What Battery? Replaced Failed Alternator, now battery failed (1 Viewer)

[FxFormat]

OEM coils should be around 70-80 each, spark plugs about $8 each. At worst, parts is $700, labor book gives us 1.5 hours to do spark plugs for this engine, that shop is charging you $1000 an hour wtf?

 

[West Hill]

Torfab said they would only take an hour but are booked until February. They are trying to see if they can fit me in but how much damage could I do driving 46 miles, about an hour from where I live?

Thanks

 

[thebeedeegee]

Torfab said they would only take an hour but are booked until February. They are trying to see if they can fit me in but how much damage could I do driving 46 miles, about an hour from where I live?

Thanks

Spark plugs and coils are super easy to do with basic tools. I would never pay a shop to do that, especially that much. I know people value their time differently, but that's a no brainer for me at that cost.

 

[MJK]

What the hell are they changing for $2000? That is unreal.

Plugs and coils are dead easy - less than a hour with a basic 3/8" socket set.
Sparkplugs.com has NGK 3764 BKR6EIX-11 plugs for $7.49 ea * 8 = ~$60
Coils look to be $62.20/ea, and you appear to need at least 3.
So, there is $250.

I hope I am misunderstanding something, because at $1750/hr I need to move to Seattle and become a mechanic.

 

[FxFormat]

Torfab said they would only take an hour but are booked until February. They are trying to see if they can fit me in but how much damage could I do driving 46 miles, about an hour from where I live?

Thanks

Wait, did you say you found squirrels living in your engine bay? I don't remember seeing you mention that you had misfire codes before the alternator/battery fiasco. It wouldn't just start misfiring after that, check wirings make sure nothing is chewed up or any hoses torn.

 

[hoser]

My guess is continued driving on your failed alternator caused the spark plugs to foul up. Was there no dash light when the alternator failed? I tell the wife, "Red dash lights, pull over immediately. Orange lights, continue but call me."

Personally, I'd change all the spark plugs and then fire it up and run the codes again. If misfire persists, I'd just buy two Denso coil packs. Replace the bad one and keep one in the vehicle as a spare. It is unlikely 3 coil packs went out at the same time. When one cylinder misfires, often it'll throw codes for other cylinders as well.

 

[West Hill]

Wait, did you say you found squirrels living in your engine bay? I don't remember seeing you mention that you had misfire codes before the alternator/battery fiasco. It wouldn't just start misfiring after that, check wirings make sure nothing is chewed up or any hoses torn.

No damage was done, I caught it early. I had taken around 4 pine cones out, found another 4 a couple days later and then some pine cone pieces the squirrel must have chewed up while sitting on top of the engine cover while the hood was up. The apple cider vinegar seems to have discouraged them.

 

[West Hill]

My guess is continued driving on your failed alternator caused the spark plugs to foul up. Was there no dash light when the alternator failed? I tell the wife, "Red dash lights, pull over immediately. Orange lights, continue but call me."

Personally, I'd change all the spark plugs and then fire it up and run the codes again. If misfire persists, I'd just buy two Denso coil packs. Replace the bad one and keep one in the vehicle as a spare. It is unlikely 3 coil packs went out at the same time. When one cylinder misfires, often it'll throw codes for other cylinders as well.

I can give that a try. The spark plugs were changed April 2019.

 

[West Hill]

What the hell are they changing for $2000? That is unreal.

Plugs and coils are dead easy - less than a hour with a basic 3/8" socket set.
Sparkplugs.com has NGK 3764 BKR6EIX-11 plugs for $7.49 ea * 8 = ~$60
Coils look to be $62.20/ea, and you appear to need at least 3.
So, there is $250.

I hope I am misunderstanding something, because at $1750/hr I need to move to Seattle and become a mechanic.

Watching some videos on how to do it, still would just pay for it if the labor is only an hour like Torfab mentioned. I realize it wouldn't be that hard and some people enjoy it or are more stubborn than me. While I take on plenty of DIY. projects, working on cars is not something I like to do. I may just give it a go anyway. Torfab mentioned the drivers side can be a bit of a pain.

Thanks.

 

[hoser]

I can give that a try. The spark plugs were changed April 2019.

Since they are relatively new, you can try burning off the carbon with a torch. If the white ceramic insulator is blackened like shown below, the plug is fouled from the carbon build up.

 

[AlpineAccess]

They are wrong. Drivers side is a piece of cake to change plugs on. Passenger side you just need to remove the air box. You'll need an extension or two.

This still seems like a more "macro" issue than spark plugs or coils. Coils and plugs don't fail in groups. I would still bring it back to the guys that did the alternator to confirm their install, and I would also see if you can find someone local to loan you a battery to test against.

 

[94SRUNNER]

@West Hill have you posted on the local Land Cruiser club forum to seek assistance from someone “local” to you? Cruiser owners are well known to help their own.

