Spark Plugs Maintenance Schedule?

You must be kidding.

Wait a second. You talk about removing engines and transmissions and pulling hybrid battery's all the time to new posters likes its no big deal yeah get out there and pull that engine out its easy......you do that almost every post to people but whoa whoa valve cover gasket wow oh no be careful.

All I'm saying is check it out i had a leak on mine I have seen leaks there on other 4 cylinder engines I have owned and many a poster here report oil on the sparkplug when they pulled it out its a smart preemptive thing to do its cheap its easy and its all apart there. Some 4 cyl gaskets have a metal insert at that hole the G2 gasket does not.

Very good thing to do on a G2 because you may discover like I did the 2 hoses that go from there to the throttle body were cracked. Then if you look at where those hoses connect you will find the throttle body input is clogged with crap.

Seen many posts on this site where people have blown holes in the side of the valve cover using the wrong wrench.

But I guess if you don't see it then it doesn't exist.

here's a post where a guy blows a hole in the cover using a wrench and you recommend using JB weld to fix the hole lol talk about a nuisance repair.. Have to use a socket but its hard to get a socket in there UNLESS YOU TAKE THE COVER OFF.
Seen the hole post about 5 times.

Help - cracked engine head OMG I think I just ruined my wife's car! | PriusChat

 

Do I? Perhaps you're confusing me with someone else. I think you would be very hard pressed to find a post by me advocating any new DIYer or even moderate DIYers or even serious DIYers to "remove engines and transmissions". I've probably been in hundreds of discussions regarding HV batteries, so I'm sure somewhere in there a new DIYer exists. But, I doubt I've ever recommended someone remove the trunk floor to access the spare tire and hey, while you're in there, swap out the HV battery.


Your quote.......
If your going to replace the plugs replace the valve cover gasket too and the PCs valve it’s all open then it’s easy just use some black gasket sealer on the front of the engine block to make sure it seals. Then When you take the v cover off use a box wrench on the PCs valve.

 

On another note...you include this in your post:

here's a post where a guy blows a hole in the cover using a wrench and you recommend using JB weld to fix the hole lol talk about a nuisance repair.. Have to use a socket but its hard to get a socket in there UNLESS YOU TAKE THE COVER OFF.
Seen the hole post about 5 times.

Help - cracked engine head OMG I think I just ruined my wife's car! | PriusChat

without any context. lol? I can only hope everyone reads the thread in that link. How did that thread work out for the OP? As suggested, the JB Weld repair was performed successfully since he likely did not have a spare cover available. Did you notice my post also included the recommendation to obtain a replacement valve cover when opportunity presented itself? Perhaps include the entire post to provide correct context? How did that new valve cover installation work out? Oh yeah, a valve cover bolt snapped off in the center back of the cover, below the fastening surface, never to be fixed, but now to always and forever be a possible future significant oil leak. So how much better off is the OP compared to if he had just lived with the JB repair?

And this?
Have to use a socket but its hard to get a socket in there UNLESS YOU TAKE THE COVER OFF.

An 18mm box end wrench works pretty well.

 

I think if Ed is replying to a specific post, he should quote it so that it is clear to whom he's talking.

I have a feeling his reply was to PriusCamper and not TMR-JWAP.

 

It's possible to have a valve cover gasket seep into the plug bores. If that happens then sure, replace the gasket. Overall my experience has been that it is very rare on most Toyotas for the past 15-20 years. Occasional external seeps, yes,- oil on the plugs and coils, not so much. (Subarus are a completely different story).

Would I replace a "dry" valve cover gasket? Absolutely not.

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Four iridium plugs are less than $30 from AutohausAz. At 188K miles you don't know if the plugs have ever been changed. Change them, and you will know.

I drove our Prius Touring from Milwaukee to central North Dakota in the winter a couple years ago. The mileage dropped into the high 30s, bucking a consistent headwind, a rise in elevation and temps in the 20s. I was also driving 70+ mph so I didn't get run over on I-94. Cold weather will have a big impact on your fuel economy, but so will things as subtle as a 1000-foot rise in elevation. That little gas engine's efficiency changes dramatically with its workload.

 

That's a great price... I went to check it out and I was excited... Then they added $9 shipping and it suddenly became same price as I get on Ebay, but on Ebay shipping for small things is not just free, but super fast. What's more if anything goes wrong I get my money back. So I'll stick with Ebay.

 

Have you had good results with plugs from ebay? I read posts from time to time about problems caused by counterfeit parts- esp on ebay.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

You can get the maintenance manual from me. Just send me a PM and I'll reply with a link to download it.

JeffD

 

Every now and then it happens to me that I'll start a post as a reply to the last one on the thread, so I think it's clear what I'm replying to, but then I click the post button without noticing that another post or posts got added while I was writing.

 

Depends on what you're buying and who you're buying from... Spark Plugs are best bought from somebody in the US who sells lots of new auto parts online. So far no signs of trouble on plugs. But yes, there's plenty of trouble makers out there. Like I was in a rush and sleep deprived and my Carista OBD2 reader drove off with the car I was working on, so I quickly ordered a new one and in my haste didn't realize the seller never once sold anything on Ebay and took my money and vanished. Ebay eventually refunded my money, but it took a while.