[dmaillard]

Hi,
You do not need the full length of the spring for it to work, as Roy stated. Cleanly cut off the damaged bit, carefully clean the cut area of any burrs & reinstate the remaining spring. Its a common issue with these decks.
The other issue you're going top face with these decks is the hardened foam rollers causing uneven contact with the heads resulting in poor playback. You need to replace the foam with something suitable, the foam needs to be soft with an even surface.