after reading this it brought me to my own bit of pain...

i see that you have already read it...but it sounds a lot like my story...i too could not get the circi clip on one side, the other poped right on....after much measure/observation/debate...i had to surface grind the shim washer to get the circi clip to fit...

here is link

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=91855

Jake