on my 96 f150 w/ 4.9 v-6, the starter stays engaged. i have replaced the ign switch, the starter switch in column, the starter and solenoid on fire wall. if u have any suggestions i greatly appreciate any help u can give me.

 

is the starter staying energized or is it not retracting from the flywheel?

 

If you tried everything else then the cause is the starter itself, replace or rebuild it. Starter solenoids can also be broken even new, so just to make sure it isn't getting stuck, hit the threaded terminals firmly but carefully with a heavy tool (hammer maybe?) and see if that changes anything.

 

On my wife's 4Runner the solenoid contacts (internal to the starter itself) were worn from time and 19x,xxx miles worth of starting. This is usually the issue when starters get stuck. The contacts will start to wear down where they meet the plunger and will start to only engage the plunger partially, leaving a small gap between the plunger and the contacts. If that gap produces an arc during starter engagement, it could literally weld itself to the plunger, leaving the starter engaged regardless of what you do. The concept behind striking the starter is to break that weld with force. Sometimes it happens as a fluke. Other times it will happen repetitively or consistently (my wife's case.) The solenoid contact replacements aren't much and it's a simple job.