2005 mazda b4000

i did the rear brakes and out of curiosity pulled/pushed on the stud flange... it moves in and out so how much play am i allowed in and out on that? How are they secured in the diff?

 

There is a thick C-clip that secures the axle, not sure there is a metric on movement allowed, say 1/4-3/8" or so

Google: DIY remove c-clip axles

There a 4 min video on how it works

The C-clips ride inside a cutout on the spider gears so they can't come off, you have to remove the center pin so the axles can be push in far enough to get the c-clips off the axles, then the axles can be pulled out

So the in and out movement is the clearance between axle end and center pin inside differential, which is not enough to allow c-clip to come off