[jakejm79]

The two OEM axles on the car I have up in the air right now (1999 w/ 140K) has barely detectable if any in/out play at the outer CV joint. I'm not sure if using one that does would really cause issues, maybe it is due to the different CV joints NAPA used in rebuilding theirs.

 

[jakejm79]

OK I misunderstood, thought this was the same NAPA axle with the bad tripod bearing.
Sounds like you have more play than I do in mine, with mine they feel tight but not like they are welded together, i.e. there is a enough play to tell the shaft and CV joint are two separate parts but not really enough to be measurable, if that makes sense.

You could always just do new OEM CV joints and new tripod bearings.