Age of Ignition Wires (1 Viewer)

[e21pilot]

I was cleaning up under the hood of my 80 last night and noticed that the stock looking black ignition wires say 1996 on them. Could it be that this is the date of manufacture and that they are the original wires on 96?

I asked CDan and he said if they are original, they will probably fall apart if I try and touch them. I was thinking of measuring the resistance but now I wondering if I should just replace them.

I wonder if the stock wires have the YOM stamped on them? Also, I've always replaced Toyota ignition with OEM parts. Is there something better out there or just go with stock like I have been doing.

 

[Offroads4x4]

The 1996 is the year of manufacture on your wires. Use OEM wires should you decide to replace them. They have been there since 1996 without issue for a reason, OEM builds it to last as well as fit right.

 

[Kernal]

IME the "wire" section of the OEM spark plug wires hold up for a very long time but the connectors/connections on either end will deteriorate with age/heat; the engine side bakes and the dizzy side connections can corrode, while the wires outwardly may look perfect. OEM is the only way to go IMO.

 

[jlindblom]

definitely go OEM on the plug wires if you replace them. when i bought mine it had aftermarket wires. within 6 months the wire core of one wire was broken down (the conductors were fine) and failed. Don't know how long they had been on but from the exterior they looked relatively new.

 

[firetruck41]

I would just replace them as a routine maintenance at this point, they are 15 years old. On my 93 a few years back I had a severe engine stumbling problem, wires actually seemed to check out ok, but when I replaced those original wires with new OEM, it ran like a charm. So what I am saying is you will probably avoid some problems by replacing at this age, whether you currently have a problem or not. 15 years is a pretty good life for a set of plug wires!

 

[murf]

these OEM ignition wires are still treating you well since 1996. Quality OEM is the way to replace.

 

[kidglove13]

X100
Replace with OEM now

 

[yardbird88]

I replaced mine at 60,000 with OEM and recently at 170,000 with Denso's ($44) regardless whether they are in working conditions.

 

[greentruck]

CDan was right, they'll crumble. They'll keep working until they fail, though...

The underhood environment of the 80 series is hot. The wires get baked and this causes the insulation to eventually crack due to vibration as the insulation becomes brittle with age.

You'll not notice this in many cases so long as you're in a dry environment. Get things moist and things will get iffy.

Items like this tend to get replaced at age intervals on my vehicles, because ozone and other bad stuff also contributes to this aging process. I replaced our wires when I bought the truck two years ago and will probably change them out at the five year mark.

 

[e21pilot]

Got it. I'll get a new set from CDan along with cap and rotor. I'm going to assume the high output coil is OK because the truck has been running fine all this time.

 

[BigMac]

dd

OEM Yakazi wires are amazing - would never consider anything else. Recently, I finally got around to performing what I think was the first tune up on a 1990 LS400 with 143K on it - a car I bought on impulse from a friend a couple of years ago. The ignition wires were date stamped 1989 and functioned as perfectly as they looked. The cap and rotor on each cyl bank were fried/corroded beyond description, and the Denso plugs were little nubs, but the car ran flawlessly, passed smog and its gas mileage never varied. Mr. T knows how to spec out components. Mack

 

[Lc80series]

Today I replaced my distributor cap, wires, and spark plugs with OEM parts on my 93. The Yazaki wires were marked 1992 and the plugs were so worn I wouldn't be surprised if they were the originals also. Wow!