Rover tappet noise

[simon]

Got a rover v8 with a noisy tappety lifter, not awful but annoying. I've done 500 miles since buying the car so it's not likely to go away on it's own now I suppose!
Going to get some new hydraulic lifters, but have never worked on a rover engine before. How far does it need to be stripped down and what bits need taking off. What gaskets do I need to get in before I start? anything else I should look for?
Any advice much appreciated.
Simon

[dinosoar]

Carb off.
Water drained.
Inlet manifold and valley gasket off
Cam and lifters fully on view.
To remove lifters you need to;
rocker covers off.
Rocker shafts off.
Pushrods out retaining order.
You can now remove the lifters for inspection.

Andy.

[Purple AK]

Originally Posted by dinosoar

Carb off.
Water drained.
Inlet manifold and valley gasket off
Cam and lifters fully on view.
To remove lifters you need to;
rocker covers off.
Rocker shafts off.
Pushrods out retaining order.
You can now remove the lifters for inspection.

Andy.

But before you do that. Make sure it's not just a chuffing exhaust header gasket/loose bolt. They sound very similar

[Dixie]

Originally Posted by dinosoar

Carb off.
Water drained.
Inlet manifold and valley gasket off
Cam and lifters fully on view.
To remove lifters you need to;
rocker covers off.
Rocker shafts off.
Pushrods out retaining order.
You can now remove the lifters for inspection.

Andy.

plus you will need a new manifold gasket. They are one use only.

[craggle]

What do you know about the history of the engine?

Changing just a lifter on an existing cam is a bad idea as it can just cause accelerated damage to the cam.

Lift the rocker covers off and take a look at the state of the rockers. It might need new rockers and shafts as these wear out quite nicely although if they are worn then take a look at the state of the rest of the motor as it's probably the same way.
If shims are fitted underneath the rocker pedestals, remove them. They are pointless.

Oh, and check the exhaust and other things as suggested first.

Craig.

[simon]

Rover 3.5 engine, fully rebuilt 4000 miles ago (1996!) stage 1 heads, hurricane cam, uprated oil pump, electronic ignition, offy manifold Holley carb.
Engine runs sweet as a nut, pulls strongly etc, just slight tappety noise (definitely not exhaust gasket)

[stevey]

sorry to p8ss on the parade here BUT if you change the lifters you will need to change the camshaft as well, check what the other contributors have suggested first

[craggle]

Sounds quite a good engine then, Or at least should be.

Did you build it? If not my first look would be for shims under the rocker pedestals. This only requires removal of the rocker covers so not a big job.

I assume oil pressure is fine?

Craig.

[Clarkson]

Sounds like a cam lobe has gone flat or those dodgy anti pump up lifters.

[simon]

Oil pressure 50lbs at startup, 25lbs idle 45-ish running
I thought you had to change the lifters if you changed the camshaft, not the other way round?
Old lifters wear a new cam but new lifters don't wear a cam in good nick...isn't that right?
Simon