Brake Shoe installation question

[streitp]

I'm attempting to install new shoes on the rear brakes of my '92 Aerostar. The spring kit I bought includes two return springs that each stretch an equal distance to the anchor pin, but one of the return springs is much shorter than the other. Each time that I try to make the shorter spring reach from the shoe to the anchor pin, I end up stretching out at least one of the coils from the spring so that it doesn't return to it's original shape. It appears that the spring is not intended to stretch this distance.

There is a hole on the shoe that's closer to the pin and I'm wondering if I should use it to anchor the end of the spring that doesn't attach to the pin. My manual shows that this hole is not used, but it appears that the spring set used in the manual may be different.

Any advice? All tips would be appreciated.

[KimMG]

Did you compare the new springs to the old ones? See if you can get a new spring kit to look at and compare to the one you purchased. Someone may have made a packing error and you got the wrong springs.