Starters grinding I have a 1996 chevy suburban with 5.7L auto and 4x4. I have replaced the starter and checked out the flywheel which has some slight wear on it but no missing teeth. Will slight wear be enough to make the starter grind? Also, I have tried shimming the starter which doesn't seem to help much. Do the shims bring the flywheel and bendix closer or further apart?

a grinding starter indicates the starter is not shimmed properly and requires starter shims to set the starter the right distance from the flywheel. and a clicking sound indicates either a bad connection or solenoid at the starter. check the teeth on the flywheel in case they are damaged.

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.

check that you have the starter wire on the solenoid correctly
whne you say power to the starter --is that from the battery lead or the small control wires from the ignition switch

It could be either the flywheel or the starter.
If it's grinding, don't try it again until you've removed and examined the starter and flywheel. If the starter solenoid isn't fully engaging the bendix, it will cause the gear to grind; replace or rebuild the starter if that's the case.
But you should examine the flywheel to see if it is seriously damaged from the problems you've had. Put a mark on the flywheel using a magic marker, then examine the flywheel as you slowly turn the engine by hand. (make certain that the ignition is off when you do that, you don't want anything bad to happen to your hand.) The mark on the flywheel will indicate when you've been able to examine the all of the teeth on the starter ring.

i suggest removing the flywheel inspection cover, and rolling the engine over a little bit at a time, checking to make sure that there are no worn or broken teeth. also, make sure there is no lateral movement, which could indicate a broken flexplate. good luck.

Apply some white grease to the starter gear and turn the engine over without starting it, remove starter and check the gear mesh pattern to make sure starter is aligned right. You might need to shim the starter. The starters bendix drive might be sticking. Is it a brand new starter or a used or rebuilt starter?

1.The shims go between the starter body, and the engine block. These are installed to space the starter drive gear, away from the flywheel. They are only used if needed.

2.There is a gap that you need between the starter gear teeth, and the flywheel teeth. This gap should be about 3/32nd's of an inch, to 1/8th of an inch. With a flashlight, and a ruler, measure between the outside edge of the starter drive gear teeth, and the outside edge of the flywheel teeth.

Too close, when starting the vehicle it sounds very metallic, and like you're grinding corn.
Too far away, and the teeth don't engage properly, and you'll KNOW it! Sounds like a metallic 'zing', as the teeth skip. (Also it won't be long, and you'll be replacing the starter drive, and the flywheel!)

If you are shimming them correctly, there should not be a problem. I will say from experience that a lot of the Auto Zone/Advance Auto Parts starters/alternators are junk. I started buying from Napa, and the dealer, and have had minimal problems since.

ah, passanger side, bolted to the motor from underneath, has two bolts holding starter in, flywheel cover over part of the starter and held in with 6 or 8 bolts. it's against the motor behind the exhaust manifold/lead down pipe.

I can tell u that the starter was put togeather wrong, most likely the wrong started drive was used.