Cyl 1 Misfire Code, Mechanic recommending head work?

Howdy all! Brand new member here, so if this has been answered somewhere already, I'm sorry.I have a 2008 with about 184K miles that has consistently read a cyl 1 misfire code for a few weeks. engine shudder at startup/idle/shutdown is getting progressively worse, along with a big decrease in MPG. I went ahead and did spark plugs, and a coil pack on cyl 1, Cleaned the Mass Airflow Sensor (using MAS cleaner), have ran 2 bottles of fuel treatment/FI cleaner through 2 consecutive tanks, and have been using "name brand" gas for the last 5-7 tanks. (all at the recommendation of other threads on this site, thanks guys!) Now a mechanic that I pretty well trust is recommending a minimum of 2000 bucks worth of work to open the head and look for a problem. Based on what I've read here, injectors and Fuel Pressure Regulator may be a better thing to look into before dropping that kind of money into it. What I can't find anywhere is how difficult it is to get to the injectors? I am not a great mechanic, more in the "willing-to-learn hobbyist" category, but my father is a pretty good tinkerer and seems to think we can do this in a few hours in the garage. Thoughts? Advice?

 

thats kind of what it thought too. im not really planning on doing head work until i rule out a few more things. any idea how difficult injectors are to get to on this engine?

 

That is super helpful. I believe that is going to be my next step. even 4 new ones will cost less than the parts alone were quoted! I think i just found my weekend project. thanks!

yeah, its sitting now while i figure out what to do, CAT's are expensive, so its worth driving the backup vehicle for a while. are compression testers relatively cheap or is that something to get a shop to do?

 

So after replacing the injector only on cylinder 1, CEL is gone. Cautiously optimistic that we have found the problem! have driven it in several weather conditions over the weekend, runs much smoother. Thanks for the step-by-step link you sent me. It made the whole thing about an hour job.