ya like Brett said the ears are to keep the banjo fitting from spinning on the caliper and yes you do have yours on backwards. The flat portion of the ear should be against the caliper. No banjo fittings are not tapered, however the bolts in a sense are. On the bolt the threaded portion is a smaller OD than the non-threaded shank. Measure the length of the shank on the banjo bolt and compare it to the thickness of the banjo fitting, they should be the same. Hope this helps.