My starter is grinding on my flywheel in my 84 Cutlass. The teeth on my flywheel are kinda rounded on the side closer to the starter but not wore down & no teeth missing that mean i need a new flywheel. I talked to a couple people & they said i need to shim the starter. What y'all think???

Here are a few pics

 

Did the existing starter just start grinding or is it a replacement starter? if it is a replacement then it most likley came with a shim that you gould try or buy one at the auto parts store. If it is the existing starter that just started grinding it might be wore that the the bearings/bushings are worn out and the starter itself is making the grinding noise

 

I broke the starter that was on there by over tightening it so i had to get a new one. Before I put the shims on the new starter it was catching a little but still grinding & now that I put the shims on it, its like the starter is too far away from the flywheel because it dont catch at all. I think the starter needs to be closer to the flywheel or possibly at a slight angle. Any ideas???

 

How many shims did you add? If more than one, take one or more out until you have positive engagement to the flywheel without grinding.

 

I put them in one at a time so that is basically the same thing. I think the back side (the side farther away from the flywheel) of the starter needs more shims than the side closer to the flywheel. Can you put more shims on one side of the starter than the other or do they have to go all the way across?

 

???

 

The shims go all the way across. They do come in differenct thickness. The auto parts store (I prefer NAPA) has a packet with different shims. work at it until you have the combo

 

See if you can replace the one you have with another one from the parts store. Shims wont fix it being to far away from the flexplate, they will make it worse. Shims are only used when the starter gear is to close to the flexplate and wont engage or dis-engage.

 

By the way, is that a Chebby motor or a Buick V6?

 

its a chevy

 

I finally got my cutlass up & running again! After all that it was a bad starter. I got another one, bolted it on and she fired right up!

 

You must be rich!