a lifter flipped upside down with the center drilled out. Once it was in the lifter bucket I took a punch and tapped around the edge of it. So if you didn't have that tool installed in the bucket, you would be tapping around the edge of the valve spring retainer. I don't want to give you bad advice and have you damage the retainer or valve by tapping on it with a brass punch, I think that would be OK but I've never done it. Wouldn't want you to find out the hard way. If you have an old busted lifter laying around, you could drop that in and tap on the top of that to distribute the force. Or you could use something else to get the same effect, a socket maybe that fit into the lifter bucket? You get the idea. Also, do the tapping when the cylinder you're working on is pressurized, seems to help fully seat the valve and you can see if it affects your readings at all. Did you replace your valve seals yet?
