What about shims. do these old starter ever need them
Sometimes. I only have experience having to use a shim on a starter at initial installation; not after it had been on an engine for a while.
Shims would come after doing some other investigations- if they were even needed. You said when you removed the starter & put it back on it started right up like normal. You said it (bind) rarely happens. Were the starter bolts tight/torqued when you removed them?
Brad
