Wrong starter pinion gear on 75hp?

[Cutlass18]

When unsuccessfully trying to start my '94 75 2 stroke Merc recently, I noticed that the starter pinion gear wasn't grabbing the flywheel at all, or at best only grabbing for brief moments. I found metal shavings that appear to be from the teeth of the flywheel, many of which are clearly ground down. Its becoming clear that the engine will need a new flywheel. The starter motor was replaced a number of years ago, and the only reason I can come up with for the damage to the flywheel is that the pinion gear must somehow be the wrong one. I'm hesitant to go ahead with the flywheel replacement without knowing what caused the damage to the original. Can anyone help point me in the right direction?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Impropper shiming or a sticking bendix would be my first thought

 

[racerone]

Is it a cast iron flywheel ?-----Damaged teeth in 3 places ?

 

[Cutlass18]

Impropper shiming or a sticking bendix would be my first thought

I have had issues with the bindex sticking in the past. It didn't occur to me that that could cause that kind of damage. When I had a Merc mechanic look at it the day of the issue, he immediately noticed that it looked as if the wrong gear was on the starter motor, but I wouldn't know where to begin trying to figure out which gear is the right one for that engine. The online parts catalog hasn't been helpful there.

racerone, the flywheel is the original, and if i'm honest I'm not sure what it's made of. Can you explain more what you mean by "damaged teeth in 3 places?" ?

 

[racerone]

Post pictures of damage.------A 3 cylinder motor generally stops in the same 3 places.----Each time the pinion rises it may chip / damage a cast iron flywheel.