Re: mercury 15hp
In the second photo on the second post, it's fuzzy, but perhaps you can see the location of the heavier spring (one with equal-length "tails").
In this position, the big arm (with screw in end) is pointing at about 12 o'clock (when looking at the block from the starboard side). There is a tab protruding from the hub of this arm at about 3 o'clock. This tab is about 1/2" wide.
The heavier spring is positioned with each tail on either side of this tab. The upper spring tail (above the tab) is closest to the engine block.
The other, smaller arm is pointing at about 10 o'clock. This smaller arm also has a tab and it, too, is positioned adjacent to the tab on the big arm - at about 3 o'clock. (So, the tabs overlap each other and spring tails are located on either side of these tabs)
As far as the other spring, I can't see it very well with the assembly in place. However, I can see that the big arm has a small, notched tab at about 10 o'clock. The longer of the 2 tails on the second spring fits under that notch. I can't see the spring's short tail location. Hopefully, you can figure that out. If not, post a photo of the other side of the big arm and we can figure out where the spring should go.
(all times noted above are in Greenwich Mean Time

)