This is my first time doing this I bought the head all apart so right now Im putting it back together. Ive tryed several different types of compressors and one of them doesnt fit down into the hole and the other, like a C clamp doesnt reach the top of the spring. How else am I supposed to get the damn springs compressed so I can put the keepers back in. Any ideas?

 

This is for a H22 by the way.

 

I used the C-clamp type on a B-series LS head (and plan on using it on my vtec head as well). I rented it from the local Checker auto for free, so I was hell-bent on not spending another dime for tools. Had the same problem with it not extending down into the head far enough.

What I ended up doing was making an extension out of some 3/4" (I think) diameter copper plumbing pipe. I cut a slot out of one end so I could access the keepers, and flared the same end a bit so it fit nicely on top of the retainer. Set the extension on top of the retainer, and used the compressor on the extension. Took some getting used to, but in the end it worked like a charm. Cheap too.

I used one of those screwdriver magnetizers to turn a flat-head screwdriver into a keeper tool, which also worked very well. I recommend putting the lower keeper (because the head will almost certainly be at an angle when you've got the compressor on it) in first, then the upper. You can *carefully* move the clamp/extension around to create a gap to drop the keeper into.

Hope this helped a little.