rear end noises

[A bear in his natural habitat <burden@rhett.enet.dec.com>]

Yesterday I replaced the inner left cv joint, both boots on the left shaft and 
cleaned and repacked the outer left cv joint.  I did this trying to eliminate a 
clunking noise at low speeds when turning.

Unfortunately, the thunking is still there, although a little quieter.

After everything was back together, and I found the noise was still there, I 
jacked up the back of the car and rotated both wheels by hand.  The shaft on the 
right side rotated smoothly.  On the left side, the shaft moved in and out about 
1/2" on each revolution.  While I was doing this there was no noise, but I 
probably didn't expect any either.  I did notice a little play from the diff on 
the left side that was not there on the right.  The play is rotational, not in 
and out.

Today (I get to drive the Squareback until it's fixed...) some of the same 
noises are there.  There is a slight groaning when I coast or turn corners at 
speed, but if I apply power it goes away.  The thunking only comes in when I'm 
slowing down in a corner.

I'm getting the attitude of just drive it until it breaks, then I'll be able to 
tell what's wrong....

Anyone have any thoughts on what might be going wrong here?

Thanks
Dave ('71 Sqb)