A few days ago I started hearing what I thought sounded like a bad lifter or valve spring. It got progressively worse to the point where the car would suddenly loose power going down the road like it would if it was misfiring. It seemed that it would get real bad then suddenly it was fine again with only a slight clicking. Also when I would start it up the last few mornings (cold) the car would shake severely and cut off. I would let it sit until it warmed up and it was fine. I came out of a gas station a few hours ago and as soon as it started it reved itself up real high then back down and started making a knocking sound but kept running. I immediately cut the car off and pulled the oil stick it to find it was covered in antifreeze. Any thoughts or opinions are much appreciated. I will be pulling the head to check it out Monday but I really value any advice I get on this site.:banghead:

replace the head, it will be warped. Hope you didnt tumbel the valves, once the head is off, if you have a hole in your piston you'll know.
new head boltz and a timing belt . check the push rods
dont think I am missing anything.
and I'll be willing to bet your right arround 120,000 miles if not under 95,000.
60 - 95 was usally the range they took a crap.

It has 171,000 miles on it. I've always taken good care of it and have never missed an oil change or anything. This is the first time anything has gone wrong with it. All advice and tips welcome. KEEP'EM COMIN' Thanks...

Antifreeze in the oil is a sure sign that the head or the head gasket has gone bad. I am wondering if you have oil in the antifreeze? Pop the cap off the radiator and see if there is any oil in the top of the radiator neck. 2.0 spi engines are notorious for dropping a valve seat in the #4 cylinder. If that is what happened you may have a bad piston or scoring of the cylinder walls.
So.....once you get the head off check that. If it did drop a valve seat make sure all the debris on that cylinder is cleaned out of the intake manifold. If not, it will be pulled back into the combustion chamber and you'll have to start all over again. If you get another head from the boneyard, take it to a machine shop and get it milled so it will be straight. Hope you only have a blown head gasket. My 97 has 165,000 on it and I am scared to death that it may happen to me......Oh No!

I tore it down and took the head off. I was hoping I would get lucky, but no. The valve seat was in about 40 small pieces, some were embeted into the head and piston. The top of the piston was broken off from it's arm and there was a hole in the cylinder wall. It's not worth getting another motor. This is a good lesson to anyone out there with this 2.0 motor. Watch out for that cylinder 4 valve seat. If you hear it start clicking cut it off immediately. I was dumb enough to believe it was a bad lifter and drove it anyways. Thanks for the help... Need any parts?:shakehead

Thanks for letting us know what your outcome was. I have heard of it happening so many times that I wonder who was on the production line putting seats in the head and what kind of day they were having. Ford should have had a recall on these. A motor is only as strong as it's weakest link.

Yeah, The cylinder 4 valve seat issue is everywhere on the web! I wish I would have googled it before I ruined my car.:banghead: I have even seen sites who advertise remanufactured or new heads that mention using improved valve seats and they directly address the cylinder 4 issue... Atleast I got some experience while tearing it down. I've had a diploma in mechanics for 4 years but it's different to put your hands on it than to read it in a book or watching a class video. Thanks Davescort97, Good luck with yours and listen for it...

Wanta share the pain of cyl #4?
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http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=655135&page=2
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http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=162400