Took it to dealer today and he said the same thing. Needed to replace the whole coil to put a new wire on it. He was going to get me a price. I do like the idea of cutting it and putting a new terminal on it though. I used to do that for my cars but did not consider it for the mower. It may not be long enough to do though but it is worth a shot. Thanks

For the connection to be secure: Apply a few drops of oil to the end of the wire. Push it thru the narrow end of the boot. Use a nose plier to pull the end out thru the end that goes onto the spark plug. Rotate the boot so that the small hole on the wire is aligned with the upper portion of the boot. ie:the hole should be in the opposite direction to the narrow end. From the picture it looks like the open end has straightened out a bit, so bend it slightly to give you a slight hook. Push the 'hook' into the small hole. If possible, use a plier to bend the hook a bit more once its fully in the wire. This will help it secure the hook even better. Now comes the tricky part: Pull the wire at the narrow end so that the end with the spring is pulled into the boot. While pulling it, use a nose plier to hold the spring in placeon the wire. Just before the spring goes into its correct position, you will have to push the spring while gently pulling the wire at the other end. Once everthing is in place, tug the wire to make sure that the spring has seated in the wire, or you might have to start all over again. So ensure that you dont have this problem again, lightly grease the knob on the spark plug. And, the next time you have to detach the boot from the spark plug, hold the boot and while pulling it off twist it in a clockwise direction, this will loosen the spring a bit. I repair Stihl machines in India, so if you need and more advice drop me an email. Joe

Anti-seize is a lubricant applied to the threads to help prevent seizing or gulling of the threads. Spark plug torque depends on weather it has a crush gasket or angled seat. Either way once seated a 1/16 to 1/8 of a turn is all it takes to reach maximum torque. the problem with theads is any dirt or faulty (dull) thead cutter make small inclusions in the threads. without cleaning or anti-seize applied the threads may break a sliver off or become gulled. When this happens the spark plug or bolt goes down alittle tighter than normal, but when you try to remove it the gulled threads get waded up in the thread grooves and the plug wipes the thread off which ever metal is the softest or locked them togather. If threads are clean over torquing generally don't cause gulling right off the bat unless a sliver of thread breaks off and get wound in the threads. However, continued over torquing weaken the threads and eventually they will fail.

Try searching ebay.com for "vintage Stihl chansaw spark plug wire" and other combinations of words. I saw assorted spark plug wires there. Good Luck.... Lola8325