Gap when installing starter

[SlidewayzS14]

I have had to replace my starter and when i put it in, there is a gap between the starter and transmission that is about 3mm thick. Is this normal? i've pulled it out and put it back in a few times and there is always a gap that remains. I tried starting my s14 up with it and man the start up is ROUGH. what gives?

[Dream240]

holy shit man. You trying to break your car on purpose?

Why would you start up your car with a gap there? Was the gap there BEFORE you pulled it off? Doubt it. Put it back the way it was or your not done with the job.

You just have to be patient and work it back into place. You might be trying to install it upside down (don't see how you could do this without realizing your error).

Hopefully you didn't break any starter ring gear teeth off.

[SlidewayzS14]

how could the starter go in up side down? the teeth would face the wrong way and not start.

[JDMS1lv1a]

did you torque the 2 bolts down all the way?

[Jtuned_andy]

Do you have the correct starter...

[SlidewayzS14]

When i bolted it up it was tight. i figured i could pull harder and get more out of the bolt, but i felt i was over torquing. I didnt wanna ram the teeth into each other and fuck it up. This was the second time i personaly bolted the starter in. Before i turned it on, another person had bolt it in and stated that the gap was gone, he's an idiot and i feel stupid for it.

The same person who bolted it in initially also picked up the starter from the parts store. When i saw it for the first time, it seemed like the wrong starter to me, however he tried it and we are now where we are. Starter goes in, bolt holes line up. Could the parts store given me one for an automatic? or are they different enough that it wouldnt obviously go in right?

should i try wrenching the bolts tighter to try to close the gap? i'm going tommorow to check out another starter at another parts store to see if they gave me the wrong one, but i would like some help i'm not that great with stuff like this.

[5t341tH]

i can answer only 1 of ur questions: auto and manual starter the same

[ROTTEN EGG]

compare it with the old starter if you still have the core. if not then go to another parts store and have them take one off the shelf to compare. gl

[Dream240]

how could the starter go in up side down? the teeth would face the wrong way and not start.

Exactly. If you can deduce this then you should be able to tell whether or not the starter you purchased is the same as your original one. It's as simple as setting the two starters down next to each other and comparing them.

Is one larger than the other?

This is not that complicated, either you simply have something hanging up the starter and keeping it from going all the way flush, or IT'S THE WRONG STARTER.....

I'm leaning towards the second one.

Oh you you should not have to force it on AT ALL. It will slide into place with little effort and WILL BE FLUSH, if it's the correct starter of course. And auto or manual have the same starter.

[JDMS1lv1a]

I put my new starter in my s14 in not to long ago... the FIRST thing I did was campare the two before I mounted it in place.(they were identical)

I slipped it in with little effort...BAM,its in flush and perfect just like how the old one was (no gap of any kind).

if its not on flush and sittin like the old one,You most likely have the wrong one^^^ like stated above.

[sccrstar011]

compare it with the old starter if you still have the core. if not then go to another parts store and have them take one off the shelf to compare. gl

Parts store gave me the wrong starter when I had to replace mine. Looked the same, but was a little smaller. They wouldn't give me my core back so I took it to another parts store and traded them.