My 94 silverado was running just fine on Monday on the way home and tuesday would not crank at all. Tried turning the key and it makes this God awful clanking noise. I have changed the starter and we took the transmission shield off the truck to check the flywheel and everything in that area, and nothing was damaged there. Im not sure where exactly this noise is coming from and I do not have a ton of money to start replacing things to try to find the problem that way. Any suggestions as to what it may be and where to start?

 

are the bolts loose after trying to start it?

 

Not that we have run across.

 

is the engine turning over (spinning)?
i would also get a helper to try and start it while youre under it just be careful and make sure it cant roll/fall
you can also check the starter bendix clearance but since it did it to the old one i would image thats ok.
Issues with your starter? How to.

another thing is to unbolt the torque converter and slide it back to get a good look at the flywheel bolts and make sure its not cracked where it bolts to the crank. i think this is more likely your issue if the starter bolts arnt backing out. sometimes if the block is cracked where outboard bolts go in they will back out as soon as you try to start the truck.