Geo Prizm Starter = can see gap after installation

[harryagapidis]

I just replaced the starter on my 96 Geo PRIZM (118000 miles) and after a lot of hard work reaching and screwing in the bolts, I noticed that, looking from the top of the car, there is a gap between the contour of the starter motor and the rest of the engine (more or less you can see the inside. the gap is a few mm wide (2-3)

The car starts fine now and I don' think there is too much play between the bolts. Someone told me that this is normal, it happened on their Ford, but I am worried about letting dust and particles enter the flywheel. Is this normal? Should I attempt at repositioning the starter?

This was the first time I really did work on any car, but I do think I did the right thing, my brothers in law checked it and thought it was OK.

Help Please!

Harry

[rruddfan21]

add a few shims to it.....and then a washer as well.