1998 Yukon Starter

My Yukon wouldn't start yesterday, my husband got under and hit the starter, and now it starts up with no problems.The car has 200k miles on it. Should we just replace the starter? Also what is the difference between a * Gear reduction starter * and a * Direct drive starter *?
Thank you in advance

That is one of the starter tests- give it a good whaaaap and it starts working, then your starter is worn out. It will work for a few weeks and soon do it again- so the sooner you replace it the better.

Gear reduction uses transmission gears to turn speed into torque- direct drive supplies the needed torque with minimal gear reduction-- just get the one that best matches OEM specs..

Thank you for your reply. Will go down and pick up a new one.

Agree, this happened to us out of town with our 2005 Yukon. Tapped starter with hammer, fired right up.

Was a bear to remove the wires going to the starter so I could drop it down (the bolts were real easy), couldn't access from above or from below. I finally took off the wheel and fender inner liner and worked through a small space sideways to remove the wire securing nuts. "Great" GM engineering !!!

Anyway, bad starter had pieces loose inside it, could hear them readily when I shook the starter. I fixed same day I first tapped it with the hammer. I got brand-new lifetime warranty from AutoZone.