Changing my plugs.

[wutagoalie]

I changed out my plugs today and noticed in the manual the gap reads .043

Now the plugs i took out were .039 to .040 My new plugs out of the box measured .040

What do you guys gap your plugs at?

Also, i had to take off my airbox, so i pulled out my air filter, and noticed there is another filter that sits up in the lid, of the air box. I could not remove it. Is that permanent, or should that be changed as well?

2003 limited V8

 

[20034RunnerV84x2]

I changed out my plugs today and noticed in the manual the gap reads .043

Now the plugs i took out were .039 to .040 My new plugs out of the box measured .040

What do you guys gap your plugs at?

Also, i had to take off my airbox, so i pulled out my air filter, and noticed there is another filter that sits up in the lid, of the air box. I could not remove it. Is that permanent, or should that be changed as well?

2003 limited V8

The one in the airbox is permanent, but I ripped mine out.

 

[wutagoalie]

Any info on the proper plug gap?

 

[nevada]

I changed out my plugs today and noticed in the manual the gap reads .043

Now the plugs i took out were .039 to .040 My new plugs out of the box measured .040

What do you guys gap your plugs at?

Also, i had to take off my airbox, so i pulled out my air filter, and noticed there is another filter that sits up in the lid, of the air box. I could not remove it. Is that permanent, or should that be changed as well?

2003 limited V8

Any info on the proper plug gap?

you answered your own question.

 

[wutagoalie]

you answered your own question.

The problem i have is the last time the plugs were done from a toyota tech. So that telles me they pulled them out of the box, didnt gap them and placed them on. Or the gap spec had changed?

 

[zimdba]

Also, i had to take off my airbox, so i pulled out my air filter, and noticed there is another filter that sits up in the lid, of the air box. I could not remove it. Is that permanent, or should that be changed as well?

2003 limited V8

Hydrocarbon Filter. Search for "HCF Delete" and you'll get plenty of opinions.

I cleaned my MAF and removed the HCF at the same time, so I'm not sure if it was one or both that helped. But my V8 sure felt peppier after that.

 

[Whitebeauty]

U want to notice a difference gap them at .035. You'll really like that....

 

[ChaosStarter]

We're told not to gap the iridium plugs out of the box. You can however, if you've very gentle. Most I see are in the 0.038-0.041 range or so. If you leave them like that, they will slowly wear into a gap of 0.043 over time.

 

[Gumps_runner]

on my 2004 v6 runner, I believe the manual says to use irridium plugs and do not adjust the gap.

 

[MikeInNH]

Your 04 manual says to use iridium plugs?? Really?? My 05 V6 manual makes no mention of iridium plugs. It's just a standard plug (copper).

You can adjust iridium plugs. Spark plugs are less likely to be out of spec then they were 20 years ago..but I check the gap every time I change the plugs and every once in a while I'll find a plug out of spec. You have to be careful not to damage the iridium tip..but it can be adjusted.

 

[nevada]

Your 04 manual says to use iridium plugs?? Really?? My 05 V6 manual makes no mention of iridium plugs. It's just a standard plug (copper).

You can adjust iridium plugs. Spark plugs are less likely to be out of spec then they were 20 years ago..but I check the gap every time I change the plugs and every once in a while I'll find a plug out of spec. You have to be careful not to damage the iridium tip..but it can be adjusted.

i dont understand why it says to not gap them.
that one plug may fit many different vehicles, they wont all require the same gap, you'll have to gap them.

ive yet to see any plugs come gapped correctly. some are close, maybe even close enough to work, but they arent pre-gapped.

 

[Atlanta_man]

I changed my 8 a few months ago. Spot on right out of the box.

 

[MikeInNH]

I changed my 8 a few months ago. Spot on right out of the box.

That doesn't mean they'll ALWAYS be that way. I replaced mine a couple of months ago. I do mine about once a year (40k miles). All were gaped correctly....but of the 6 years I've been doing them....I've found at least 3 that were way out of spec. Do it enough times and you'll find plugs out of spec.

 

[Whitebeauty]

Try a tighter gap n your gonna wish u did a long time ago.