what was the last thing you had done before the original starter went bad? I almost killed two in a row from the plate being out if alignment (the plate between the engine and trans) This was only possible because the dowel pins were missing, now that I've resolved that the starter sounds much better

 

Ive never done any work prior to the starter. The only thing that was previously done was I took off the oil pan and put it back on. I have never touched the clutch or flywheel. I did look at the flywheel and there are no missing teeth, I did notice a bit of scratches and stuff on the ring gear but it didnt seem enough of an issue to cause a problem.

 

What are the odds that almost 13 years later, you remember or k is what fixed this ? I'm having the exact same issue!