My kid's 2002 F-150 with 5.4L Triton had an engine tick. He had it out the other day......accelerated and heard a huge pop. The truck lost power and now there sounds like a massive exhaust leak under the hood on the passenger side.

I'm thinking exhaust manifold. If so, is this too much for a backyard mechanic?

 

sounds like he blew a spark plug out of the head.

 

what's the easiest way to verify?

 

not being a smart ***, but look for a spark plug hole with out a spark plug in it. you might get a better view through the wheel well. a loud pop with loss of power is not usually a Characteristic of a manifold gasket.

 

Your C.O.P. (coil on plug) will be M.I.A. as well.

 

Yep look at all the coils on top of the motor, it will be obvious which one blew. The coil on the cylinder that blew will be loose.

 

Well....we did blow out a spark plug. How does everyone feel about thread inserts for the repair? How long will it take if I try to do it myself? Is there a good step by step guide? Not looking forward to this one.

 

Take a look at this kit, it is expensive but will do the job. There are pictures and a video there too. Good luck!

http://www.timesert.com/html/triton_repair2.html

 

Am I looking at pulling the head to repair this? It's the plug against the passenger side firewall.....#4 I think

 

That will be one of the hardest ones to get to. I am not sure if there will be room to do it in the truck or not. Maybe someone else that has been there can enlighten us. Good luck!

 

It's difficlut , but not to the point of pulling the head. The trick is to use a good 3/8" air ratchet for your drilling. Also get short socket extensions to use. Take your time and be patient. It's probably going to take between 2-3 hrs to do it if you haven't done this one before. Triple check that you have the cylinder blown out good. I use a bore scope , but if your good you can use a flashlight and a mirror to look down the sparkplug hole.
Good luck!! You can do it!