Hi there new to the forum here, I recently purchased a lowered pickup. I noticed on dead stops. When I release The clutch and give a little gas. It has allowed metallic rubbing noise. Strange thing it only happens in first gear on takeoff. Former owner said he change the clutch to a performance one.

With that said, I brought it into the dealership to have them look at it. The tech said it’s the driveline that’s rubbing on the trans which is creating the metal to metal noise. He said it’s more likely that when the truck was lowered the driveshaft got pushed too far in and is grinding on the output shaft housing. They suggested getting a shorter drive line.

Has anyone come across this issue when the lower their trucks?

 

Lift the truck on jack stands. Fire it up, throw it in gear and see if you can hear where the sound is. Could be the transmission input shaft, a bad u joint. Maybe have someone help you

 

Lift would be much safer. Not sure I’d be under a running truck in gear with only jack stands holding it up. Could be the headache to end all headaches.

 

I dnt recall ever hearing the drive shaft being pushed back into the transmission due to lowering or lifting, if anything it gets pulled out and will disengage due to a more aggressive angle on the drive line. Hence why they sell adapters/spacers to accommodate. I would take @jetas advice and jack up the rear, first out the jack stands on the axles and throw it in gear.. to be able to centralize the area you hear the sound at. Then reposition the jack stands to the chassis in order to release the load on the axle, there should be no more noise. At this point, shit off the truck, get under there and look for ware spots or shinny metal starting from the transmission tunnel all the way back to the 3rd member. Don't forget to jiggle things around, nothing should have free play other then the wheels..

 

Dnt forget to check your transmission mount as well, new/performance clutches will add/restore loads to the point where it can shift your drive line.

 

Is the truck a single cab short bed? And how low is it?

 

For just getting the car in the air to get under it isn't the worst. If you're beating, rocking or what ever if the wheels can stay on put it on ramps. Lifts fail to. My truck was one a really cheap ac Delco jack stand for over 1 year. It was going to rust out before it had a random failure.

 

Thanks all for the replies, you all been very helpful. With that said, I jacked up the rear axle and put it on stands through that bad boy in gear, and the noise persisted underneath the transmission. At that point I turned off the truck, Crawled under and remove the driveshaft from the axle. I than pushed it in to see how far it would go into the transmission and it was less than half an inch. Talking with one of the companies that deals with drive lines they said they would like to see an inch of play. So I pulled the driveshaft off and found metal shavings on the outer housing of the driveshaft. I verify the outer bearing wasn’t damage. And then brought the driveshaft to a professional to have it shorten.

 

So do you have blocks in the rear? Mono leaf? How low is the truck?

 

The metallic rubbing noise during takeoff in your lowered pickup may indeed result from the driveshaft rubbing against the transmission output shaft housing. Lowering the truck might have caused misalignment. The dealership's suggestion of a shorter driveshaft could resolve this issue, providing the necessary clearance. Ensure the replacement is compatible with the lowered suspension. Additionally, check for any signs of wear or damage on the existing driveshaft. Other owners who have encountered similar problems after lowering their trucks might offer valuable insights or alternative solutions on forums or communities specializing in vehicle modifications.