For about 3 weeks now my starter has begun to stick on after the engine starts. It only does this on the first start up of the day but not every day. If I turn the key back off, everything shuts down and is fine on the restart. I haven't pulled it yet but the plan is to get it out today to see what going on but, what are the likely culprits?
Last year I replaced the contacts in it to fix the no start issue it was having. Thats the last time it was out since the engine was installed 7 years ago. As far as I know, its the OEM toyota starter with 280k on it.

 

Sounds like the starter drive is about wore out.

There is a spring that retracts it after the key is released.

Then it could be things are worn and getting out of line. Causing it to hang up.

 

You didn't put grease on the plunger when you replaced the contacts did you? If you did take it apart and wipe the grease off. It could be the starter relay too.

 

I had the same thing happen to me, it was only on the first start of the day. I ended up replacing the starter with a brand new OEM unit. Here is a video of what it would sound like.

 

Yeah, thats pretty much what mine does too.
I dropped the starter and bench tested it and couldnt get it to stick. I pulled it apart and it had some sand and silt in if from the desert trips I've done but nothing major. The bendix looks good still with no major tooth wear and moved freely. I did notice that the new contacts I put in last year were not setting flat and the plunger contact was only hitting the very front leading edges. I cleaned them up and made sure they were flat for better contact. Put it back together and bench tested it. All worked good so i threw it back in the truck and it worked ok. Guess I will have to see if the sticking comes back.

Yes, there is a little grease on the plunger shaft where the spring is but not enough to cause the plunger to stick. Just a real light quick smear. If the issue comes back, I might pull it apart again and remove all that grease.

 

A little grease on the ball at the end of the spring is ok. I've was talking about the shaft of the plunger, it should not have any grease and will cause sticking when cold.

 

Well, it was good today but I'm not holding my breath for a long lasting miracle.