Hello.
I bought a mini starter for my 383 and put it in place. I made sure it was straight and checked the gap with the ring gear in place.I can wiggle the gear back an forth freely when the gear is fully engaged. It all checked out. The problem is when I slide the gear out toward the flywheel it slides in fine but when I release it the spring pulls back and hangs up about three quarters of the way back and doesnt disengage. I notices that the gear shaft has twisted grooves on it and I think when the gear pulls back it twists as it goes back and that is why it hangs. Is the shaft suppose to twist as it disengages? The only thing I can think of is that it twists in the direction the flywheel turns so that it will disengage easier when the fly wheel is turning. Am I right in thinking this way or should the gear engage and disengage freely by hand.any help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks

Have you tried shimming the starter.Some times if you tighten one starter bolt too tight, it can change the angle just enough to make the gear drag a little.
Bob

Yes I tried shimming the starter. I let it hang down 1/4 inch and still the same problem.

I believe that you are correct. The starter gear twists slightly when it retracts. This is causing the gear to hang when you try to retract it with the engine not running. When the engine is running, the gear can twist and retract on its own. The reason for this is so that rotation of the engine actually helps the gear retract. Try starting then engine and see if it does indeed retract when you let off of the key. Have the negative battery terminal loose in case the starter does not disengage. If it doesn't, when you turn the key off the engine will shut off, but the starter will likely still turn because the solenoid will be stuck. The only way to disengage it in this case would be to unhook the battery.

I had the same problem with a Summit mini starter, but after a few starts, it loosened up and has worked great ever since.

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Don~ ZZ430DropTop (http://hometown.aol.com/zz430droptop67rs)
~~~~and~~~~
70 RS/Z28 (http://hometown.aol.com/performancespecs)
67 RS/SS Convertible, 70 RS/Z28

i believe you are correct about the twisting. i noticed this when checking my 406 starter engagement. it kind of threw me off for a second too, but as you said, when it's running as normal, things will be turning and it will kick back out.if it is free when its engaged, you should be just fine. i actually moved the flywheel a hair when checking and it kicked right out.hope that helps, good luck!