rear wheel question

[Robert Haller]

I pulled my rear wheel off to have a new tire mounted. When I went to reinstall it I noticed the bearing spacer (small cylinder in the middle of the hub) could move around a little, and I had to stick a screwdriver in the left side to align it so the axle would go through. The wheel seems to work ok but this has never happened when I've had the wheel off before. Is this something I should be concerned about?

[GsBike]

I noticed the same thing last weekend when I got my rear tire back from the shop (repaired a flat). I could move the middle spacer around with my finger.

I looked at the exploded view of the rear tire in the Clymers book and all the parts were there. So, I repacked the bearings and the drive shaft with grease and put it back on. I think the middle spacer tightens up when the axle is put on and tightened down.