Possible head gasket failure

[Bombay]

I would love some input as I currently do not know how to handle this at the moment. I own a 2016 Fusion 2L Eco boost with just under 90k miles. A couple weeks ago my wife let me know the car was feeling weird and would shake at start up on occasion. I personally did not experience anything at the time so I did not think much of it. After a couple days the check engine light came up for a misfire in cylinder 4. I replaced the spark plugs, cleared the code and it ran fine for a couple days. But soon after the code came back so I replaced the ignition coil. Just assuming this was the problem since 90% of the time this is what I've come across. But again after a couple days the code came back. The timing could have not been worse since my family took a trip to San Francisco, between 100-130 miles one way. This time at start up I did experience the engine shake. Engine shook while in the city. Drove the car the rest of the day and drove home in the evening. I would assume I drove about 150 miles since the shake. The car seemed to run fine and I didn't really notice any difference in performance. At the end of the day I did seem to notice a slight noise but I'm unsure if it was the car or all in my head. The following day after getting home I removed the battery and used a camera to look inside cylinder 4. I also looked into cylinder 2 just to compare. Cylinder 2 looked completely clean but cylinder 4 was covered in black with some small areas appearing wet. One last thing to note is before removing the battery I turned the car on one last time. Code still there, no shake, but when I turned the car off I did hear what seemed to sound like ticking. I have not ran it since and it has been about two week. My other car is not only has terrible fuel economy but burns oil at a concerning rate. It has been more that inconvenience and very stressful to say the least. Not to mention I'm no where near paying it off and do not know if I can afford to get it fixed. Currently thinking about getting it towed to the small shop and just letting them take a look and going from there. Is this something common with these engines? I find very few 2L for sale anymore. At what price point do I just take the loss and look into saving to purchase another used car. Also is this something I can slowly work on at home in the hopes of being able to afford the repair. I apologize for the length of the post and I appreciate all feedback. 

[WKelley]

Start with a compression test and if that does not show a smoking gun then a leakdown test would be next. 

 

To me there is no really good 1 answer solution to your issue.  If it is indeed headgasket issues, those motors are notorious for cylinders warping making it nearly impossible to seal with a new gasket without major machine work.  

 

Take it one step at a time, a compression test should guide your path.