I'm not getting any spark at the plugs and suspect my coil (120K miles). Can anyone give me some direction on replacing it? Thanks!

 

Have you replaced the wires, plugs, rotor and cap yet? The coil would be the last thing to replace after those things have been done first.

 

try changing these first

 

Also, if you suspect this part has failed, it's better to take it into an Autozone and have them do a free resistance check on the unit before you assume that's what has failed.

But follow Shmoo's reccomendation first.

 

car went through a somewhat sudden no-start condition. How does one take out the coil to take it to get tested?

 

You have to remove the valve cover and then unbolt the holder that holds it to the head.

 

...not quite... that would be the whole distributor...

Unplug all power wires going to the distributor. Then, unplug all the spark plug cables from the distributor, and unscrew the cap. Tie any and all cables to the side and out of the way. If the rotor tip isn't pointing towords the front, you may have to pull the fuel pump fuse and play a game of "turning the engine over and hoping that the rotor is pointing in the right direction afterwards". If you get the rotor in a position where you can remove the screw, take your keys out of the ignition.Then, take a very reliable screwdriver and remove the screw from the rotor, and be very careful not to strip it. Then, gently pull the rotor off with even pressue on both halves. With the rotor off, and no key in the ignition, use the same screw driver and remove all of the screws holding in the weird box thing that has a little spire-thing with a tiny spring coming out of it. Keep all the screws, move the wires out of the way, and pull out the ignition coil (Part #12 in the following diagram):


Check the resistance on that if you've tried all the easier solutions to your issue...

 

...that holds on the rotor! I tried to pull it straight out (gently) for a sec, but didn't want to force things (I think this is only the second rotor I've worked on that is held on by a screw--the others were mostly press fit....). Anyhow, after getting the rotor off it looks pretty straightforward: pull off the plastic cover and undo the the coil pack. Do all Autozones, Pep Boys etc test coils? Thanks again, BIG HELP! :cheers:

 

Autozone I know does... no idea about pep-boys. If you have a digimeter, you can measure the resistance yourself, but it has to be done at about 70 degrees F, and I don't remember the tolerances off the top of my head