I've been curious about this for some time - is there a rule of thumb with our 3.4 V6 plug wires as to when they should be replaced? I purchased the truck new and now have 242,000 miles on the original wires and coil packs. The engine runs great and I replace the plugs every 25-30,000 miles.

If they are overdue for replacement, are Toyota ones any better or worse than NGK wires?


Andreas

 

I do wires at 60k, plugs every 30k, but that's me.
OEM plugs and wires are superior in durability and performance IMO.

:wabbit2:

 

Toyota wires are incredible and it's no surprise that they lasted that long. You can check for original resistance specs on the wires but other than cracks or hardening- they will just eventually arc or corrode creating a misfire. They aren't too incredibly expensive- go OEM in my opinion. That is a hell of a service life for any electrical part. Coils are pricey but you can find good prices at some online Toyota dealers such as 1sttoyotaparts.com

 

^^^^ x2

 

The OEM wires were Sumitomo's and are not available here. (They have the year printed on the wires along with the name Sumitomo.) Just because the dealer network in the US sells something does not make it OEM. I replaced my OEM Sumitomo's with NGK's at 100K. 140K now. On this item, I don't see any evidence that the dealer-sold Denso's (they are NOT OEM) are better than the NGK's.

NGK plugs are just as OEM as the Denso plugs, even though the dealer network only sells Denso. Half the plugs from the factory were NGK's, which makes them OEM. I have used all NGK plugs since my first change at 30K and I have been very happy. I would avoid any plugs that are not NGK or Denso.

If you want coils, they are made by Denso (who is OEM in this case) and you can get them aftermarket at places like RockAuto for much less money for the same OEM part minus the red box. I'll spend extra money at the dealer when they are the only source for the best parts, but that is not the case for these items.