"Tony Thomas" wrote
This is normal. No big deal.

That's the answer I was hoping for.

I just got my prop back from the rehub shop. It's an older Merc with a
pressed in insert. Before I sent it out, I could lay the thrustwasher on the
front of the hub and the inner boss on the washer rested on the front of the
insert. The new inner hub appears to be pressed farther into the outer hub
than the old one was. The thrust washer rests on the outer hub and there's a
small gap between the washer and the insert. Will the gap be taken up when I
put it on the shaft and tighten the nut? Is this normal? (Conversely, was my
old one abnormal?) Here are some photos that try to show what I'm talking
about:
http://www.zmm.com/notpublic/prop/prop.htm
(It never occurred to me to take any "before" shots.)