Possibly like you, I was worried it was a geometry issue.
Lowering it will be a cinch, though not quite as easy as had Ford gone with torsion bars.
That "transaxle" is the motor and gear reduction set. Tesla's have an oil filter on their gearset, but they use a special long life gear oil that's supposed to go well over 250,000 miles before needing replaced.It's so nobody powers up the transaxle and smokes the gearset, it looks like it's taped onto the main power input terminals; which is exactly where I would put it: because you can never be too careful...ask Alec Baldwin.
Ten dollars says that the oil filter on the transaxle is a concession for dealerships. Does the MME have one there? Judging by the corrosion on the casting, it's possible it's been around a while. So who knows how much, if anything has changed. It might also be there just as a quick way to see how the gearset is holding up to all the weight and torque during testing.
Only thing I noticed was the brake line running between the spring coils, probably because whatever it's supposed to be secured to is missing along with the rest of the truck.
Otherwise, the rear IRS is textbook semi trailing arm, which isn't the most modern option but a strong proven compromise likely made to keep the truck bed low with the existing frame. The geometry won't be very lift friendly because it travels in more of an arc than multi-link or double a-arm suspension. There also looks like there's lots of angle on the half shafts but there's also a lot of weight missing and it could even be a dummy battery in the frame to make it easier to transport.
My guess is that most people won't be wanting to lift the Lightning once they figure out how much it lowers the range, especially when paired with larger tires.
You mean just like these transaxles?
There goes my crooked dealership theory! I hope it's a special filter, because those mild steel spin-on oil filters aren't suited for long term road applications driving in shitty climates. They rust out within a few years, especially if they have a sticker, which traps moisture. It's interesting that they provide the convenience of a filter for such a long service interval. Meanwhile, for many automatic transmissions that can have 60,000 mile service intervals, you get a glorified lint trap as a filter and need to unscrew a bunch of bolts to drop the pan and then contend with an awkwardly shaped gasket that rarely wants to go into place.
Actually, Tesla uses Dexron 6 ATF fluid even though it's a not "transmission" - it's a gearbox with tranny fluid. Tesla states a 125,000 service interval on most models for that fluid, not 250k, and the techs at my three regular service centers say 75k miles is best - the fact that it has a filter is a clue. My four Teslas have thrown three service messages for gearbox fluid changes between them, all under 90k miles, so the vehicles have a self-monitoring system for this fluid.
I'd never lift one in the most common definition of a lift.
