P38 4.6 Rockers

I have a 1997 4.6 Range Rover and I have developed at tapping sound at the top end drivers side (inside the rocker cover). The speed of the tapping increases with revs and does not worsen or improve with regards to engine temp. Performance & fuel has not been effected either so I am guessing my rocker shaft and arms need replacing. The passenger side is fine at the moment so would only be looking to have the drivers side replaced.

Does anyone know if the drivers side rocker cover can be removed without messing with the fuel rail, injectors ect?

Thanks

yes it can, its a easy job, but you would normally replace rockers and pushrods and lifters as any wear on the push rods will be unique to that set and may cause issues or you may find it doesnt cure your problem!

Thanks, thats good to hear...
Regarding the pushrods and lifters.... how hard are these to replace (will i need any special tools)? Wouldn't I need to remove the Plenum and fuel rail to do the pushrods?
Do the lifters just pull out after removing the rocker shaft and then replace?

pushrods can be done via rocker covers but lifters need the plenum off, i think there is just elec connections for injectors to remove, 10 bolts or maybe 8 and two pipes for fuel.

its not hard at all, remember to renew the valley gasket tho. cant remember if water flows through the plenum/intake manifold. think it does so you'll need to replace the coolant and oil if it gets contaminated with coolant!

Thats the thing you see, I am happy to get my hands dirty and tinker a bit but I don't want to mess with the fuel and I have no cooling issues right now and I would bet my last £1 that if I flushed the cooling system to remove the Plenum I would have cooling issues after (air locks n stuff) and god knows what else.

What issues could I face by not replacing lifters and/or pushrods?

Just curious as it looks quite common on here to just replace rockers and shafts. Also would you recomend alloy or steel rockers?

Thanks for your help and advice Gav

dunno what metal they are made from but there is alot of pressure on em so i would say steel but again i have no idea what they are as standard.

i doubt you will get issues from airlocks if you do the filling meticulously. theres loads of threads on here about filling.

i also doubt you will get any issues from a sli8ght tapping. mine does it but i'm not worried as the pushrod engine is quite robust in that sense.

ive had mine to bits many times and to be honest the problems with the coolant were down mainly to the slipped liners!!

you could try putting a bleed valve in the water hoses to the vapourise(if its gassed) as i did and it make filling a pleasure as all the air just comes straight out. the vapouriser on mine is the highest point on the system!

a better job is to replace the lot but you can see if it cures the problem by just doing rods and rockers!

I don't think you're supposed to replace the lifters without replacing the cam, are you otherwise you can get accelerated wear on it.

I'm contemplating doing the whole lot on mine, but not sure I can risk being carless for the time it will take me.

Guy