I have had several people tell me that the starter needs shimmed. I haven't even looked at what starter is on the motor yet, since I just bought it a couple months ago. What are symptoms of it being shimmed correct or not correct?
Shop manual has a GREAT article on shimming . Sometimes when a starter has been replaced you don't know where the nose came from . Usually it makes a hell of a noise . I've had to shim quite a few Chevy starters but very few Buick
Normally, there is no need to shim a stock starter. All you can adjust is gear backlash. If it needs it, the starter gear will "zing" as the motor starts. I have a starter that can be shimmed to move the pinion gear away from the flexplate, and I had to do that when my motor was relatively new. I went through two mini starters because the SFI flexplate I was using had the teeth a bit offset the wrong way. It would grind most times. When I bought the Rob Mc starter, I followed the directions to shim it back when I realized the pinion was almost touching the flexplate teeth. Had to shim it a total of 1/8". When I replaced my torque converter, I took the opportunity to change the flexplate to an improved design. I then had to remove both shims and it was perfect. You can't adjust that on stock starters, mini or otherwise. The exception is some of the Powermaster starters. They use a mounting block that the starter body attaches to, like the Robb Mc starter, so you can shim the starter away from the mounting block. https://www.robbmcperformance.com/products/buick_starter.html
awesome guy, thanks. Mine has the high whine when starting. Maybe I just need to remove a shim. I have found that the PO did not use parts that were specific to work on this vehicle and may have "rigged" up parts to work, so i will get under there and check to see what starter he has on the motor.
