stripped kick start assembly

I have an 86 kx 250 that the kicker would not engage unless you kind of played with it to feel the "sweet spot" i thought the ratched was just worn so i replaced the whole unit with a different one(used) that looked better and when i put it in and tested it with the clutch cover off it seemed fine.After i put the cover on and tried to kick it over it was the same again.Any one know what would be causing the ratchet to skip like that.
Am i missing a washer somewhere?
Is the spring not strong enough on the shaft?(on both)
The manual says i need to remove the clutch to replace the kicker assembly but it comes out and goes in easy with the clutch intact.
Any one have some feed back for me?
Or tips
Thanks
Tony

anyone?

Thanks ,but i found out that im missing the sleeve bushing that goes in the crankcase.so the end of the kicker shaft was just resting in that hole and binding and not letting the ratchet gear get a good grip when hard pressure was applied to it.I just bought the bike so who knows how long its been without that bushing/sleeve thing.So now i have to wait 4 to 6 weeks for kawasaki to get one in. :ugg: