pretty good write up. you even included that stupid bracket!

 

Nice write up! It has been added to the DIY sticky under the maintenance section.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

Kudos to you Dante!:clap: For a minute there, I thought you were going to take pics while your son did all the work.:lol:

 

For a minute there, I thought you were going to take pics while your son did all the work.

I think he should have let his son do all the work. Isn't that why you started a family? Plus, it would have shown how easy it all is, a 10 yr old (guessing) can do it. (Are you smarter than Dante's 5th grader? Have your son change the oil and not drain the tranny next, get it on video.)

I'm guessing the real reason is the son isn't tall enough to reach the critical parts of the truck with the lift Dante has going.

But back to reality now, very nice post, nice set of pics, great write up with many gotcha's explained. Well done. Hoping you've saved people some money and many headaches.

 

Thank you, man, for another excellent DIY! :chug:

 

Beautiful truck 08trdoffroad.

01 HL V6
97 tacoma xcab V6
88 tacoma V6
79 chevy V6 pk up ((never own again)) problem with head gasket issue (cracked head) at only 24,000 and would not make it good. Changed head myself and drove for 89,000 drove for 9 yrs, then sold to dad.
75 pontiac firebird V8 ((too fast))
~Judy in MI~

 

This is a write up aimed for the home mechanic who wants to change their own spark plugs for the first time....

Great write-up... I especially like the dab of dielectric grease addition as well as the pointer about tape on the spark plug socket. I didn't and had to go buy a fish-tool to get it back out.

You suggest a gap-check which is OK for copper plugs with iron center electrodes but you ALSO mention iridiums. In case someone gets those for the longer service life they should know to not gap check those plugs! The electrode can be easily damaged.

As you noted, they come gapped so be careful pulling from package and threading into the engine and everything should be good.

 

Great write-up...

- thanks!

You suggest a gap-check which is OK for copper plugs with iron center electrodes but you ALSO mention iridiums. In case someone gets those for the longer service life they should know to not gap check those plugs! The electrode can be easily damaged.

- Very good point! Iridium plugs (I didn't think they are recommended for the V6 tho) should not be messed with, AFAIK. I should have made that clearer. In fact, I think in order to maintain the emissions' warranty, you have to show the copper plugs are changed at the specified warranty, or something to that effect. I've heard to NOT use platinum plugs in the V6, BTW.

As you noted, they come gapped so be careful pulling from package and threading into the engine and everything should be good.

Yes, also good point. I'd leave the plastic sleeve they come with on until right before install time!

All good points

D

 

Electric tape on the spark plug boot is genius.....i used needle nose pliers to fish my socket out haha. Great job and a much needed write up. Long overdue!

 

Nice write-up Dante. Very cool how your teaching your son....reminds me of working in the garage with my old-man.

 

I finally took time to read the whole thing and look at all the pics. Excellent job! And good on ya for including the young'un, times like that will become priceless memories one day. For each of you. :thumbsup:

 

Thanks a bunch. I can now change mine.

 

Under "Consumables" you forgot to list beer.... :chug:

 

Good write up Dante, But for the life of me, How did you bring the truck in you-re living room? I couldn't help notice the art work from the second picture. Nice kid not afraid to get his hands dirty.

 

Bahaha. It's a window looking outside! Notice the insulation in the walls of the unfinished garage.

 

thanks for the wright up. now i need to go try change my plugs

 

Much appreciated!!

My auto parts store looked up my vehicle and says the Toyota recommended part is a denso phk20tt plug which is platinum as opposed to standard.

Thoughts???

Thanks!

 

 

Stick with recommended copper plugs for a 4.0L V6.

 

He asked me if I had the 2.whatever liter or "the four liter" and I said four. I bet he thought 4 cylinder.

 

Hi ColoradoTaco

My research before I did this was pretty clear:

you *can* consider Iridiums, if you really want to leave a plug in an aluminium block for 192,000 km.. :ugh3: Hope it comes loose after 10 years...

You should NOT use platinum on the 4.0 l 1GR-FE. Numerous posts with problems after people did try platinums, which resolved, with return to the OEM copper type

FYI, the OEM Denso's are not expensive, they are pretty easy to change, and that's my personal advice: stick with what they recommended. Don't try to "out engineer" Toyota on this one.

D

 

....

you *can* consider Iridiums, if you really want to leave a plug in an aluminium block for 192,000 km.. :ugh3: Hope it comes loose after 10 years...

