What an interesting set of answers. Everything from soup to nuts....... Now for my opinion.......after having rebuilt hundreds of rears over my time as a mechanic. First, there are many points of wear that can add up to a lot of play in the rear. The most common is from spinning in slippery conditions. There are 4 gears in the carrier that is the actual differential. Two side gears and usually two pinions. The side gears seat into the carrier and are splined on the inside to engage the axle splines. Where they sir in the carrier, they can wear out that opening causing some play. The pinion gears are mounted on a shaft that is pinned into the carrier. When they spin on that shaft, they will wear into it over time. These parts are not well lubricated, and are not meant to spin very fast. They are designed to allow one wheel to turn faster than the other to allow for turning. When the vehicle gets stuck in a slippery mess like mud, snow, or ice, the driver tends to attempt to escape by racing the engine and spinning the wheels. That causes these parts to spin faster than they were designed or intended to spin. This causes the lubricant to be expelled to some extent, and accelerates wear. This is the primary cause of excessive play in rears in my experience.
Now, having said all of that, the other possible points of wear would be the ring and pinion, the pinion bearings, and the carrier bearings.
Ring and pinion: if your ring and pinion had that much play, it would be accompanied by howling/whining either under acceleration or deceleration. If this noise is not present, your ring and pinion are OK.
Pinion bearings: If your pinion bearings are worn, the yoke on the front of the rear will be loose and will also move from side to side or in and out. If your play is only rotational, your pinion bearings are probably fine. Also, bad pinion bearings are usually accompanied by an oil leak.
Carrier bearings: When these get worn, they make a grinding noise like a wheel bearing. They may also cause ring and pinion noise.
Rebuilding a rear is very simple. Making it QUIET is NOT. Pinion depth, backlash, and bearing preload must be correct or the rear will be noisy.
Also note that a one line answer to your question from somebody a thousand miles away from you that has not seen the problem will not likely be of much value.
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