Seimitsu clone joysticks from paradise.... Missing washers?

[deezdrama]

So Ive completely cleaned,rewired, put in new lights, new rgb buttons in my cab, etc.... And now rebuilding my 2 jlf sticks and my 2 seimitsu clone sticks i got from paradise in 2015.

Ive cleaned all of them, greased , new springs, actuators, cherry switches, etc and the jlf's feel great but the clones have this horrible spot when moving out of the deadzone. It feels binding and gritty and was hoping this cleaning and rebuild would fix them but it didnt.

I noticed the clones are missing washers. When you reassemble a jlf you have your shaft with the pivot bushing that you feed up from below. Then on the back side of the stick...... The first thing you put in is the thin metal washer that fits right in the indent of the bottom of the stick. Then your spring base cup, spring,actuator.

Well the clone sticks have the indent for the washer but neither had a washer installed and i feel like this is whats causing the binding feeling. I can tilt the stick and see the spring catch cup riding on the area where a washer should be at a sharp angle and must be giving the gritty feeling since its plastic on plastic.

Anyone ever disassemble one of these seimitsu clones? Should washers be there?
Ive tried to look for replacements but cant find any.... Even when looking for jlf washer.

[deezdrama]

Curiosity got me and broke down a jlf and a clone. Put the washer in the clone.....fit perfect.
Sadly the dead zone is still really bad, even after replacing the weak springs with 3 or 4# springs.
The action is smoother but alot of slop in that deadzone I think from the metal pivot bushings.
Too bad.... For the price i really like the build quality of these and ease of assembling and changing gates.
They are a nice design.... The pivot socket in the base plate seems the same as on the jlf.... Maybe with an aftermarket pivot bushing these could perform like jlf's but might as well just get jlf at that point.
Ill keep these in my cab for now but probably upgrade to 2 more jlf's for players 3 and 4.