I purchased a Powermaster starter for my 455. Even with the additional shim they provide with starter I still do not have any clearance between the drive and the flywheel. The drive is right up against the flywheel. I even got another shim from them and it doesn't help. The tech at Powermaster says the maximum is 2 shims you can use on the starter. The flywheel is a new OEM style. Anyone else have this problem?
So you couldn't even bolt it up without the shims? Sounds like the wrong flexplate. See if there is a part number on it. I had a problem like that with an SFI flexplate, but two shims solved the problem.
I remember my 1st SFI flex plate that my current engine came with. it was completely flat. The flex plate had no offset, causing the starter pinion to be too close to the flex plate teeth. I ate up 2 mini starters like that. I ended up with the Robb Mc starter, which I could shim to move the pinion away from the flex plate. Each shim was 1/16", and I needed 2 to get sufficient clearance. When I swapped my converter for one of Jim's 9.5" units, I took the opportunity to also swap out the flex plate. Jim sent me the latest SFI flex plate he was using, and it looked a lot like a stock one, with the correct offset. When I bolted up the Robb Mc starter, after the flex plate swap, the starter pinion was a mile away from the flex plate teeth. I removed the two shims and it was perfect. Original flex plate, Replacement flex plate,
I have the Powermaster 9511 and it fit and worked correctly right out of the box without any shims. The directions say that it can be clocked or rotated to set a desired clearance if needed. I purchased it from Summit Racing.
I have no idea and I'm not removing the starter to measure! Actually I just looked on Summit's site: #PWM-624 .065"
