454 starter issues

[tucsonjwt]

The Hitachi high torque mini starter was supposed to end the heat soak issue I had with my 454 with SM465, but now I have an intermittent squealing starter (instead of no start.)

I took off the flywheel cover and saw that the front facing edge of the teeth are all worn and shinny. So, I assume that the pinion gear from the starter is not extending far enough to engage the flywheel, or maybe it sometimes extends far enough and does not extend far enough at other times. When it does start it starts perfectly. It seems to me that adding shims would just move the starter farther away from the flywheel.

Anybody have a guess on how to proceed?

I got the Hitachi because it has 360 degree "clocking" which allows me to locate the solenoid and wiring on the bottom away from the exhaust manifold and the engine block. My first attempt was with a GM bowtie mini starter but that one could not be clocked, so the starter would drag and work hard from overheating.

From what I read, I have a 168 tooth 14" diameter flywheel and the block has three mounting holes (staggered) but the Hitachi was supposed to cover this with 4 inline mounting holes. I am using the holes which move the starter closest to the flywheel, and the other holes cause the starter pinion gear to be so far away that the pinion would not engage the flywheel.