Mk1 escort- coil spring problems :-(

So I've put Lovells springs in the front of my esky. I noticed when I pulled out the standard springs, that the top seats were both damaged where the straight cut on the piston shaft aligns with the seat. So damaged in fact, that the piston shaft was unable to locate back into the top seats. So I carefully filed away some of the seat so the shafts located properly. Then I re-assembled the tops and bolted it all in. The nylocks on the top now have about 4 threads coming past the nylon which is a good sign (it used to be flush because the shafts weren't located).
But on the test runs when I turn the steering wheel the springs are slipping left and right in their seats, making an awful noise. So I backed off the top nut a little. The springs stopped slipping but the struts were knocking like something was loose so I tightened them back up. Anyone have any ideas? Otherwise I'll take it into a suspension shop and hopefully they can tell me the problem.