Hoover Steamvac Widepath 6500 leaks

Question

My steam cleaner starts leaking as soon as you put liquid in the clean water resevoir. I have taken the spring out to make sure it is working properly. There doesnt seem to be any problem with it but it still leaks. There is a prong thing on the machine that is supposed to be pushed into the spring to disperse the water. But the spring leaks on its own. I am having to put the water and cleaner in and run to the machine to put it in so it doesnt all spill out before I can put it on the machine. What could be causing this?