Ok, we put a new starter on my friends 89 camaro V6. I took it off, didn't notice any shims installed, installed the new one along with a heat shield over the solenoid. got everything tightened up, tried to start it, and it made a grinding sound. tried it again, did it again. put it in neutral and tried to start it, exact same thing. im gonna take the inspection plate off and see if i can see wuts going on with it. but do i maybe need shims, or maybe some were stuck to the block or something. any clues? could something be wrong with the starter??

 

Not every starter is the same, use a shim.

 

Yes!