 

[MJK]

To do coils/plugs IIRC you need to remove the plastic engine cover, remove the airbox from the passenger side, and loosen the fuel filter bracket on the drivers side. Then just one bolt per coil, disconnect, pull out, swap plug and reassemble with the proper torque. Very simple.

If you elect not to DIY, I'd expect to pay a shop rate of $100-150/hr plus parts. As mentioned previously, there could be more going on here a simple swap fixes and there is absolutely value in having an experienced set of eyes have a look at things.

I would chose someone a bit more honest/realistic than $2k though.

 

[West Hill]

I ordered 8 ea. Denso 67313003 Ignition Coil's and 8 ea. Denso (3297) SK20R11 Spark Plugs and figured I'd just replace everything while I was going to the trouble. Of course there is the chance I don't need to replace any of them but I would have needed to replace them eventually anyway.

The spark plugs come with the appropriate gap correct?

I've scanned a YouTube video and it doesn't look too hard. I don't have any torque wrenches though. Any suggestions for the primary tools and sizes I would need?

The quote from Doxon Toyota, the dealer that replaced my alternator, was $2,408.72 plus tax and everything else they always find. I'm at $560, tax included and a few scraped knuckles and some practice with my french.

Thanks.

 

[thebeedeegee]

I ordered 8 ea. Denso 67313003 Ignition Coil's and 8 ea. Denso (3297) SK20R11 Spark Plugs and figured I'd just replace everything while I was going to the trouble. Of course there is the chance I don't need to replace any of them but I would have needed to replace them eventually anyway.

The spark plugs come with the appropriate gap correct?

I've scanned a YouTube video and it doesn't look too hard. I don't have any torque wrenches though. Any suggestions for the primary tools and sizes I would need?

The quote from Doxon Toyota, the dealer that replaced my alternator, was $2,408.72 plus tax and everything else they always find. I'm at $560, tax included and a few scraped knuckles and some practice with my french.

Thanks.

Honestly I did a lot of work myself without a torque wrench back in the day and I was fine. Now with kids in the car I torque stuff properly. My Tekton has good reviews and was under $50 on Amazon. If you plan to DIY anything else its a good investment. I'd say just snug them up good if you don't want to buy a torque wrench, but there are a few documented cases of 100 series plugs backing out

You can do all the plugs and coils with a pretty basic socket set. You need some extensions, and maybe a wobble socket (knuckle whatever you call it) plugs are a 5/8" socket or a 16mm. I think the coils are held by 10mm or 12mm bolts. Air box is the same. Be careful when removing the vacuum lines the nipples break easily

 

[West Hill]

Honestly I did a lot of work myself without a torque wrench back in the day and I was fine. Now with kids in the car I torque stuff properly. My Tekton has good reviews and was under $50 on Amazon. If you plan to DIY anything else its a good investment. I'd say just snug them up good if you don't want to buy a torque wrench, but there are a few documented cases of 100 series plugs backing out

You can do all the plugs and coils with a pretty basic socket set. You need some extensions, and maybe a wobble socket (knuckle whatever you call it) plugs are a 5/8" socket or a 16mm. I think the coils are held by 10mm or 12mm bolts. Air box is the same. Be careful when removing the vacuum lines the nipples break easily

I should have everything, maybe even a torque wrench I've forgotten about. If not I'll ask neighbors or just buy it. Thanks.

 

[Petertn45]

I should have everything, maybe even a torque wrench I've forgotten about. If not I'll ask neighbors or just buy it. Thanks.

Couple pointers if you haven't done plugs before or been a while.

When screwing the spark plug back in, start counter clockwise until it seats, then turn clockwise. This way there's less risk of cross threading.

Also I like to tape my spark plug socket to my extension, so the socket doesn't come off and stay on the plug itself...annoying when it happens.

Overall very easy doable job, just some tight spaces if I recall correctly so good to have various lengths extensions etc as others have mentioned.

Good luck!

 

[West Hill]

I've searched and can't find the coil pack sequence location, maybe I'm not using the correct search term?

Is it odd , 1, 3 , 5, 7 on the driver side with 1 starting in the front of the car?

If that is correct, I've pulled 1 and 3 and 3 has a large crack and is obviously a problem. Could one bad coil cause misfire codes on good coils?

Should I just go ahead and replace them all of keep some as spares? I'm leaning toward just replacing them all.

What is the correct torque for spark plugs?

What is the correct torque for the coils?

Thanks.

 

[FxFormat]

Torque the plugs to 20ft lbs, factory 13 is too weak and it'll back out. Don't use antiseize either, coil there is no torque, just push it down so it plug into the spark plug and then tighten the 10mm bolt that holds it.

I'd go ahead and replace them all and keep track of the good ones and keep it as spares.

This is cylinder order for engine

 

[West Hill]

One last question, I think. I read the Denso (3297) SK20R11 Spark Plugs come with the correct gap out of the box. Is that correct?

Thanks