Odometer reset internal spring

[GRWeldon]

Me again. I did the gear swap on my odometer for #3 a couple days ago. Yesterday I took it for a test drive. It went up to .4 and stopped. Great. I took it apart again last night, found a small particle of gear on the outside gear of the planetary, obviously the issue for the stoppage. In the process of putting it back together, the spring for the odometer reset lever when "zing" off of the lever, never to be seen again. I've searched for over an hour and I've been working in a fairly small area but I can't find it.

Are these things available anyplace or do I just put it back together without it and deal with the annoyance? I'm a bit bummed. I'm literally working in a 75 sq. ft. area and I can't find it.

 

[XR7-4.6]

I hate when that happens, You could probably find a suitable substitute at a hardware store, it’s just a simple coil spring afterall

 

[Grog6]

A spring out of a pen might work. You can buy springs from Mcmaster carr or msc. I have a magnet on the end of an old broomstick, that I use to sweep for such things. Hardened metal is always magnetic. Look on amazon for neodymium magnets, with a countersunk hole in the middle; they will take a sheetrock screw, and come in handy. I dipped a couple in plastidip, and use them to stick to the fender to hold sockets while I'm working.

 

[XR7-4.6]

It's about 1/4" spring so a plastic click pen is probably too small. I do feel like I had a mechanical pencil with a spring that could work

Also make sure its a spring with a good amount of space between coils, one spring that sprung to mind that I bet would fit are those ones used on some model car suspensions, but I'd bet they would coil bind before it resets the trip

 

[GRWeldon]

I put the gauge back together without the spring. Turns out the springs from the reset back keep the lever in place correctly.

 

[XR7-4.6]

True, it's more there to keep the plunger from rattling.