Think I may have over tightened spark plugs. Can I take them out and reuse?

I recently bought a 2008 Tacoma with 140,000 miles. I’ve decided to do all the routine maintenance that was most likely neglected at various points during the trucks life and today that included spark plugs. I got them all removed and replaced with Toyota oem. The truck gave me no indication that I should switch out the plugs, but I suspected they were the original factor plugs (they were) and I figured after 140,000 miles it was about time!

Here’s the problem: I think I may have over tightened them. The plugs that were factory were extremely tight, requiring a cheater bar to remove so I figured I should make em nice and tight again. I hand screwed the new plugs in, then screwed them in with the wrench as much as I could and then gave them a good jerk, maybe a half turn. Too tight I take it? I also didn’t use anti seize since Toyota specifically says not to and the dealer said if his guys did the swap the plugs wouldn’t see a lick of anti seize but now I’m thinking maybe I should have... I just REALLY don’t want a broken plug in 30,000 miles.

Anything wrong with taking them back out and then sticking the same plugs back in again? No issues with the crush washer being used up or anything? Or do I need 6 new plugs? Thanks for any help you can give me!

 

I have a nervous tick from reading this.
If you don't already have a torque wrench either get or borrow one, before doing any more maintenance on your truck.

I would not take the plugs out now, until your mileage dictates they should be done again. Cranking on them hard like this risks stripping them out. Also, if the dealer said his Tech's don't bother with anti-sieze, I would consider never taking my vehicle there again.
Next time you do them, follow a guide, like this one:

 

NKG doesn't recommend anti seize. They say it acts a lubricant and can cause over tightening. However, I think most of us have used it all our lives without problems.

https://ngksparkplugs.com/en/resources/5-things-you-should-know-about-spark-plugs

 

Welcome to TW, and damn, you are lucky you didn't strip out any of the threads in the cylinder heads. The old ones were tight because they have been in there for 140,000 miles.

 

Personally I would just back them out just a little and then just snug them up. Anti- seize is not “required “ I would do this now before you get more miles on them. And as long as your not getting any codes you should be fine. I hope you checked your gaps before installing. When I bought mine set every single one was out of gap

 

Damn..... “gave them a good jerk...half turn” yikes!

 

They're gasket seat plugs... for like $2-3 each, I'd pull them out and chuck them. That's based on my imagination of how tight you got them, which I'm kinda surprised you still have threads in the heads, and didn't crack the insulators, if you really wrenched on them that hard.

TBH I hardly ever use a torque wrench on them myself, although I've put plenty in and have a pretty good feel for how tight they need to be to not risk loosening, but not damage anything. A decent exertion with just your forearm on a standard 3/8 ratchet is all ya need, enough to crush the gasket.

 

^^^^ this. You can feel the crush washer crush if you pay attention. I stop when it stops.

 

I think torque us only 15 ft lbs

EDITED

 

15 ft/pds

 

for my first gen the manual states 13flbs which is nothing and if you do use anti seize to reduce torque 20%

 

Oops. Thanks.

My wrench starts registering at 20. So I dial up to that and back off a tad

 

I would take them out, inspect them closely for any damage to the insulator, if any are cracked replace them all. Then put them back in with no anti seize and torque to spec (which sounds like it should be 15 lbs ft by reading the posts above). Not all torque wrenches will go down to 15 ft lbs so you will have to look for one that does. Even if you torque them to 20 ft lbs you would likely be just fine but it sounds like you are way over that the way you have described your process.

 

Would the codes be indicative of a bad gasket seal? I did gap them, they were all pretty decent from Toyota though! Technically out of spec but far better than the ones I pulled out that were still running fine, if I didn't have a gapper I would've used them anyways without worrying too much about it (then again, I'm also the guy who was yanking on his spark plugs)