is anybody out there know if there is a clip of any sort holding that part at the end of the shaft of a distributer?
I guess it might all depend on the year, make and model of car, the engine size and type would probably help identifying the part at the end of the distributor shaft.
On the lower end of the distributor shaft there is sometimes a gear held on by a roll key. On the top end of the distributor shaft there is a plastic rotor. It usually just fits on tightly, the metal distributor shaft fits tightly in the plastic hole in the bottom of the rotor, but some have been made with metal spring clips in the rotor to keep them snugly in place on the shaft. Some rotors are held on by two screws.
If yours is loose, I would presume that it is the wrong rotor.