Good question Rat.

A loose axle nut will cause all sorts of wear issues in the assembly. A vague and not very meaningful assertion. :-(
A bent stub axle will cause more wear and grief to the bearings and bearing housing.

From the Samba list threads on the subject. The spacer sleeve is not considered a wear item.
From a few reported measurements of used spacer-sleeves, they appear to measure out as new @ 42.8 mm in length.

Others?

Pz

On 2015-06-03, at 10:02 AM, OlRivrRat wrote:

        AnyOne care to discuss just what might cause the Spacer to Wear Shorter ~