ErikJeanna

iTrader: (2)

What about the side where the coil packs are? Is it easy to get to those with the engine over it?

bamachem

pull the intake tube off the throttle body and you'll have access.

ErikJeanna

iTrader: (2)

Cool... I'll give it a whirl. So, what is the vote for plugs/wires?

OEM
Denzo
NSK
SplitFire

Also, the dealership said I only have regular plugs, not platinum. Should I go with a regular plug then or upgrade (if you can call it that) to platinum?

What wire pack should I go with also?

rdharper

There is also the possibility that the dealer mechanic is just making an educated guess. You could pay them, and then find the problem is still there, or they call you and say something else is needed.

By doing it yourself, in this simple case, you will save a lot of money, and know it was done correctly.

If the problem is still there, assume you are saving a lot of money.. and don't go back to that dealership.

Personally, I've found a very large difference between dealerships. For instance, both near me are excellent, but one charges 50% more than the other, on the average.

ASU4runner

Never had any problems with NGK's. Make sure they're the twin ground plugs, not single. They should look like this:
NGK part# BKR5EKB-11

ErikJeanna

iTrader: (2)

There is a thread about someone with 2 bad cylinders who said that his NGK's didn't work.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/misfire-2-5-a-98336/

He bought the Iridium plugs (don't know if that's the problem since our trucks like regular) and his didn't work. However, most of you are saying NGK or Denso... so do those work fine and his was just a fluke?

Also, does anyone know the gap? I think it's .044 according to NGK's site.

About the coilpacks... are the plugs UNDER them? Do I remove the coilpacks to get to the plugs or is there some other trick to getting to them? I'm confused as to what to do on that side. The open side is pretty straight forward...

Midget96

Coilpacks are help on by a 10mm bolt if I recall. Just remove the bolt, pull out the pack and remove the plug.

Don't waste money on funky metal plugs. Copper or silver is MORE than adequete for a 4Runner. Denso and NGK are one in the same if you ask me; both are about as high quality as you can get in the plug department.

By doing it yourself, you could be saving yourself a ton of money. If you problem happens to be a bad coilpack, then you can easily replace it with a new one, with the grand total for everything (including $80 fee) still being less than $270...

DavidA

Don't use Bosch plugs, they are not recommended for our type ignition. NGK's or Denso's are best for us.

Elton

ngk wires and factory denso plugs no problems at all and it runs great and theres only 3 wires and 3 coil packs just do one at a time ... i used a sparkplug socket to remove the old ones then used it again to get them started get a few turns on the plug then switch to a deep metric socket then tighten it tell it gets snug then go about a half turn and stop make sure you use antiseize on the plugs and then use some dielectric grease on the plug wire boots ..... hope that helps you some

ErikJeanna

iTrader: (2)

What is antiseize (threadlock?) and does anyone know the torque rating for a basic NGK or DENSO plug?

Elton

anti-seize
when changing plugs i always get them snug then half a turn never had any problems

ErikJeanna

iTrader: (2)

I'm heading to AutoZone tomorrow AM... have a buddy from work gonna watch over my shoulder and help me out if I need it.

Any other advice from someone who has done this before? I already know the "do them one at a time" advice. Anything else?

surf4runner

if you wanna do it at home, lemme know and ill stop by after work and look over your other shoulder.

i think im the only one enough to admit having bosch still installed (i have NGK's waiting to go in )

Elton

be careful with the clips on the coilpacks for the plug wires as you have to reuse them when installing the ngk wires

rdharper

Not threadlock, although the same companies make both.

Anti-seize is meant to prevent electrolysis between dissimilar metals, such as an aluminum head and steel plugs. Lots of people will tell you its unnecessary, a few swear buy it.

My own take is a bit of oil spread on the threads will probably do as well.

MTL_4runner

Not true......at combustion temps oil turns to resin and does not work anywhere near the same. Antisieze is good to use, especially on vehicles that may not see proper maintenance or have aluminum spark plug threads. Most of the manufacturers learned that aluminum threads were bad and have since switched to using steel inserts in their heads, but it never hurts to use it anyway.....just be sure to keep it only on the threads of the plug and use it sparingly.

rocket

iTrader: (1)

x2 and change them yourself! It's easy.

ErikJeanna

iTrader: (2)

I'm so pissed... I went to pick up my truck tonight from the shop that has it and they are CLOSED! They don't close until 5pm and I geot there at 4:30. They even KNEW I was picking it up tonight so I could work on it myself. I think they did it on purpose and I can't even get a hold of the guy on his personal cell. SUCKS! Just venting...

rdharper

You could be right. Although I'm not sure resin would be any worse than the compounds they use. How you can neutralize the valence difference between the two differents metals with a smear of anything seems improbable to me.

MTL_4runner

The issue with the oil is that it reduces down to essentially combustion carbon (not to be confused with graphite......that is carbon too, but in a very different structure) which is very hard and will actually wear out the threads over time. The antiseize acts like a dry lubricant (often made of a paste of aluminum or copper powder and a second metalic lubricant like moly or lithium) and prevents the two surfaces from mechanically bonding over time by creating a weak shear area (due to the soft metals used) at the thread junction. Thus when you try to remove the plug the bond is very weak and the plug comes out with little force even if it was left there for quite some time. Electrolysis is not an issue with a spark plug since you need to ensure it makes good grounding contact (which the metalic antiseize compounds do) or you may have issues with your ignition system causing misfires.

.....all that being said, I don't use anything on my plugs but I change them about every 25-30k miles and have never had an issue.