I believe the drive axle on the passenger side is causing me some problems. I have a clunk that sounds similar to the sway bar end links but I know they for sure are good because they are new and tight. I sometimes hear a pop that I know is typical of half shafts and today I made some observation with my mom helping me. I had her shift the trans from drive to reverse while I watched the shaft and it appears that the hub coming out of the trans moves somewhat while the whole axle does not. This leads me to believe that my 1.5 year old axle is bad? Not too disappointed in it because it has been causing a leak since I put it in even with 2 new seals.

Can someone confirm my diagnostics?

Edit: Also how soft are the engine/ trans mounts supposed to be? I get a good amount of engine tilt when shifting from drive to reverse.

 

I'm almost sure that I will replace the drive axle this weekend but would like some input from people. Should I risk another aftermarket replacement that might fail in another 20k or should I get one off of a junkyard car with lower miles. I know the original ones on mine would have been in good shape if the boots had not been torn. Does anyone know how much a dealer would want for this part?