so today i decided to adjust my star bolt on my drums to see if that was my problem with my rear tires dragging a little now and then.so after i got it jacked up. i tried wiggling the tire up and down and side to side, and it wouldnt budge. but when i grabbed it and pulled on it, it moved in and out about an 8th of an inch on both sides. now im no expert but im pretty sure that there not supposed to move in and out like that. if anyone knows what my problem is, advise would be greatly appreciated. i called around to a few shops i know. and they wouldnt tell me a damn thing they wanted me to bring the truck in so they could look at it and charge me a fee. i also called around to quite a few junk yards in my area and noones got any durangos with useable rear ends. all they had were the 10 bolts. and i got a 12bolt 3.92 gear ratio. i saw on another forum that someone had a simillar issue and said its a carrier baring problem, and another guy said a spyder gear issue. or a pinnion issue. now i got about every tool a man could ask for besides a lift. and im willing to get my hands dirty. if its something i can do. i have never had to tear apart a rear end befor so im not fimillar with em. but i need help figuring out what the problem is. its not making any noise. its just slopy in and out. now i could be wrong but it doesnt seem right to me. i didnt tear my drums off but could it be that a nut is loose like a yoke nut. or doesnt it have one.

 

Drop the cover and check for gear wear and check the thrust washers. If it is anything in the rear end and you decide to rebuild it make sure you follow directions to a T for bearing preload and gear lash. Oh and I bet if there is anything you'll need to buy more tools.
It has a yoke nut all you are looking for is rust coming out from behind the nut. that will indicate if the nut is loose or not. Put the D in neutral with the wheels off of the ground and see if the driveline had any up and down or twisting play. It shouldn't have any up and down and just a little bit of twist play.

 

well for tools i have about as much tools as mechanics garage. im a mechine mechanic and if i do need any special tools ill be willing to bet we have em in our shop. but besides that i had it up in the air in nutral with both wheels off the ground, when i turn one wheel on either side there is minimal play from wheel to wheel, as in if i turn the wheel a 1/4 inch, on that quarter inch turn the other tire starts to spin. and i checked my yoke. all u joints are fine and the yoke itself has no play in out up down side to side and no rust. im just worried about having my tires fly off the axle cuz i got that 8th inch play in and out. i have heard of ppls axle pulling out and finding out that they had a clip on the inside of the pumpkin that attached there axle to the gears. or something like that. and like i said im not to famillar with rear ends. it may even be that its supposed to be like that. any thoughts.

 

If durangos have that clip its a c clip, I had one come out before and the axle came out. It can happen over time they wear out, but I'm not sure if durangos have them

 

so my best bet would be to go and get a new pan gasket and take it off and check everything and take my drums off and make sure thats all tight to. cuz i just got an alignment and i know all my joints on my steering are tight but my truck still likes to wander a little when i drive, which i bet is caused by my slop in the rear end.
are there and bolts or big nuts that connect the axle in by the drums. maybee they loosened up over the years.
i have been meaning to add i noticed today that my rear axle is painted blue. and my d is black. so im pretty sure that this axle isnt the original one.