So one of the musicians that provides the live music for The Dancer's non-profit's outreach sessions has a 2013 Ford Escape with the 1.6L inline-4 EcoBoost engine that is currently out of commission, meaning she can't get to the outreach session's she is scheduled for. She took it in to a local shop and they quoted her over $5k to replace the head gasket on it which she can't afford to do, so The Dancer asked me whether I would be able to help her out.
Replacing a head gasket isn't something that bothers me- but in doing some due diligence on what it would involve I came across a LOT about the issues with that particular engine (and particularly in the Escape) and am now trying to figure out whether I need to be more looking at just replacing the whole engine.
So, as usual, I'm asking the collective here for what they can tell me about their experiences with the 1.6 and (ultimately) whether I should be aiming to go into it planning to JUST replace the head gasket (and of course things like the head bolts, plugs, etc. that I'll have to touch anyway) and be looking and testing to make sure the head or block aren't warped/cracked or if I should not be bothering with that and trying to find a replacement engine for it.
