There was a mess in /usr/src/linux, so I decided to erase the kernel sources and to install them again with rpm. Now, after trying to compile a kernel, I get error messages about missing *.h files (various files, according to what I select in make xconfig) and make exits with an error. What's wrong?

If what you do is:

make xconfig
make dep
make clean
make

and if you get error messages about missing *.h files, this means that, when you removed the kernel sources, you also removed important header files, which, for kernel compilation, need to be in /usr/src/linux or below that, rather than in the usual location (/usr/include etc). Try to remember, didn't rpm -e kernel-source say something about not being able to remove some files...and didn't you consequently try rm -f -r ?? They come in kernel-headers-xxx.rpm. You should check their integrity (or presence) with:

rpm -V kernel-headers

If files are reported missing, then do:

rpm --force -ivh kernel-headers

Remember to do rpm -Va once in a while....

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