Williams River Boat from '64

Dumb question, perhaps...but I'm sure you all know:

Can a coil be "a little bit bad"? I'm having more & more issues with wonky score wheels: they just get hung up and don't advance. I've cleaned them, adjusted contacts, etc., but I'm still having issues. Wheels that were great yesterday are wonky today.

My experience with electrical circuits is that coils are either good or open...quite binary. But in a pinball machine, can these be "old & weak"? Could my issue(s) be as simple as worn out coils? I wouldn't think so, but I'm new to all of this. (not at all new to electrical circuits, though...)

Also, of the 4, I notice that 2 are original Williams coils with part numbers, while 2 appear to be replacements...

Thoughts?

The sleeves do look a bit worn, no doubt. But I'm still curious if coils can be (too) weak...

10-4....thanks!

The sleeves are brass, but I've read on line that plastic is better. Any truth to that? And how snugly should the solenoid's slug fit into the sleeve? Presently, it's a sloppy fit.

OK...follow up question: the old sleeves are worn through in places...but they won't come out of the coils.

Does that mean I need to replace the coils? (I see that Steve sells coils with sleeves).

Thanks!

I wrecked 1 coil trying....

Spoke to Steve...he said that if the sleeves won't slide out, it's usually proof that the coil has been overheated. I just bought 4 new ones....why not, right?

4 new coils...now those wheels ~snap~ from digit to digit! No more mushy, ambiguous rotations. Changed the flipper switches, too. They were toast!

One-by-one I'm chasing the demons from this old friend! It's playing pretty darn great!