General Maintenance & Repairs - Help! Starter Grinding on 02 Z28

Went out to start my car and it wont start. Don't think it is an electrical issue, it sounds like the starter is grinding. Put it up on jack stands and the starter does not feel loose at all. That starter is only a year or 2 old so the starter itself should not be the problem. Battery is fine as well.

Update: Think it might be bad starter after all, think it is that small gear that retracts after the car is started that has gone bad.

The problem is that is the 2 or 3rd starter in as many years. Is there any part that could be bad that is making all these starters go bad so quickly?

Autozone tested the starter and it in fact good, so they sold me shims to install when I put it back so that way the gear will hit the flywheel. 5 bucks

you should not need shims, if you do then it is not the correct starter.
duralast is a piece of shit brand, but what can cause the starter to fail is inadequate voltage to the solenoid on the starter. The solenoid on the starter draws a decent amount of current, and if the starter relay is faulty then that can cause new starters to fail, what'll happen is the solenoid will burn out and not force and hold the pinion out to engage the flywheel. So try replacing the starter relay in the fuse box under the hood, it will be one of the big square gray relays. And the only thing that really ever fails on the starter is the solenoid which unfortunately is not really replaceable by the consumer... the starter/alternator business wants you to turn the whole thing in and buy a whole new starter for > $100 while they replace a $10 solenoid and then resell it.

Are you sure your battery level is up when you are starting?

Having insufficient power can lead to a grinding/clicking sound.