You should NOT use platinum on the 4.0 l 1GR-FE. Numerous posts with problems after people did try platinums, which resolved, with return to the OEM copper type...
D

Using anti-sieze like you did will take away concerns about leaving the plug in for 10- years! it has worked great for my 2001 Maxima... but then, I only pulled them once for service!. So many OEM's use platinum and iridiums with 60k and more service intervals, you have to know the practice is safe for the engine.

I personally don't agree with the issues about iridiums in the 1GR. I think it has a lot more to do with the mfr of the plug than the type. I put platinums in mine, taking the original coppers out at about 20K. But I thought I wasn't 'happy' the platinums, mostly because of the negative comments I'd read. So I went back to copper, in the same OEM NGK/Denso mix, and was surprised that nothing changed. It performed exactly the same.

So I'm going to get some Denso Iridiums and put them in this spring. I've read this engine likes Denso plugs more. I think the reason plug make matters is that mfr's have differences in how the insulators are formed that leads to slight differences in heat range. I used to really notice it with older cars, before high-energy ignitions. Champion plugs would not last long in my 1981 Corolla but NGK's ran great way longer than I liked to keep plugs in.

 

Thanks Dante. I appreciate the research and definitely appreciate all the pics. The confusion arose from the fact that the auto parts guy cited a different part than you cited, but now i know why. He pulled up the 2.7 part because i wasn't clear enough about the engine we were talking about. I appreciate your comments about the problems with platinum plugs. i definitely noticed the oems densos were not expensive. at least until there's shortages out of Japan, assuming that happens.

Thanks again. I'll get to this later this week. My MPG has seemingly dropped big time of late and i'm wondering if it isn't the plugs. i'm hoping it is.

 

NGK laser iridium in my 4.0 since 50k for longevity and consistency across change interval (I supposed). Can't say there's any difference in perfofmance. You probably won't notice any difference if you change stock with stock due to high perfomance in our modern igntion systems. Anti seize always.

 

Thanks for the write up. I did it exactly as you suggested and it was a very therapeutic thing. I did it this morning so I couldn't justify beer. I do agree that belongs on the consumables list, though.

My gaps were at .055ish. The gaps of the new densos were right on the .043

is that a big deal????? i have just under 30k miles

Also, I noticed the sticker on the drivers side of the engine saying that it needed long reach plugs. that was the side with the NGKs which are indeed a tiny bit longer (maybe one thread length). Maybe that's why they have two different brands? seems ridiculous that they'd use a different brand for another millimeter.

THANKS Dante's Taco for making this super easy for me.

 

My gaps were at .055ish. is that a big deal????? i have just under 30k miles

Not a big deal as long as the ignition is powerful enough to fire across the gap. But clearly an indication the plugs were worn and needed to be changed.

 

Does the '08 have different plugs, or are all 6 the same?
Also, why not iridium plugs? <= never mind, saw the reason above. However, still have the question about different plugs on my '08 V6.

 

Anyone put the Pulstar - Iridium Pulse Spark Plugs in??

 

IIRC Iused DENSO Iridium plugs.

 

Spark Plugs on the 1GR-FE (4.0 V6)

Has anyone tried the E3 plugs in the 4.0

 

Did this for the first time. Like most others, the NGKs on the driver's side were worn a bit more than the Densos on the passenger side. Mine needed it badly; at 30500 miles is was already misfiring over 4500 rpm. The NGK from driver's side rear was very eroded and really wide. My gapper doesn't go that big, it looks between .070 and .080, maybe more. The other two NGKs were about .055.

On a manual transmission model, the clutch hardline is bolted to - and loops around - that big bracket that's removed on the driver's side. It is a royal PAIN to get that off the clutch line, but some careful twisting and it'll slide out. Because of this clutch line, you'll need at least two 6" extensions (and another 3" helps) to torque down the plugs. Otherwise you get to tighten about 1/8th turn at a time if you're lucky.

Other hint, don't drop any sockets. I dropped a 10mm down the driver's side and believe me the FIRST place it will go is into that big 2" hole in the cross member that goes under the diff, or into one of the smaller ones beyond. Thankfully it's open enough to fish it out.

I did the same thing I did to my Hondas that had a spec of 1.0-1.1mm gap. All new plugs gapped at 1.0mm (.040") per Toyota FSM. Truck likes it so far. That way when it starts to erode them away they have the entire service spec to go through.

 

I am at 46k and haven't done my plugs yet....I really need to get on it because winter is fast approaching...

 

Really? I remember talking to you about the plugs last summer! How about your diff and transfer fluids? Have you done those yet? :lol: Life gets busy my friend.