Ive got an 86 XF falcon, it has been leaking water and run hot a few times but before this happened the lifters were noisy, will the alloy head still be ok and is the anyway i can get rid of the lifter noise apart from replacing them?

The cheap way out is to put some Nulon Lifter Free & Quiet. Just follow the directions on the bottle. Before that use Nulon Engine Oil Flush and again follow the instructions on the bottle. As for the coolant leak, make sure you fix it, be a water pump or hoses, or radiator, stuffed thermostatic clutch ( for the engine fan) gaskets etc...
Remember, you get what you pay for, cheap is usually nasty.

The crossflow heads will take a bit of a beating from being overheated. Cos the cam doesn't run in the head the straightness of the head is not as critical as something like the ohc 4l engines. And as far as the noisy lifters go, try heavier oil , otherwise your up for a new set (pretty easy to change on the crossflow engines)

with the right tool you can take the lifters out without taking the engine out of the car.. (usually ppl spin engine upside down and they fall out)

its like a crochet needle.. has a small hook on the end and it grabs on the small notch on the lifters..