We have all be there. Buddy of mine has no loot till next week. Starter on the car needs to be hit a few times before the car starts. How long until the thing completely fails to work with him knocking on it? any ideas?
It MIGHT just be the solenoid
What make model, i have a brand new solenoid from my rx7 if he comes and gets it he can have it for free. They used this part on alot of imports from the late 80s-early 2000s
on many cars it is build onto the starter. ofter you can disassemble the starter and clean it up and get a bunch more life out of it. So do that if your buddy as broke and has some time and mechanical skills. If not replaced it before that bitch leaves you stranded. In my experience you don’t have very long.
You would know its the solenoid if you drop a pipe across the two big terminals and the car starts fine.
If this is the case, just make sure to have a metal pipe. If its the starter, you can whack it, if its the solenoid, you can make your own slightly sparky one with the pipe.
If the starter is on its way out, he’s pressing his luck as is. If its the solenoid, you can continue to just connect the terminals ‘manually’ until they’re absolutely trashed from arching.
From my experience it is usually the starter motor itself when a hammer “fixes” it. Ultimate failure will occur anywhere from next start to a few months.
Check the grounds to make sure it is getting as much juice as it can.