[LifeLongWNYer]

Thanks for the advice guys, I wish I'd waited longer to put the starter back in.... I read the reply that said to put the shims back in, and the rebuilder said to do it, so that is what I did.

It won't be a big job to loosen the starter and remove the shims, so the next time we get a decent day, I'll pull them out. It does start nicely now, with the shims in, sounds just like it should, but I will pull them out anyway.

I am the second owner of this truck, ( 14,698 miles ) but there is no one left in the fire department that I bought it from who remembers anything about it, so I can't find out why the shims were there. It took an extra step to obtain them and put them in, so I presume it was one of those "it made sense at the time" deals.

Thanks for the help guys 'n gals,



JBP