96 GAGT Strut Question

I have a quick question about struts on a 1996 Grand Am GT. On the struts, towards the top, there is a tappered spacer. While this is on, it makes the spring come awfully close to the strut, which cause a grinding noise when I make right turns. We went to replace the strut, so we got a Monroe strut and a Strutmate mounting kit. The kit looks much different from the origional mounting kit...there is no place for the spacer to lock into place. My question is...does that spacer really need to be there? The spacer is on the other side, but the spring also comes extremely close to the strut. So basically...is that spacer really needed?