where am I going wrong?

I just performed this on my Duster. I removed the shaft clip where the clutch pedal pivots from, & removed the rod from the pedal to the Z bar.
I then slid the clutch pedal outward to the left, it will go that direction b/c the clip is gone. When you slide it about an inch, the pedal flange will not hit the stop and will pull forward towards the handbrake handle. Then I used a heavy flat blade screw driver. Pried at the spring/pedal rod and the spring popped off.Another way to skin a cat. I always wear safety glasses when working with springs, it adds to the "fun" when the glasses fog up!