Don't feel so bad. I read it this morning, and had to come back now and read it again.
To me, it still sounds like has a wedgy issue though.
Or....hey bellsz28, have you had the starter out of the car yet? I'm curious about what happens when you bench test the starter, if the bendix gear will retract on it's own.

 

Yes, I rmvd it, cleaned it with electrical cleaner then took it to autozone. They tested (no load) it 5 times. Each time it passed and the gear returned into the housing. But I think the problem comes in when there's a load attached.

When I try to start it from under the car the starter will attempt to turn the flexplate. But it's real weak. Then it just starts the klak. I'll give it a few seconds then it'll try to turn the flexplate again weakly, then klak. And that's how it goes. So I'm thinking the starter is going out. I'm going to get a new one and go from there.

What do you think.?

 

I know this can be a pain, but so is spending money on a new starter if that's not the real problem. What you can do, is remove the starter solenoid, then hang the starter back on the engine. That way, you'll be able to slide the bendix gear out and see how it meshes with the flexplate. That "klak" could be the gear hitting the flexplate and not meshing. That, along with your first post where you said "the starter gear teeth remain meshed with the flexplate teeth after attempting to start", still makes me think that too tight of a gear mesh is the problem. Now, a new starter could take care of that problem, if for some reason your current starter nose just has a funky fit to the block, but it's no guarantee. One more thought, you are still using the proper style "starter bolts", right?

 

yes the bolts i'm using are the ones taken off. They're the factory ones. One short one long...

They look like this:

But ones short.

Also, What is the torque on the starter bolts?

 

Ok good, just making sure you were using the shanked/knurled bolts. Some guys make the mistake of replacing them with hardware store bolts, then end up with a sloppy fit in the housing. As far as the torque specs, google that one.

 

OK I see people all the time that dont know that GM starters have about 20 different nosecones for the Chevy SB engine. NO THEY ARE NOT ALL THE SAME!! god that drives me crazy when people also tell me they need a part for a CSB and that the year does not matter they are all the same. OK OK enough... getting off my soap box.

Did this problem just creep up or did it occur after some work on the car? If you replaced the starter and the new one was "loud" compaired to the old one you may have the wrong starter and now it is dying. Free spin bench tests dont really test a dying starter very well, since they usually will still work fine with no load.

To properly shim the starter you will need a 3/16th drill bit and some shims. The drill bit is the alignment tool, install the starter with no shims, Now place the drill bit's shank between the flywheel gear and the starter shaft. There should be little to no play between the shaft and gear. If this is so then it is shimmed correctly, if not then add shims and tighten starter back up and test again. Once you have this done try and start the car and see if the problem is still there.

Also there are metric and SAE versions of the same started in a couple part numbers. The common 3510 starter which is used with most TH350 and TH700R4 has SAE pitched gears and will mesh with an SAE model flywheel. The 3510M is used for TH200, TH200-R4, and TH700R4 transmissions has metric pitch to the gears and will mate with the metric flywheel. They may work for a while but they will damage each other if the wrong one is installed. NO ammount of shimming will help here.

Massey

 

The starter that is sticking is the same one that's been on there ever since i can remember. If I'm not mistaken it's the same starter that came on the vehicle when my father bought it in 1994. I've had work done in the past year. Had the rear and front seals replaced, the heater core, the plugs and wires, optispark, water-pump, ICM and coil and of course the oil/filter. Nothing directly related to the starter though

 

I ordered a tuff stuff full sized starter from SummitRacing, along with some Lunati lifters.