2002 QX4 Brake drum not fitting back on

[Tamsar20]

Hey there

I'm struggling to put my drums back on after putting new shoes on. I've tried the normal fixes like releasing the parking brake nut, opening the wheel cylinder and nothing has worked. The star cylinder is completely recessed also. I'm thinking the shoes are slightly the wrong size because they won't sit quite right, like the rear side doesn't line up with the wheel cylinder properly. I even tried another pair of shoes from a different parts store and that didn't fix the problem. Has anyone experienced this? I'm ready to get the old drums resurfaced just put the old parts back on, the old shoes still have plenty of life left.

[VStar650CL]

IIRC (although it's been a long time), the upper return springs look symmetric but aren't, and will push on the star wheel shaft if the ends are swapped, forcing the whole assemblage out of kilter.