1997 Dodge Ram Repair Question
Starter grinding flywheel
I did that and it is the same exact starter no different. could it be that the starter gear or flywheel has been shaved enough that it doesnt get a good grip on the flywheel? it just seems as if the starter gear isnt close enough to the flywheel, which I am sure is causing it to be close enough to where it grazes the flywheel but doesnt fully engage
You mentioned the bolts were mismatched? I don't see how it could be so if both starters are exactly the same.
If the original starter has the correct reach, I see no reason why the new one should have any problem.
Ground the starter housing and apply battery voltage to the solenoid to see if the pinion gear is moving out fully. There is a possibility the starter pinion is not moving out fully due to the solenoid movement.
when I took off the old starter there were two bolts mounting the starter into place, one of the bolts was a stud with a nut on it and the other bolt looked like the original starter bolt. I went ahead and got two of the same size bolts new and put them on the new starter
When starter is seated fully, the ridge of the snout shole be fully seated. While tightening, you should slowly tighten the bolts while shaking the starter to ensure it is seated correctly.
Apart from not seatng correctly and a mismatched starter, I can't see any problem with starter not getting the correct reach.