Replacing starter on my 98 chevy S-10 2.2L. i,m having problems with the refurbished starter ingauging the flywheel. I'v tried the shims, but thats not the problem. the gear on the starter is not extending far enough in to turn the flywheel. It's just barely hitting the edge of the flywheel and grinding the teeth and not turning the flywheel. i've tried 3 different starters, one from advanced auto and two from car quest. any help would be great, thanks

Generally speaking OEM dont shim starters because the tolerances are correct in manufacturing. If there are shims present the starter may have been replaced or rebuilt and the shims compensate for teeth mesh and reduce noise in startup.

when mounting a chevy starter you must shim it down so it wont lock up when the bendix hits the flywheel..if it binds up it will burn up..there are different thicknesses of shims that fit between the block and the starter nose cone..use one or a combination of these to shim down enough that it wont drag..shim too far and it will spin out..I have owned chevys for years and have yet to see one that did not need shimmed down..these shims fit over the mounting bolts on the starter..

There are shims that go between the starter and the block. If it grinds because it is too tight in the flywheel you need to add a shim.

Hello, You will need to install a shim or washer in between the starter and the motor to give the starter a bit more clearance /space between the starter' s solenoid gear and the flywheel's gears. They currently are too close together or meshing too tightly to allow it to retract back into the starter's housing.
Good Luck, Rich

inspect fly wheel good could have bad ring gear. check torque convertor bolts they are tigth. with starter bolted up NO SHIMS push out pinion gear and check clearance at flywheel teeth . you can use a feeler gauge (ROUND DIAMETER) measure clearance between top of flywheel ring gear tooth & bottom tooth of pinion tooth on starter clearance should be 0.01-0.06inchs. can ge shim in different gauges. DONT USE MORE THAN 2 SHIMS. some times you have to shim them but not often most of the time if use shims have a flywheel issue.

If the teeth on the flywheel are broke it needs replaced if not it sounds like it's shimed wrong. Mount the starter turn your ignition on and see how it lines up it maybe to tight or too lose if so shim so the teeth almost center on each other. Most starters come with shims or you can get them at any parts store. Hope this helps some.

further apart might have to use 2 shims if the starter is after market

is this a screeching sound of it is then, you may need to adda shim between starter and the mounting surface. Double check all wiring to starter and make sure they are not broken especially wire to the bendix of the starter (starter selonoid). Get back top me if you need more help. Thanks for using FIX YA

Possible not shimmed correctly. The starter teeth have to engage correctly for the starter not to hang up. That's what probably happened & broke teeth off. You had better check your flywheel around the entire circumfrence as teeth may be missing from it as well. Starter won't engage if teeth and flywheel teeth in same spot are broken off. If the flywheel teeth are bad, it will be a spendy fix to put a new one on... Rick

There may also be a loose bolt head scraping on your flex plate if you have an automatic transmission.