brand new starter making noise

[1tonchevy]

so i put on a brand new starter less than a week ago and yesterday when i was out and about and stopped to do some shopping.when i came out to start the truck and it make some really bad noises. like grinding noises. any ideas i heading out for the weekend to go camping and dont want to be stranded.

[Shane22696]

Did you use any shims when you installed the new one?

[bowtiemanchevyman]

pull off the inspection plate and look at the teeth, if they are grinding after a week of using it. the starter might of gone bad. ive had them go bad after a day. the one on my truck now has lasted 8yrs, with headers. so its a hit and miss some times.

[1tonchevy]

no i didnt put shims in as it was meshing fine. now its crazy its bad :S

[tucsonjwt]

Mechanics I have talked to over the years have never used shims. I am not saying they are not necessary, but if they are installed without shims and work OK, I don't see why they would go bad all of a sudden. If you have the $$$ your might check out a GM high torque mini starter. They spin up faster but the downside is if your vehicle does not start on the first attempt you have to let the starter slow down for a few seconds before attempting to restart or you will grind the teeth.

[78 Big10 454]

I learned early on to always rebuild your original starter. If it worked 100% when it left the factory, it will function the same after a rebuild, without the hassle/worry about shims.