2002 ZL 600 EFI ESR Starter Pinion

The pinion gear engages the ring gear teeth, but
then stops turning, but the flex shaft and pinion shaft
keep turning. There must be something stripped.
I removed the starter, but can't figure out how
to get the pinion gear assembly out of the motor mount
bracket. I removed the snap ring from each end of the
pinion shaft, and it will now slide back and forth about 1/2".
So far, I have not been able to loosen the two hex screws
on the flex shaft outboard end, which in underneath the
exhaust manifold. I can get the allen wrench on the screws,
but the screws are so small, and takes such a small allen wrench,
it just "flexes", and wont break the screws loose.
Also, even if I do get the flex shaft off, it still looks like
the pinion gear will hit the ring gear and not be able to come
out of the mount.
Removing the pinion gear / motor mount doesn't look like an option either,
as the lower bolt can not be accessed.
The digital manual I have seems to only cover removing the old style starters
that were bolted onto the engine.
What's the procedure to remove the pinion assembly?
Help much appreciated. Thanks.

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2002 ZL 600 EFI ESR Starter Pinion