I am only an amature modder when it comes to freelancer, but I believe that the animations for ship engines ectera are embedded in the actual ship code, not seperate items.
The way cargo pods were done is the added hardpoints to the ship, and instead of you seeing a turret or a gun, or similar item, they simply used a shield mount to put it on, and gave the item that would normally display physically on the ship the appearance of a cargo pod. So infact the cargo pods are really just a jurry rigged shield that looks like a cargo pod. Kinda neat and inventive IMO.
