Have you ever had a starter shaft BREAK at the little keeper for the drive gear?
I did, in Wal-Mart parking lot at 6am on my way to work! I didn't know the shaft had broken so I stopped by Autozone and got a bendix and solenoid becuz they didn't have my starter in stock. Luckily I had an old starter and after about 3 tries got a working starter pieced together!
What a day!
PS I did manage to break down under a streetlight!