PLEASE HELP IM A NEWBIE AND NOT SURE WHAT I HAVE HERE . WHEN I GET UP TO ABOUT 15-20 OR UP I GET A VERY LOUD TAPPING FROM MY PASS SIDE VALECOVER . IS THIS A ROD OR LIFTER AND IS THIS GOING TO COST ME BIG BUCKS? IT JUST STARTED DOING IT TODAY.IT SOUNDS FINE WHEN ITS JUST IDLING OH BY THE WAY I HAVE A 72 SKYLARK WITH A 455.
You may wish to check that your rocker shaft bolts are tight, as well. This happened to me last summer and I was very confused about the cause until I yanked a valve cover to begin pulling the head and for laughs started to check bolt torque- one of my shaft bolts had worked loose. Outside chance, but maybe it's as easy as tightening a bolt in you r case, although it does sound to my like a leaky lifter. How many miles does the engine have? has it ever been opened up? My 455 had about 90K on it when I installed it in '91. By the time I rebuilt it in 1999, the lifters were so worn out, there was almost no bottom on the lifters. Needless to say, the cam was junk too. A rod should have more of a hollow sound to it than a lifter or lifters, which to me sound like little hammers tinking away
