Passenger axle problem

My passenger side axle of my 93 Integra has 1/4-1/2 inches of vertical play where the inboard goes into the transaxle.
Is it likely that it's just a bad axle(it seems like it may be too short), or is it more likely that the trans is damaged.
I was told that the final drive may be damaged.
I just moved across country so money is really tight. I hope that it is something small and inexpensive, but knowing my luck I'll have to source a new trans soon.
Thoughts on the issue?
 
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