the thing i like most about it is that you can visiby see the change in angle of the axle tube where they cut it. Bin the housing and start over

if its LSD, judging by the workmanship of the diff, they might have just not had teh 2 splines in the LSD lined up, and therefore the axle wouldnt go in all the way. so they thought that spacing it out might be the better option

A mate did the same thing but cut the end off his axle to get it in....only to be told shortly after that you need to make sure the splines are lined up first

but if you pull it apart, make sure the splines are lined up, then put both axles in the lsd (all outside of the housing) you should be able to get an idea of the length it will be