Hey I'm new here and I have a 98 F-150 off road 4x4 with a 4.6 in it and it's missing in the number 4 cylinder. Took it to a mechanic and he said that he thinks it's a problem with the valves, broken spring or burnt valve. He said by the time he takes the head off and gets in there and fixes it its gonna cost at least a $1000 but probably more. So I'm pretty sure me and a buddy are going to be tackling this instead of him. Just trying to get an estimate of what It's gonna cost in parts and looking to see if anyone else has done this on there own truck and has any advise for me.

Here's the parts I know I'm gonna need:
1. Head gasket
2. valve cover gasket
3. cylinder head bolts
4. valve, valve spring, or whatever needs to be replaced

If there's any other parts I'm not thinking of please let me know, looking for as little down time as possible!

 

How many miles on it?
You should probably confirm it is a valve issue. Just because it is missing on that cylinder doesn't mean it's a valve. Compression check all cylinders, then follow with a leak down test. Mechanics can sometimes give you a basis to go off of to get you in the door. Then once it's is torn apart and in their possession determine the real issue, which is where the price goes up. And for 1k you can buy new heads so why rebuild the old ones. Other things you may want to consider are the timing components while it is apart. Tensioner, idler, inspect the guides and belt.

 

173k, I took it to a mechanic to have it checked, it's got really low compression in the number 4 cylinder the others are fine. This all happened after I tried plug, coil, wires, and injector on my own.

 

Sign up on the mustang boards and look at the classifieds for heads. For a couple of hundred you can get working heads. Why even bother with a valve job? Try http://car-part.com

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^^^^^ What he said.
I would investigate all I could before I started pulling things apart.
Once upon a time there was a head kit which had the gaskets, bolts, etc for a good price. You might check around. Like this.....http://www.steeda.com/store/ford-rac...d-mustang.html
Fill in your info, where are you? I have a set of Non pi ( Romeo)heads that are in good shape for cheap, 55k original miles on them....

 

I'm from Michigan. Not sure if I really want to buy a whole new head for it especially if it's not new (heard to many horror stories about people buying used parts like that and finding out that they're junk) I don't think that it'll be to hard to pull it apart and fix a valve problem if I have the repair manual and a few mechanic buddies, but maybe I'm wrong since I usually just stick to small engines.

 

Non Pi heads are a dime a dozen. Look up the link I posted and search in Michigan. They are s cheap as $55.00. The nice thing is you get to look before you pay for them.