I’m confused - but that’s pretty normal. How can something shorter lead to something being too long?
I just installed one on my -8. The spring housing is shorter, but the rod ends make up for most - if not all - of that.
All I had to do was match the length of the rod ends where the attach points screw into. I cut off about 1/4” of each, screwed in to fine tune, locked the bolts, and off I went.
And I’m not even a mechanic or builder. VBG