rimpainter.com

That is interesting info. Thanks for sharing it. All I'm saying is that it's a $2 tool and it takes 5 seconds per plug to check (both electrodes). So while the plugs are out it would be a good time to verify. The tool has a handy electrode bender piece that makes slight adjustments easy and painless.

Perhaps I'm looking at it from a supercharged point of view (since my 5VZFE is SC'd). It's absolutely critical for forced induction applications because the SC's will "blow out the wick" if the gap is too large.

Thanks again!

zcruiser

I'm planning to pick up a wire gauge when I get the anti-seize. Hopefully others will learn to have EVERYTHING they need before starting this fairly simple maintenance. I've done some additional editing to add NGK plug specs (gap, torque).

brian2sun

I wanna look at it from that point of view!! Dammit!

rimpainter.com

It'll put a smile on your face every time...but a bit of a frown at the gas pump.

Cal01

ill do it for cheaper than that. hehe

brian2sun

Do what?

Cal01

op post

zcruiser

For me, $26 for plugs is a big relief over what I thought was a failing transmission due to the shudders under load!

JohnsD90

Bosch plugs are fine, they work great in 4runners.

Teuf

Antiseize, thats the stuff i did not use , and then broke a spark plug off in #4 cyl (22re) when i went to remove the 4 last April. Was a God send after all, there was a crack in cyl and it was ingesting AF. I Know use A/S on my plugs.

Ron Helmuth

JohnsD90 politely sir I am going to call quick foul on the Bosch plugs.

I would not encourage anything other than what originally came with the block-either the NGKs or the Nippodensos or both but personally I would avoid the Bosch in the 3rd gen. Runner 3.4V6

Is that what you are running now with no problems? If so try the other and you will see what I mean.

no offense intended sir, just my .02 but you will see other threads regarding this very issue.

guys-line up all your supplies up front...get your anti seize for the threads and the di-lectric grease for the boots and you are out maybe $10 at the parts store and good to go. I got that little gripper tool to grab the spark plug boots with and it helps so much.

brian2sun

X2. I've had bad experiences w/ Bosch plugs in my 3.4. Burnt them up in less than a year. Changed em out to NGKs and now they last for several years and don't burn like the Boschs. If you have single ground Bosch plugs, you're really asking for problems.

zcruiser

Took my plugs back out this afternoon, applied anti-seize, checked the gap, and reinstalled w. torque wrench @ 13 ft-lbs. Took under 30 mins.

Teuf

OOPS should have used the word (NOW). Now i know better

Retrop

Well, I was getting a cylinder #5 misfire code and the check engine light was flashing every once in awhile in my 98 3.4L 4Runner. I decided to change the spark plugs last night but I didn’t do a search before I went to Autozones; I asked for Denso’s but they didn’t have any and then I let the sales dude sell me the Bosch +4 for $5.99 a piece… I swapped them out and she appears to be running better but I haven’t gone very far. Just a note that on the drivers side I had single electrode NGK’s installed and the passenger side had dual electrode Denso’s! After reading some reviews; I am wondering if I should take the Bosch +4 plugs out??? I hate to fix what is not broke but if they are gonna cause me problems in the long run… Any thoughts?

zcruiser

Define "long run". 2 years? 5 years? All depends on how much you drive in a year. They will wear out faster than the dual-tips because they are firing twice as fast as normal plugs. What you can do is re-gap them once a year and you will extend the life of the plugs until you can justify putting in dual-tip plugs. Hopefully you put on the anti-seize so they will be easy to remove!

My plugs went 150K miles / 10 years because they were dual-tip. So you should be fine for a couple years, at least...

Retrop

I did use the anti-seeze so they should come out easy. I am still getting a cylinder 5 misfire but it is now coupled with random misfire multiple cylinders. The plug wires are OEM and dated 2008 so I don't think they are bad. I am thinking about swapping coil packs to see if it changes cylinders...

mlombardi

Just read this thread ,of course after I had already gapped and installed my new NGK plugs in my 98 4runner (3.4L) . Had a nasty misfire problem and decided to change the wires and plugs. truck ran fine for two weeks after I changed them then the misfire returned. This was my first time using dual electrode plugs and of course the Haynes repair manual didn't mention anything about the proper way to gap these. Just pulled them out tonight and tried to correct the gap on them but I wonder if the damage is done MY BAD!!!

brian2sun

I'm guessing it's not the plugs if it missed before and after. CEL? Codes? What did your old plugs look like?

mlombardi

Here's the history:

1. started to misfire intermittantly
2. went to advanced auto parts to read codes , came up cylinder #3 misfire
3. changed plugs and wires , problem went away for two weeks
4. problem came back and now it happens all the time, found out on this web site that I shouldn't have gapped the NGK dual electrode plugs. also cleaned the MAF sensor and put fuel injector cleaner in the gas tank.
5. bought new NGK plugs (did not gap them) and used dielectric grease ,on the boots only, of the wires.
6. now it runs fine in the morning going to work, and fine on the way home from work at 3 pm but then if I start it again around 4 pm it starts to misfire almost exactly on the third start of the day

Very Very strange