If I put it on backwards, would it snap off the ends like this? Has anyone ever heard of this happening? Ever seen this this happen?

As to why I wasn't sure which way to put it back on...I've had the F#@#@# distributor off for 2 weeks trying to find a replacement. I finally used a B18c distributor from O'Reilly's that people said would work (however, the original cap didn't fit so I had to use a B18 distributor cap as well.)