There is really only 3 possiblities for this.
1. Needles pressed too far down.
2. Center hole on gauge face is cut rough at edges and are hitting the gauge face.
3. Gauge faces are not pressed down with adhesive or double sided tape. This will cause little bumpy areas on the face and the needle will hit.
It sounds like you are not using enough double sided tape on them. Don't worry about the wires coming out the side of the cluster either. Just clamp the cover right over them. You won't have any trouble.
