Okay so I just bought a 2003 f150 5.4 v8. It says I have a misfire in cylinder 4 so i tried switching out the coil packs and it still said cylinder 4 misfire. So when i looked at the spark plug it looked like it almost has anti freeze on it and cylinder 3 looked like it had oil on the plug. Leak in head gasket or what?

 

I guess by this time you probably know why the vehicle was sold.
A cooling system pressure tester may confirm your suspicions. Were you able to notice if the anti freeze level is dropping? If that is oil on the plug, you could wind up with an expensive repair job/bill. Some of those models require the engine to be removed to replace a head gasket or they lift the cab off the chassis to get the heads off.
Let's hope you don't have to go that route.

 

thanks a lot hanky! thats what i keep hearing. but i am for sure taking it in and getting it looked at. i wanna do it myself to try and save myself some money.

 

I would not say it is impossible to remove the heads without removing the engine or lifting the cab, some pretty determined folks have managed to do it without all that work, but you are going to need some extra hands to get the heads out. If time ,tools and help are available you might just be able to swing it. Sometimes the extra cost to have an equipped shop do the work could save you a bit of grief. It's a tough decision to make working with limited funds.


The computer system will shut down the injector for a misfiring cylinder to save the converter. Make sure the plugs are not the cause for the misfire. If that was the reason that would be great !