pinky-and-me I think you are indicating the spring on the outside than the smaller one inside.
Even if it is not centred, the compression and the subsequent force cannot cause it to shift to the left or right, can it? Because, the whole thing is very tightly held in place by the locking nut, which must be looser to create that scratch causing shift. It may however be possible that the piston head isn’t tighter in these cases, unless it loosens over time. I opened it after 3 months, the piston was tighter than in the past.
Am I missing something? 😊