Changing Spark Plugs at 170k

Never buy ebay parts - counterfeits are unregulated on ebay and amazon.

I would leave your oem coils, just be careful you don't break the connector.

Buy your plugs at a dealer. Let them look it up based on your vin.. Ask for a discount. It works sometime.

Be very careful and slow pulling out plugs left in for 18 years. Same care going back in and use a torque wrench to tighten, Do not use an impact drill.

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I wouldn't worry about them, they can last up to 200k+ miles. If you're paranoid about them buy plugs and coils at RockAuto.com and just keep them in your glove box, if misfires occurs on anyone of them then it's time to replace. Replacing them is a 10-15min job, can be done blindfolded

 

I run 20's in tno ho southern heat personally . The other option listed one step colder . Been like this on mine about 33 years now about ten different engines toyoda's of course. The number depends on model. Or series of plug . These cars started with platinum plugs I do believe like pq20r11 or such the original. hi mileage plug from Denso

 

The coils are really cheap junk . I've had about 12 sets 4 or 6 pieces usually two out of the 4 or 6 go. Pretty quickly . Rt on schedule . There are a few aftermarket coil manufacturers that are trying to do good work making better internals a priority . Supposedly . Had a few of those fail . But for comparison you're talking $90 a coil versus 22 so you know if it takes a try or two to get a set in. So what I do now for a 4-cylinder car is order a 6 cylinder set of coils like 1mz fit . Sooóo. ... That gives me 2 extra for fails . On my hand . The v6 set was 20 bucks more than 4 set. and I've my originals left that were good or ok . The original failures go in trash . So I'm not sure how you wanna handle it. The 4 from Toyoda at Price . Get me about 14 of the other. In a gen2 2 min replacement times

 

Good job replacing those old plugs. I don't trust EBay for car parts (Chinese knock-off....they'll even try to copy the Toyota box to look OEM) Heck, I don't even trust Amazon for spark plugs anymore!

Just stop in at your Toyota dealer and grab 4 of them.

No need to replace the coils, which are probably over $100 each, anyway. They can last longer than the rest of the car. We have two 2008 Toyota's with original coils....no problams.

How does your radiator cap look? When the car is cold, remove it and look at the spring inside of there. I've found that spring gets pretty corroded after about 10-years so I'll pick up a new one at Toyota which is only about $12. Check all your hoses, especially the ones that get hot....they can start needing replacing after about 10-years.

For spark plug replacing, some tips:

- be VERY careful when you remove the clips on the coils as they get brittle with age and breaking one just made a simple job a lot longer. I use a small flat-head and lift up the BOTTOM and then wriggle it off....I never squeeze the tabs on the top.

-No power tools, do it all by hand

-Have the engine warm but not hot. This helps those old spark plugs come out easier. When putting in new plugs, start threading by hand and stop if you feel any resistance and back out and start over....cross threading plugs is not what you want to do.

I got this magnetic, swivel spark plug socket years ago and it works great.

LEXIVON 5/8" Swivel Magnetic Spark Plug Socket, 3/8" Drive x 6" Total Length | Enhanced Magnetic Design with Thin Wall Socket, Cr-v Steel (LX-121)

 

Yeah your Toyota dealer very often will be a good deal on the spark plugs you can get the Denso spark plugs in the latest iteration for you're engine 10 a pop is very good the parts stores are up to 12 to 16 a pop . To view the fakes just look at the stamping on the silver part of the plug if it's not clear legible looking originals then probably fakes

 

Why? You just pull them and inspect them and put them back. You are no worse off than you were before. Go and get replacements if you see there is cracking or carbon tracking. Sometimes you just need to replace the rubber boots on the end, which is way cheaper. The coils will last a long time, unless, of course, you don't change you plugs on time, or you use cheap low-quality eBay/Amazon rubbish/counterfeits (if they were branded Toyota).

 

The rubber is more likely to age out than the plastic. In fact, while I have had to fish rubber chunks out from around a spark plug a few times I have never had a pack's plastic break. I would be more worried that the release lever on the wiring connector to the pack would fail, as it is both thinner and subjected to more stress - and so far (knock wood) that has never happened to me.

 

Ever wonder why people ask for advice and then argue against it or completely ignore it?

Yes, the Denso SK16R11 is an original OEM spark plug and is all I use in Gen 2s that I work on. I've purchased MANY through Rock Auto and never had one fail or wear out in 20k miles like the counterfeits will. So far, I've never replaced plugs twice in the same car, although two of my personal Gen 2s are approaching 100k miles of use since I bought them so I'll service them soon.

I have yet to break a coil plug or have a failed coil after hundreds of plug changes. Never in my life will I purchase ebay or amazon plugs or coils, unless it's through a Toyota Dealer. They're pretty much all advertised deceptively. When you see "Genuine or OEM" it is deceptive. It's not Toyota. There's a company named Genuine and a company named OEM, just to mess with your head.

 

I'd also guess that the Denso coils sold on Ebay and advertised as Denso Oem with correct model number and sold by established sellers with tons of feedback are 9/10 times genuine oem.

1/10?

Do you think a counterfeiter is going to tell you it's counterfeit?
Do you think people leave feedback 20k miles/2 years after they buy it?
The normal nub buys it, thinks it's great because it looks correct and works, so they immediately leave feedback.

Once again, don't ask for advice if all you're going to do is ignore it. Just do your thing and carry on.
What exactly do you think a dealer is going to tell you? You may as well hop on down to the AutoZone and have the 16 year old behind the counter take a guess.
Even Rock Auto has the Denso coils for about 50ish bucks. They probably have 10 different brands that are 20ish or less.

I'd rather go to a salvage yard and buy 4 originals for 20 bucks to keep as on hand spares than buy a POS Chinese copy. They'll probably last 10x longer also.

 

Inflation, so no. They do have 8 for less than $30.

Oddly the Denso and NGK coils are "standard replacement" while Hitachi and Delphi are "premium", but the latter cost less than the former. So "premium quality" perhaps, but not "at a premium" (Ie, higher cost).

 

Either low quality aftermarket, or outright counterfeits.

Feedback can easily be faked on both those platforms, and counterfeiters are well versed on how to do it. They do it in spades.

 

At the very least that cylinder won't work, or work well. Force it to run poorly for a long enough time and it might muck up the catalytic converter or the vibration might shake something loose. If a coil shorts out internally, or less likely, to the engine, the excess current could destroy part of the ECU. Which is pretty much equivalent to burning the whole ECU, since in general you won't be able to replace just the damaged part.

 

Do you appreciate the advice? Because you're being provided with some mighty solid advice from multiple people and yet you're planning to ignore it. Eventually people get jaded and will just say f-it, you do you.
You do what you have to do. When you bring an ebay or amazon part to the dealership counter and ask them to 'validate' for you, let us know how long he looks at you like you're an idiot.

Hope that was a-holish enough for you.