As
stamcon wrote, there was no spring inside. Just a lot of soil!
What I found fascinating is that it was able to clean up into such nice condition--even though it's just a wire connector
As to the crimp connectors, I recall reading in one of Rex Cauldwell's books that the proper way to crimp is with a device that will apply equal pressure from all sides.
I have noticed that the orange store carries caps to cover the crimps on current-carrying conductors.