Just an FYI post.

My '02 Discovery II (104k miles) suddenly wouldn't start. No engine crank, no initial "click" at the solenoid. Lights come on, and "dings" dinged, but no action when the key was turned all the way (except the dinging stopped). No (related) codes (I have the "three amigos"... who doesn't). Just for grins, I put it on a jack, got under it, found the starter and whacked it with a hammer a few times.

Reached into the passenger window, turned the key, and voila!

I put the "suck" in "success".

Now, being a complete automotive maroon, I'm guessing that it would be wise to replace the starter? Maybe yes, maybe no?

 

Yes replace the starter, it is going bad.
What you did is a old school trick to get you home, that trick may work for years, it may work for days.

 

Order a good starter over the weekend to cover your tracks.

 

Just to give you an idea....when I was a kid, my dad had an International Scout. For almost a year, he had to use the hammer trick on the starter every so often to get it going. The starter never actually gave out completely, though. On my 2000 DII, I used a hammer to get it started just to get home from a friend's house. I parked it, ordered a new starter online, went to the garage to test it and the very next time I tried to crank it...nothing. You never know how much longer it has left in it.

 

That is an old school as Spike said, used to use the heavy wheel brace on the series as the brushes would either carbon up or start to come to bits hence the tap to losen it up. Time to order a new starter as has been said

 

Yep time for a new starter it may last for a while but why take the risk? The tap on the starter trick may not work next time.

 

Thanks for the consistent advice! One other interesting point: The morning it wouldn't start the battery had also been drained (one of my boys left the door open overnight, I believe). I wonder if it's possible that a low current impacted the solenoid (left it in a bad position or something).

 

I just went through the exact same scenario with mine. 90k on the starter and had to hit it to start the truck. Left my wife and kids stranded. It was Friday night and I needed to have it running so I replaced it with one I got at my local Autozone for $91. The core charge was more than the part ($95)! Lifetime warranty but I'm not too sure about the quality. I may just order a Bosch reman at some point to be sure.