Comments by "flagmichael" (@flagmichael) on "How to change Toyota Spark Plugs on 4 cylinder engines" video.

  1. Yow! It makes sense... counterfeits of all sorts are flooding the market. I think I will go to Toyota for them.
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  2. I would have made that mistake.
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  3. With the steel plugs and aluminum heads, the grip should be looser when warm because the aluminum expands about twice as much with heat. https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/linear-expansion-coefficients-d_95.html
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  4. It's easy for us DIYers to forget there are a lot of people for whom that is the obvious choice. People without a garage, or a toolbox, or a back that will put up with bending over the engine compartment, or who just have more money than ambition or interest at the time.
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  5.  @kens805  You have me beat by 5 years. Just this past year my back has become much less forgiving.
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  6. Great info! Our 2014 Prius will need plugs when the weather gets a bit warmer (well, it needs them now but my old bones are not ready!). I have had the cowl off before and will do it again. It really is not hard. In Priuschat a couple people mentioned that the Toyota hybrid transaxle will make a knocking sound - like a muted rod knock - if the plugs get too old. They say that the PSD rattles a bit at "idle" if the engine power is not smooth. I don't know if I'm convinced, but it sounds like a good reason to make sure the plugs are good before chasing a soft knock. First rule of troubleshooting: make everything right and see what problems remain.
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  7.  @TheCarCareNut  That's great to have expert confirmation. Thanks!
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  8.  @raymathews7035  I agree with the view that they are long-lasting parts so the price per mile is low for such an important part. I'm from the days of copper plugs that lasted 15-20K miles and cost 89 cents apiece. On the other hand, I had several of those 89 cent plugs fail, usually by arcing internally. Champions were really bad about that - you could open the throttle just so much and the engine would misfire. And, of course, 15 gallons of gas in those days cost $4.80.
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  9. Well, think about it. Why would it be good? No water in there because of the gasket, no sparking because the spark length would be too long to work. The boots might stick to the plugs, but apparently they don't. Progress changes another standard.
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  10. That would be great. I know that the poor souls who have Ford Triton engines would gasp at us not using anti-seize. Their spark plugs often break or tear out threads when people try to remove them. Toyota or Ford, which to choose... Toyota hybrid transaxle or DSG6 dual clutch transmission... hmm.... "To be honest I could use a good ass-kicking." - Joe Pesci as Vincent Gambini in "My Cousin Vinny."
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  11.  @TheCarCareNut  Good to know! I would have gotten both questions wrong. I learned a lot of things that I thought I knew from this video. EDIT - I remember my father telling me about the spark plugs in Ford Model Ts (I think) that had just tapered seats on the plugs. I presume they were clamped in. Anyway, he said people would sometimes put them back in a hot engine and the plugs would never come out again.
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  12. I see comments above that removing plugs in a warm engine is easier.
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  13.  @yousseflahbil679  I think many mechanics are jealous of women's small hands. I have small hands but I am still jealous every time I try to jam one in where I have to get fingertips on something. When I worked in aviation (small planes) my boss had really big hands. He tried for years to get a hand through an instrument hole in the panel and was so proud when he finally figured out how to do it. The next week he came out while I was working behind a panel and had both hands through one instrument hole. He walked away shaking his head.
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  14.  @kens805  I've been doing my own all the time. Next week we are rebuilding the hybrid battery in my son's 2002 Prius. At 210K miles and 19 years it gave up. In all honesty it is a simple job but after that we may have a front end rebuild on it. The worst I have had on recent cars was a Kia with t he back doors locked by child safety locks and both outside door latches had some link broken. 3 hours of fishing through the window slots got me nowhere. A few years ago I pulled a muscle in my face - I'm not kidding - trying to hold an Acura transaxle in place after replacing the clutch... then the new pilot bearing seized a year later!
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  15.  @kens805  Oh! Worst access I have ever experienced: 1984 Dodge 600 (same as Chrysler Lebaron) A/C compressor. The compressor bracket had to be unmounted to unmount the compressor, and the upper bolt was completely invisible. I had it out three times and each time it took 45 minutes to start that bolt. Needless to say each time it was in summer... in Phoenix. The third time I had to replace a hose and the compressor again because the hose drained the oil before it drained the freon. It was 119 degrees that day.
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  16.  @RichW240  I don't think crush washers are made to be fully compressed. Maybe AMD can educate us.
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  17. I've seen some videos on YT for our third generation Prius. I would be especially interested in how to prevent trouble, because it looks like a lot of trouble.
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