If any are contemplating wether to have the stealership do the plug change or doing it themselves, do it yourself and save a lot of money.

Just changed the plugs on my 2003 V6. I went with the exact OEM NGK plug. They were only $4.67 each. I couldn't justify the outrageous price for the stealerships 30K mile service ($389 plus tax), and they skip some of the things that Toyota recommends. I considered it a huge ripoff, and decided to do it myself.

I also had the foresight to take a look at what I would have to do by removing one plug last week. I realized I would need a very long 3/8" extension, and a way of preventing the extension from coming off of the plug socket.

I found a set of locking 3/8" extension bars at home depot. They lock together, and onto the plug socket. Worked perfect.

The only challenge (barely) was the need to remove a bracket (2 bolts, 12mm socket) on the drivers side bank of the cylinder head. It interferes with removal of the middle and rear plug. Also on the passenger side, I removed the air filter and the rubber intake hose so it's completely wide open for service. Real easy, loosen one bolt on the hose clamp.

The electrical connectors on the plug coils are easy to remove. Push a clip and pry off the electrical connector with a screwdriver.

Then remove a 10mm socket head bolt holding each coil, and pull while twisting, the whole coil assembly pulls out of the cyclinder head straight off the plug.

This is where I needed those extensions. The plugs are very deep inside the head cover. A minimum 10" extension is neccesary. I used 14" worth of extensions to make it easy.

Removed old plugs, installed new ones. Gapped the new ones to .043" before installing they were fairly close out of the box. Followed the torque recommendations on the plug boxes.

Reinserted each plug coil, bolted down, reconnected the electrical wire, reinstalled the bracket and the air filter hose. The whole this took just under 50 minutes. I could probably do it in under 40 next time, if I arrange all my tools beforehand, and knowing exactly what to do next time.

BTW, the electrode tips on the standard plugs were definitely worn. There is a small v-notch in each plug tip. Compared the the new ones, there was almost no V left on the old ones. So, 30,000 miles seems to be the limit.

I might have to try it out oneday...

Thanks! It will even more helpful if you attached a image of each tool you use. (Maybe it is too much)

Thanks John

These are some tools that come in handy.

I like the Wobbler extension a lot. It allows for some degree of off-set. The universal joint allows more of an angled approach but I do not use it as much as the wobbler. If I cannot start the spark plug by using my two fingers on the plug itself, than I use a piece of fuel line. The 3/8

Don't need any wobbler or universal or starter hose. All of the V6 plugs are straight down accessable once the air filter shroud on the passenger side and bracket on the drivers side is removed.

Only the plug socket, 12" of 3/8" extension and a wrench for getting the plug in and out. And 12mm and 10mm bolt head sockets for the bracket and the coil grounding bolts.

There must be other things in the way on the V8. I haven't seen one up close.

Thanks for starting the thread toolman. I picked up 6 Denso K20HR - u11 or toyota part no. 90919-1235 at the dealer today. for under 15 bucks and bought a little gaping 'coin' at pepboys, just to make sure eveything was kosher.

I noticed the passanger bank will be easy to access, and, I will be changing my plugs later this week.

I'm glad you were able to make it a DIY project. My dealer wanted 160 for the service. I was like, ' No way dude '

Also, how did you measure how tight the plugs went in? I usually hand tighten then give 1/2 turn on the socket. Not too much, not to less... but, thats my meathod (dont own a torque wrench).

Did you happen to use the silver thermal grease? I believe using it will help on your next removal.

I used the same method to tighten. It was actually written on the side of each plug box. Hand tighten , then use a wrench to turn a further 1/2 to 2/3 to tighten fully. The plug threads are actually plated to prevent corrosion, which could be a problem in an aluminum head. The original plugs came out easily enough with a wrench, I'm confident the new plugs will come out as easily at 60K. If not, then next time I will use the thermal grease. My next DIY project is replacing the coolant. The stealership wants $90... No way.. $20 for two gallons of Dexcool , and I do it myself in a an hour or so.

Is that a FS Mountain bike as your avitar? What are the specs? I've gotten into riding and just recently purcahsed my first singlespeed bike. I would probably dump loads of money if it was a geared bike, but, fitness is my goal. So I hope I can mash away at my Kona Unit.

I only ride that one once, maybe twice a year. It's a full bore DH bike. 2001 Schwinn Straight 8 , 8.5 inches rear wheel travel, 8 inches front wheel travel. Only for the ski resorts (49.5 pounds).

I ride 2004 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR 99.9% of the year.

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Looks like I have some extra carbon build-up. I'm at 34K and use Hess Regular. It's time to upgrade and so I'll be using 89 octane from here on in.

There are basically three heat ranges for spark plugs (hot, medium, & cold) Your plug is a cold plug so I would expect more carbon on the plug insulation (white ceramic part) than on a hotter plug. As long as the end of the cermaic, electrode tip and ground are not covered in carbon, then it