Needed to replace a broken recoil spring. The new one came tightly wound and wrapped in a piece of wire.

General question first - what's the best way to wind and keep it held? Came oh so close with my hands and a pair of small pliers, but couldn't quite get it.

To TRX/ATC70 owners who have put these back together...
Is my assumption correct that you need to put the wound spring into the metal case cover, versus into the opposite plastic side? Plastic side is do-able, but it doesn't seem like it'll work that way.

Thanks for any help anyone can provide. Last stop will be the dealer, but since this is pretty simple, I'd rather not...