Fix it now...before it breaks?

[majek5]

Until I have to, studs are on the back burner. All the rest is hopefully in the future. To replace the standpipes the valve covers have to come off? I read somewhere you need to jack up the pass side to get the cover off. Is that right? On a level of 1-10, how tough is it to tear it down that far to do the stc, egr delete, oil cooler, dummy plugs, standpipes, ect. Any special tools? Won't be doing this until it warms up, so I have time to ask questions, research, gather the items, tools, and get the confidence to tear into it.