grinding starter

Do you have a staggered bolt pattern starter installed or the strait bolt pattern. I believe that you need a staggered bolt pattern starter for the 168 tooth flywheel/flexplate and a strait pattern for the 154? tooth.

...Ron

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i have a staggered bolt pattern. if i put washers on 1 side it will work alittle better...but if i shim it on both sides it wont even engage with the flywheel thanks for ur time Matt Jarrett

Yes the 168 tooth takes the stagered bolt starter and the 153 tooth takes the straight across bolt style nose piece. What you need to do is put a 1/8 " pin or drill bit in between the starter shaft and the flywheel to check for proper shimming. The 1/8" should just fit in between the flywheel teeth and the starter shaft itself. If it's too tight you'll need to install full shims to get the required fit. If it's too loose in there then cut a shim in half and install it on the outside bolt of the starter.(in between starter and block). I've already had a few weird blocks or starters that have required up to 2 of the1/2 shims to make up the clearance. Also key things are... make sure the rear support is on the starter... ( the bracket from the block to the rear of the starter) I've seen so many of them trown away and they are important to starter health... Make sure it's tight and you shoud be ok as long as you haven't ruined any teeth yet. Good Luck I hope this helps...

i finnally fixed it. i bought a 305 starter. the 305 starter has a closer centerline then the 350 starter by about 2 or 3 millimeters. which was the perfict space. i ordered a suport bracket today. it will be here by this weekend. Thanks for all of the help guys. Matt Jarrett