don't know if i sent this message twice but, yes your 100 percent right i took the passenger side off the easy one lol. I did poke a tiny screw driver in the holes push rod socket on the rocker arms Some of them were clear and some of them had gunk in them. When i started the engine it started ticking but went away. I guess it got lubed up. It squeaked for a little while but pretty much went away after a drive. I'm guessing the rocker assemble got lubed up some more. After the test drive the ticking came back but when the engine is revved up it goes away.

 

oh ok i thought you were talking about he holes on the rocker arms. So if i were to remove the intake manifold and access the lifters i should just poke some wire through them or should i replace them while i'm in there. Yeah i was hoping it's not a slipped liner, thanks for the reassurance.

 

Right, your oil pressure is lower when hot, hot oil is less dense and the rpm's are not enough to keep the pressure up. I'm telling ya, been there done that. If nothing else, I'd snag a rocker set and two new shafts - without shipping that's $262 at Rovahfarm. I caught mine before they became waste bin parts. Now with 198k it's making some noise but that's to be expected.

 

ok so what your saying is I should clean the lifters or replace them to eliminate the tick?

 

Here's the thing about lifters, I don't replace them unless I'm gonna do the cam because why waste good after bad. Rover cams are notorious for thin annealing and quick wear. Without seeing your valve train wear it's really tough to recommend too much parts tossing. Sometimes it's easy to pinpoint exactly where a new part could make a huge difference and then other times everything is worn and in need of fresh.

 

Is this a daily driver?

 

no to be honest im 15 and only have a permit so i have nowhere to drive daily lol. Since i take the bus. Hopefully ill be able to get my license when i'm 16 but until then it's more like a weekly driver lol. I agree with you on not replacing the lifters there only 6 bucks but 16 of them can really add up price wise. So still debating on weather to replace gasket and clean rocker assembly on left side or to pull the whole manifold to clean the lifters like you said.
BTW thx for the great advice

 

A motorhead is a motorhead and it doesn't matter what age you are. I started out fixing my Dad's car when I was 13.

To get the driver's side off all you need to remove is the plenum, six cap head bolts. That's it. No need to remove the intake manifold at all.

I highly recommend you redo the passenger side, remove everything in order and place each item on the bench in same order. Very easy. Just clean each part well - like brand new. Place each item back on the shaft in order and oil the crap out of it before you put the valve cover back on. I'll bet you don't hear as much noise. Also you'll want to use 15W40 diesel oil (Rotella T5). That'll thicken things up and keep some pressure up on the top end. Then do the other side, same same. I'll bet you get a new top end with hardly any noise.

 

ok sounds like a plan i just remember to oil everything next time, i removed the plenum once before and it wasn't too hard so with that and your confidence boost i think I'm ready to do the drivers side. Most likely i will get to work on it on Saturday because of school. I guess cleaning the lifters can wait. Or maybe i'll save up for a new set and then pull the intake manifold and both rocker assembles all at once.

 

last oil change about a week ago i almost switched to rollela oil but then i chickened out because i read diesel on the bottle. I ended up getting 20w-50 since i live in south florida were it's always hot. next time i think im going to bite the bullet and switch to 15w 40 rotella because every one says it's so good