Spark Plug Replacment - P0300, P0305, P1300

So this weekend I was changing spark plugs and was surprised to find this. The plug on the left was the cylinder 5 plug. Yes....that's what it looked like when I took it out.



The guy I bought the truck from said it had a cylinder 5 misfire and now I know why. When I took the plug out I found those 2 pieces in the spark plug shaft. One came out with the spark plug and the other I had to fish out, luckily I was able to get it without it falling into the cylinder. Any idea what the pieces are? Hardened carbon? Maybe they fell in the shaft the last time someone changed the plug and they didn't realize it? They are not metal as they didn't stick to a magnet.

Anyway....6 new Denso double ground plugs are in, codes cleared, and I ran it for 45min in my driveway and no codes have come back yet. Not able to drive it yet as I don't have plates on it. That'll be the next step now that it looks like I don't need to do more extensive engine work.

 

Well... those missing bits had to go somewhere... I mean hopefully just got blown out the exhaust port... Sounds like you're lucky it's running, but I'd suggest some further diagnostics before giving it a clean bill of health.

 

Agreed. A compression and leak down test is on my agenda.

The guy said he had a friend "who works at Toyota" replace a cylinder 2 valve a few weeks ago along with the driver's side head gasket, valve cover gasket, etc. After I pulled the plug I sent the seller a picture of it, and he said he never took out the plugs to look at them after he got the P3050 code. His "Toyota mechanic" obviously didn't shim out the lifter while in there because there is a hell of a driver's side tick when the engine is running that has to be dealt with at some point as well.

Overall, I can't complain for what I paid for it. I knew going into it that I had work to do. I had some confidence that I could put stock into what I thought this guy knew about the engine, but I guess not.