is the reason I run a magnefine in both the trans fluid cooler loop and the return line in my PS.




And yes, it's the crazy theory about why I use it, And this theory is Right