well i installed it first with no shims and now it has 2 shims ( man i hate trying to get those in!!! ) So its definitly not the shims, the engine does turn a little, I can see the beltn turning like 6 inches maybe. The alternator is new but i'm not sure how that would effect the starter??? Could it be causing a drain??? I'll try unhooking it just for fun :-). I definitly think that a grounding issue could be the source of the problem, Like i said earlier I found my engine ground wire had both end grounded to the batter like retard i was. I did make a very good connection to the engine now, so I dont know what maybe I could of fryed with that ground off??? I figure the new starter is still okay cuz i only tried starting maybe 5=7 times with that wire off, and it still is trying to turn the engine a bit, just still no oomph. The lights still dim on my dash when I attempt to start, and the battery Is still very charged. Thanx for the ideas!!! Keep em comming :-)

well i was rejoicing for the trooper started today. It definitly sounded funny when it was starting though, almost like it wasnt catching and the starter was spinning out. I tried starting it a couple times just to make sure it wasnt my imagination, and everyonce in a while it actually sounded normal, and everyonce in a while it would sound totally awful, like i was trying to start it while the engine was going kinda. Then i went to move it off its hill where i had been roll starting it and of course it stalled <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />, then i went to start it again and now all i get is the starter spinning noise, like its not hitting the flywheel at all! I checked underneeth to see if the freeken thing fell off or somehting and it still feels very solid!! So what happened, did my solonoid poop out or what??? Did I grind all my teeth on the flywheel??? I think i'm getting close I really hope i dont have to take that thing off again i'm really getting sick of taking it on and off <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" />. Anyway any ideas of what happened would be great!

Okay i looked in my haynes manual and it says if u can hear the starter moving but not cranking the engine its the clutch in the starter motor. SO I went and returned the starter and put a new one in (thank god for lifetime warrenties at autozone!) and whammo it worked perfect. I didnt use any shims at all and it sounds the best i've heard it since the engine swap. So thanks again for all your help. I honostly think it was the engine ground that was causing all my problems. SO I hope all this will help someone else out in the future! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />