diff --git a/crates/tracedecay/src/daemon/invocation_tests/types_tests.rs b/crates/tracedecay/src/daemon/invocation_tests/types_tests.rs
index a812192f7a..b9fe8aa12f 100644
--- a/crates/tracedecay/src/daemon/invocation_tests/types_tests.rs
+++ b/crates/tracedecay/src/daemon/invocation_tests/types_tests.rs
@@ -557,33 +557,34 @@ async fn replayed_admission_after_retryable_failure_completes_a_fresh_cycle() {
         "the failed cycle must not acknowledge the durable admission"
     );
 
-    // The spool consumer replays the identical envelope until the producer
-    // work genuinely terminates. A replay that races the settling failure
-    // joins it and is dropped with it, so the consumer's next pass retries.
-    let replay_deadline = std::time::Instant::now() + std::time::Duration::from_secs(5);
-    while acknowledged.load(std::sync::atomic::Ordering::Relaxed) == 0 {
-        assert!(
-            std::time::Instant::now() < replay_deadline,
-            "a replayed admission must complete a fresh cycle after a retryable failure"
-        );
-        let replay_acknowledged = Arc::clone(&acknowledged);
-        assert_eq!(
-            admit_registered_hook_orchestration(
-                envelope.clone(),
-                binding.clone(),
-                Some(hook_lifecycle()),
-                1,
-                false,
-                Some(Arc::new(move || {
-                    replay_acknowledged.fetch_add(1, std::sync::atomic::Ordering::Relaxed);
-                })),
-            ),
-            HookOrchestrationAdmissionV1::Enqueued
-        );
-        tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(5)).await;
-    }
-    assert!(
-        attempts.load(std::sync::atomic::Ordering::Relaxed) >= 2,
+    // One replay of the settled failure. Replaying again while that cycle is
+    // still running would only join it, and past the coalescing bound a join
+    // is backpressured by design.
+    let replay_acknowledged = Arc::clone(&acknowledged);
+    let replay_settled = Arc::new(tokio::sync::Notify::new());
+    let replay_terminal = Arc::clone(&replay_settled);
+    assert_eq!(
+        admit_registered_hook_orchestration(
+            envelope.clone(),
+            binding.clone(),
+            Some(hook_lifecycle()),
+            1,
+            false,
+            Some(Arc::new(move || {
+                replay_acknowledged.fetch_add(1, std::sync::atomic::Ordering::Relaxed);
+                replay_terminal.notify_one();
+            })),
+        ),
+        HookOrchestrationAdmissionV1::Enqueued,
+        "the settled failure must free its slot for the replay"
+    );
+    tokio::time::timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(5), replay_settled.notified())
+        .await
+        .expect("a replayed admission must complete a fresh cycle after a retryable failure");
+    assert_eq!(acknowledged.load(std::sync::atomic::Ordering::Relaxed), 1);
+    assert_eq!(
+        attempts.load(std::sync::atomic::Ordering::Relaxed),
+        2,
         "acknowledgement requires a fresh successful cycle, not the settled failure"
     );
     unregister_hook_orchestration_runtime([23; 16], [25; 16], &runtime);