Going back to your original statement, lets try to analyze the issue step by step. The starter worked originally but not well and not all of the time as it was mis-aligned? (Or was the mis-alignment issue with one or more of the previous starters?) If the starter you have now is in fact, one you had mis-alignment issues with, then during that mis-alignment period, you experiences undue wear on both the starter drive and the flexplate/flywheel ring-gear. Symptoms of wear on both the starter drive and the ring-gear are what you are experiencing now. First, disconnect the negative battery cable so no power can get to the starter. Pull the starter off and inspect the starter drive for gear wear. Next, remove the flywheel cover under the vehicle and inspect the flexplate/flywheel ring gear for undue wear, chipped or missing teeth. If both the drive and the ring-gear are okay, take the starter in to Autozone (or where you bought it,) and have them bench test it, paying close attention to how many amps it's pulling when the starter drive starts to spin. On the bench, the starter should draw 80 to 150 amps. (When bolted to the engine, fully charged battery, good state of tune,) should draw no more than 250. More than 150 or so on the bench or more than 250 on the car, and there is a starter problem. (pretty sure you are going to end up with a new starter.) So. new starter in hand, pick up new knurled starter bolts (could be either 2 or 3 of them, depending on which starter you have,) again making sure that both the starter and engine block mounting surfaces are perfectly clean, (I even take a wire brush to the mounting areas on both and remove the factory or rebuilders paint,) bolt starter up to exactly 35 Lbs torque. Hope that helps..Phil
