outer halfshaft movement 98 defender?

[mudder110]

howdy all in my search for this noise ive got from under the 110 after cracking the front half shaft caps ive noticed lateral play in the half shafts
how much play if any should there be also should there be any play in the rear axles, also noticed on the half shafts ends there is dry black gasket sealant on the left side there is so much there is no oil coming through
its even on the inside of the caps im concerned as im running hi tough axles and flanges all round, this could be the noise ive got any advice appreciated

[Blknight.aus]

should be set at 10 thou. not a super critical measurement. if you run oil flooded hubs a little more free play will help the motion of the axle "walk" the oil along the splines.

A mod I reccomend for the maxi drives and similar setups is to drill and tap a thread into the face, fit a blanking grub screw and then when you do your drive line checks, remove it, install a grease nipple squeeze in a shot of semi liquid grease or 85/140 and reinstall the grub screw. this will then walk in and lube the splines.

On dads landy I tapped a pair of holes into each flange so the bearing oil could be checked by removing the 2 blanking bolts, filling with 80/90 and then turning till one was at 90 degrees untill the oil stopped flowing out. Excess would always, eventually work its way back into the swivel housing.