Steering coupler kicking my ***...

Trying to put the coupler housing over the shoes and clip seems impossible. I take the spring clip off and I can get the housing to slip on then. I'm compressing the shoes as far as they'll go, and just not working. Is it suppose to be that tight / hard..? I'm tempted to "tap" the housing with a mallet to see if that'll work, but going to wait for some advice from those who know.. These are the original parts...not replacements.
Thanks..!