i have a clunking in my axle. looks like a bushing/bearing is going out.

the gear in the red circle has a lot of play up and down when i hit the wheel or i can wiggle it up and down by hand.

the area in the green circle is where i can see the axle and i can see it move up and down.

any suggestions on fixing this issue.

 

sure looks like there is a broken spider gear visable in
the pic(the two gears on the cross shaft)-any broken
teeth laying in the bottom or stuck to the magnet?
(some cars have the magnet,some don't)
if there is only the broken spider gear and no other
damage apparent,replacing the spider gears is pretty
easy.Could also upgrade to a posi carrier.

 

no noticeable metal fragments were in the bottom or on the magnet. im not quite sure which gear is the spider gear.

 

the spiders are the little pinion gears on the big pin that
slips in between the axles-from the pics it really looks
like the lower one has a couple teeth missing-if you
have not owned the car long,possibly a previous owner
removed the debris

 

there are no teeth missing from what i could tell. here is another pic

 

yeah,they do look ok in that 2nd pic!
as far as being able to move that axle gear up and down
-i will have a look at a spare carrier to see if i can
figure out how much play is normal with those...

 

well im going to start looking for a new axel. what is the range of years that i can swap into my car. also if i find one with disc brakes will i be able to hook my current brake system up to the disc brakes with out any problems.

 

Anything '84-92 drum should be a direct bolt in-IIRC,
5.0 ho/5spd uses a 3.73 ring+pinon.'82-83 is also the
same other than the threads for the brake fittings.
Disc brake can be made to work but you will need the
proportioning valve and master cylinder,E-brake cables,
etc.from the donor car.
If you have the tools,skills,etc to change the carrier,
that would be the best route as that carrier is used on
lots and lots of GM rear drive cars.
I have found several F-bod axles where the carrier
bearings have "spun" in the housing and worn into
the housing-in that case a new axle is needed...
If you cannot find a suitable 3rd gen axle,4th gen can
be made to work-you will find lots of info on that in
this section