[MASTERBrian]

Simple question.....this mini torque starter says to check spacing between gears I can leave positive battery cable unhooked from starter and with the R terminal hooked up, turn key and let bendix pop out for less than thirty seconds.

I don't have a helper right now to turn key, any reason I can't use jumper with full battery power to the S terminal instead soI can test myself under the truck?

Family finally came home do i was able to test. On the test runs with no power to starter motor the branding pops out, but doesn't always want to return. Is this cause for concern OR normal, when the flywheel doesn't spin? I can easily stick a small paperclip between the gears with no shim. The install instructions say 0.020-0.025 gap. The clip measures 0.033, which is obviously over the spec, but I can't go any tighter since no shim to remove.

The wire to S terminal is 12 gauge from firewall to starter. According to factory wire diagram the wire under dash from switch to firewall is 16 gauge. Somewhere I read maybe the bendix isn't returning due to lack of power. If that's the cause, maybe I need to update under dash and/or go with the Ford relay which calls for that wire to engage the relay and a 12 gauge wire from large terminal lug opposite battery cable to S terminal of starter.