98 Blazer 4-Door 4X4

My starter died, it would just spin and not engage. So, I went to Advance Auto and bought a ToughOne starter (6449S) . Installed it and it was grinding from the start. It just wouldn't extend far enough. So I get the next one up on the list (P6449S), install it and it worked great, for 3 days. Now, as soon as I turn the key it grinds horribly. The gear is stuck in the extended position and won't retract/disengage. If I loosen the starter bolts I can hear it "click" and slide back into place. But as soon as I try to start it it does it again.

Am I missing something? These Blazers don't require shims, the starter manufacturer says they don't need shims but something is wrong. Flywheel is fine. Well, at least it was when I installed the 2nd starter so who knows now.

Anyone have a part number for a starter that is KNOWN to work well or a fix for this problem? It's my only vehicle so whatever parts store I got to I'll have to walk. My options are Autozone, Advance Auto, Napa and MVG (local store) that are all about 4 miles away. I just want to be sure because I don't want to walk twice. Any ideas?

 

I forgot to mention that the 1st starter I bought, in hindsight, was not meant for a Blazer. The nose was too short and the gear would not engage fully with the flywheel. I don't know if it was mislabeled or because it would work for a Tahoe and Tahoe's & Blazer's use the same starter that they thought "Well it works here so it should work there." Either way, the 1st one was not the correct one, the 2nd one, however, was correct and worked perfectly for 3 days.

I just wanted to clarify so that no one thought that both starters were failing thereby thinking something was making 2 starters fails. One was 'mislabeled/wrong' the other is sticking.

 

Sometimes they DO need shims. Buy shims and play with it. I've used them to 500 times.