Driver side axle is too short by 1-1½ in

Come on; add some details. Is this a replacement shaft or the original one? What preceded this problem? Is this a rebuilt, used, or original shaft?

By "too short" do you mean the the threaded shaft that is part of the outer cv joint? I thought you meant the entire assembly was too short and the inner joint was not staying inside the transmission. Compare the old and new ones side-by-side. If they are different you have a shaft for some other application. If they're the same, you're not getting it to come all the way through the splined hub. Usually that's just because you haven't wiggled, pushed, and yelled at it enough. When it's lined up it will pop in due to the pressure of the spring in the inner joint.

Also look if there's a toothed tone ring on the outer joint for an anti-lock brake wheel speed sensor. Sometimes those are installed on replacement shafts so the part will work on any car with or without ABS, but if your car doesn't have ABS you'll either have to remove that ring or check if there's a metal dust plate in the way.

You still didn't tell me where it's too short. Is it the outer threaded shaft on the cv joint or the entire assembly? Have you compared the two side-by-side to see what's different? If everything else is the same, check the inner joint and be sure it is being pushed out by a really strong spring. If that spring is broken the housing will be able to move about two inches making the assembly too short. That spring keeps the inner joint pushed into the transmission.

Why are you looking at a lot of shafts? If you mean you're searching in a salvage yard you may be looking at too many similar but different models. Rebuilt half shafts are really inexpensive and are normally selected by application. There can be a lot of different part numbers that look the same but will not interchange for a variety of reasons.

An alignment problem won't cause half shaft problems unless it is the result of bent or modified parts, and that damage would have to be pretty severe. The other parts you mentioned suggest the car has been lowered. As a suspension and alignment specialist I have to get very picky about measuring and correcting ride height. Altering it changes the geometry of the steering and suspension systems. If that was done to your car in such a way that it moved the spindle further from the transmission, that could require a longer shaft. Once I showed and explained what happens when ride height is altered, none of my students wanted to do that to their cars. That would be a custom application and you can't rely on factory-original parts to fit and work properly.

Nope. If the outer shaft is too short you have the wrong part. Here's a photo from Rock Auto. The outer shaft is shown with the red bracket. If that is too short it is either the wrong cv joint or there's something on it preventing it from seating all the way. You have to compare that to the old one. If the length is the same, look for a ring that is not on the old one, (blue arrow). The joint could be the same for a number of different applications but on some that ring may be used to seal out dirt and water, but on others it may be a part of the wheel bearing seal. In effect you'll have two and one must be removed. Typically the rebuilder includes it in case it's needed and expects you to remove it if it's not. If you fail to do that you will usually still be able to get the shaft through the bearing enough to start the big axle nut but it will rub and get tight, and not turn. The same is true of the anti-lock brake tone ring, (pink arrow). On cars with ABS there might be a notch in the spindle casting to allow clearance for that ring. Without ABS you may need to tap that ring off. You would feel the shaft no longer rotate freely when it's installed as far as it will go. All of that has nothing to do with ride height or spindle position.

If the outer joint goes into the bearing all the way but the overall length, (shown here as 23 1/2") is too short, look if the inner joint extends and collapses freely, (green bracket). There's a really strong spring inside it to push it out. If you can move that joint back and forth about an inch or two on the shaft by hand that spring is broken or missing. It takes a lot of effort to hold that joint collapsed to get that measurement they show.

Then that new shaft is for a different application.

You have the wrong outer cv joint. The shaft fits a different car model or year.

Are you getting these from a salvage yard or an auto parts store? The guys at the auto parts stores will look up the part by application; the year, model, engine size, and manual or automatic transmission if there's a difference. Sometimes there will be a notation in their books that a part fits only those cars built before or after a certain date. They will ask you to look at the sticker on the car, usually on the back of the driver's door, to find the production date.

The guys at the salvage yards will start the same way by checking if they have a car identical to yours and if the half shafts are still on it. If they don't have an identical car they will look up your half shaft in a "Hollander Guide". That will give the part a three or four-digit code number that they look up in the back half of the book. There it will list all the other applications that use that same part, then they can check if they have any of those cars in their yard or if they have any of those shafts in storage.

Either way the next step is to compare the new one to the old one. If you brought the old one with you they will do that right there to be sure it's right. If there is a difference they will try to figure out what they looked up wrong. It is not unheard of for a rebuilt half shaft, or any other rebuilt part, to get boxed wrong or labeled wrong.

What's wrong with the old shaft? Have the guys look up just the outer cv joint and see if that's the same. If it's not, have them look at different years or see what other listings they have for Acura.

As CARADIODOC mentioned in the older thread,

Did you have the stores look "UP" or "DOWN" a year or two to see if the shafts might match yours?

You are making a comparison with the New and Old shafts side by side uninstalled?

The Medic

'Nuther question

Is this vehicle stock or has it been modified?

The Medic