I posted a thread back on Friday last week, "Electrical Meltdown".

Turned out to be the starter. An interesting set of events that might be of use to someone else in the future. Luckily nothing but the starter was damaged.

What happened:
The gear the engages the flywheel did not retract and therefore was being inversly turned by the engine (at a much higher rate than designed for). We think this was caused by a short within the starter that sends the electical pulse to the gear rod that extends to the piston. Not being a mechanical part, after the short, there is no back-up retcrator to disengage the starter from the flywheel.

Signs to look for that your starter still engaged to the flywheel:

-I was having difficulty starting my truck for the past few weeks.
-A chuggin noise that is throttle sensive between the firewall and the engine (inside the dash). If this happens, pull right over and turn the vehicle off. If the vehicle remains on, try tapping the clutch to disengage the starter from the flywheel
-Do not turn the key again
-Be very carefull disconnecting the battery, as the starter is still pulling power.

Hope this can help someone in the future, it seems like an odd occurence.

 

All I can say is WOW!
Glad you got that figured out and thanks for posting the solution!

 

Sorry to raise this thread from the dead, but my 99 4Runner did the very same thing yesterday. Had a hard time starting the truck for a few days prior, and then yesterday a huge white cloud of smoke started pouring out of the starter while the truck was idling. I haven't got around to looking at it yet but hopefully all I have to replace is the starter, battery and a few cables.

 

the same thing happened to me, it will crank crank crank by it self and it wouldnt stop, i had to get a stick to pry off the neg terminal off my battery.

 

I had the same on my 5sp '99. Ended up replacing it - at about 130k