I have a '97 4runner, V6....hit or miss for months, especially after it has run and is hot, won't start, just clicks. Before, I could get it started by either knocking the starter/solenoid a bit or just letting it sit a bit & then would start right up. However, last week I could not get it started back up at all...it did nothing, no click-just would not start. Tried jumping it off, not a battery issue...finally, yesterday I replaced the starter relay & a friend was able to barely get it started to move it to his house where it can be worked on. Now it is back to just clicking when I try to start it. My friend seems to think the starter needs to be replaced...however, starter costs over $100 so that would be an expensive guess for it not to fix the problem. I am no mechanic but it seems to me that if the starter was bad, would it have gone on hit or miss for months like it has? Does anyone know of anything else that might cause this problem? Also, is there anyway to be sure my starter is bad before I invest $ replacing it??

Just a thought. Check the wiring for any corrosion. Maybe it's not getting a solid positive or negative supply. Worth a look and could cause intermittent working and also possibly be affected by hitting it if the hitting was temporarily causing a connection.

Sounds like starter contacts. If you're crafty you can get away with just replacing the contacts, there's plenty of write-ups about doing it. If not just replace the starter but the consensus is that the starter motor rarely goes bad- just the contacts

I went to scrapyard & bought $40 starter with year warranty, that fixed it...whether it was starter or contacts, remains a mystery!!

Rebuild your old one and save it!!