Hi - new guy here . I did a search and couldn't find answer, so here goes. I'm in the process of troubleshooting an intermittent misfire issue, and when I popped the distributor cap off I (stupidly) wiggled the spring that sticks out of the coil and it fell out. I placed it back on the small shaft on the coil, but it didn't feel like it was on there very firmly, and when I popped the cap off it had fallen off. Is there a trick to getting it to stay on the shaft when you put the cap back on?

Thanks in Advance
Dave

 

The graphite pin used to distribute the spark is molded onto a retainer. If the pin fell out, replace the cap.

 

Thanks. The pin is still there on the distributor cap, it's just that the spring wants to fall out of the rotor if you bump it at all w/ the cap. Looking at photos of the coil on line, it looks like the spring is part of the coil, and not the cap -- correct?

I got it to stay (I think) by being really careful putting the cap back on, and the car seems to be running fine so I'm assuming it stayed in place.

 

If you look into the hole where the spring inserts into the coil, do you see anything broken?

 

I see a round metal rod/tip that is about the same diameter as the spring, sitting inside the round plastic tube extension on the coil. Nothing appears to be broken that I can tell. Does the spring just wrap around the round metal rod on the coil? It falls off easily - is this normal?

(My previous coil experience is with aircooled VW's - external coil . . . . . .)