Plug and Wire Change

[Hollis]

Hi all,
I have turned 205,000 on my 1997 3.4 4wd.
My truck ran fine and I thought it was pretty smooth until I changed the plugs and wires. I figured I would do a lot of maintainence around this 200,000 mile mark. WOW! I can't believe the difference. I can barely tell the truck is on.

I don't have records between 110,000 miles and 182,000 miles (when I purchased). Before 110,000 it was dealer maintained.

It has had 2 timing belts and has a BG service sticker at 175,000.

The wires had the label Sumitumo (Sp) on them and looked very factory with rubber rub sheilds and plastic guards on them.

ANy opinions on the plugs?

THanks

 

[shootmymime]

wow your plugs look a lot better than mine! (as far as wear on them, look at your gap compared to mine.
DONT MIND THE FUEL ADDITIVE BUILD UP, JUST LOOK AT THE GAP
notice how worn down my electrode it (the nipple in the center that is supposed to be more of a circle.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Hollis,

That is one healthy engine. Just keep all maintenance up to date and fix problems sooner than later when they arise.

Changing the plugs around 30,000 to 40,000 miles is a good idea.

 

[Hollis]

Wow I can not believe the wear shootmymime!
I have never seen them that bad.

Littlecaesar - I have a little carbon build up on the Driver Rear but they look clean. Of course I really do not know if they were changed, but I can definitely feel a difference.

I track every single fill up for gas mileage so it will be interesting to see the difference.

I changed my Fuel filter at 190,000 and it did not change the mileage so we will see.

 

[Shibby!]

Mine were worn pretty badly too, but ironically it's running rougher now that it's gotten new plugs and wires.

I went with NGK's all around.

 

[Doshu]

Hi all,
I have turned 205,000 on my 1997 3.4 4wd.
My truck ran fine and I thought it was pretty smooth until I changed the plugs and wires. I figured I would do a lot of maintainence around this 200,000 mile mark. WOW! I can't believe the difference. I can barely tell the truck is on.

I don't have records between 110,000 miles and 182,000 miles (when I purchased). Before 110,000 it was dealer maintained.

It has had 2 timing belts and has a BG service sticker at 175,000.

The wires had the label Sumitumo (Sp) on them and looked very factory with rubber rub sheilds and plastic guards on them.

ANy opinions on the plugs?

THanks

What plug wires did you use? I just changed my wires to bosch and it ran like garbage..put the old sumitomo back on until I figure out the best wires for it.

 

[ICD]

Is there a reason people go NGK over OEM toyota plugs?

 

[nissanh]

OEM is DENSO
NGK is Japanese make and freely available in any auto parts store.
NAPA carries DENSO.

If you can go for DENSO, go for it. Else NGK. Here is Denso on ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DENSO-671-6...its=Model:4Runner&hash=item4608a02fa7&vxp=mtr

Don't ever go for BOSCH (only their wiper blades are good!)

My DD is my TOYOTA SPRINTER (227 K miles) and I recently bought a DENSO distributor cap and wires (all in 1 unit, 4AFE engine) from Rockauto. Even though it is Denso, the distributor was made in Germany (box says made in Germany). I noticed a significant improvement in the gas mileage just after changing the cap and wires.

 

[Doshu]

2005 Sumitomo

They shouldn't even offer these bosch wires for these 4runners. On inspecting them side by side, there is noticeable difference in quality.
Denso must = Sumitomo.

My wires are marked 2005. Not quite 10 years... But is this too long to have these wires on my rig?

 

[murderface]

I recently changed mine @ 154k and it was obvious the were the original plugs and wires.. the electrode was so worn down it was ridiculous... original 2001 Sumitomo wires are what gave away the original equipment

 

[Doc2012]

OEM is DENSO
NGK is Japanese make and freely available in any auto parts store.
NAPA carries DENSO. .

Not necessairly true.

NGK AND Denso are OEM. Depends in which factory the heads were made.

I know mine came FACTORY with NGK on the right, Denso on the left heads.

 

[darkfader]

just changed mine a couple weeks ago, and mine were worn like murderface's^^. the electrodes were ovals, and the gaps were huge. original sumitomo wires with '1996' printed on them. i put the NGK plugs and duralast wires. they were cheap. runs like a top now although i noticed the truck kind of "shivers" when in drive stopped at a light or stop sign. but runs great otherwise and better MPG. i'll get some NGK wires eventually, the duralast were cheap and in stock.

 

[TheDurk]

Just to confirm, NGK plugs are just as OEM as Denso. They all came 3 and 3, split left and right heads, including mine.

OEM wires are Sumitomo, not Denso. For a long time, the dealers only sold Denso, but now I understand the Sumitomo's are available at the dealer.

I am happy with my NGK's--I changed at 80k, so I have 70k on them now. They look and perform great, so I will run to 100k, I think. I run the stock NGK plugs @30K change interval. I like looking at my plugs every 30k; it's a great x-ray into the health of your engine to look at your old plugs--lifetime habit.