Proper CPU Heatsink Installation.

Hello.

I had 30 minutes before work. So the experimenting began. I have a good spare motherboard that I am turning into a pc.

I have a Zalman Heatsink which I lost the backplate to connect it to an AM2 or Athlon64 board. After removing the clip that fastens to the backplate via missing screws, I replaced it with the clip from a spare AM2 or AMD64 stock Heatsink.

I was able to bend the clip enough to fasten it to the AM2 MB retention bracket. It fit, but it was really tight. The thermal paste was not applied, so the Heatsink came off after a quick struggle.

The question I have is whether a CPU Heatsink can be attached too tight to the motherboard causing the MB to shortcircuit or worse?