It is hard to tell from the photo.  I look at both sides of the strut to see if there are obvious signs of a gap between the propshaft and the rubber cutlass bearing or the rubber being compacted to determine if the natural alignment may be off, or if the strut has damage or needs adjustment.  Also, with the cutlass bearing lubricated, it should be easy to turn the prop by hand. 

I don't know if the menu options are only available on boats with the GPS antenna connected or not, but I've used this menu and saw the time displayed on 2022 and 2023 models that I've driven.  If I get the opportunity again to check this on another 2023 Axis, then I will let you know.

I don't have an exact measurement on hand, but from my experience I think 2 inches would be just enough room to clear the studs and splined shaft end.

9 hours ago, boardjnky4 said:

I also don't understand how so many of my neighbors are able to use their boat lifts with the one tiny little panel and a very small battery box (I was told they are not using lithium batteries but don't know). I haven't been able to connect with anyone that can provide details on the setup. Most homeowners obvoiusly have no clue other than, "it works".

I ended up with 4 panels on my dock. 2x100W and 2x200W. Recently converted over to 24V (2x Group 27 Deep Cycle FLD batteries) due to getting a 24V DC motor for my floating lift. For us, most of our usage for the solar capacity is actually the Starlink dish, which is fairly power hungry. Having it run 24/7 is challenging.

There’s a lot of guys that set these up and are using an inverter which is drawing a large amount of power 24/7 even while motor is not being used and ruin the inefficiencies are terrible at best. You can get a 24 V unit now that is more powerful and only needs a small 1‘ x 2‘ panel for your boatlift but you’re looking at 1.6-2k for the wheel blower unit. 

It may look like a huge job or big ordeal, but it really isn’t that bad.  I will say, I’m shocked at the front differential though. Remember folks, Ford builds millions of vehicles a year (maybe I’m exaggerating), and for every one that has repairs like this, there are 1000 that don’t. Sometimes it’s hard to predict failures even in field testing before launch.  Sometimes it takes years to identify a fix to an issue and get it implemented into production and it’s known they will have higher failures in warranty.  That’s why warranties exist, to stand behind their product.   I think it looks like you got connected with a dealer who is willing to listen to you and wanted to do what they needed to do to win you over.  I don’t know why you got the runaround at other shops, unless they are trigger happy due to warranty audits or they were just so busy or not staffed appropriately.  Ultimately, you may not love the vehicle (I am glad I have my F150, it’s nice, but I really miss my past AMG’s), but it should meet your needs.