Having changed my upper front suspension bushes for poly bushes ( see post) I came to some conclusions.
If you fit standard jag spec bushes you need the shims .. 2 x 0.9mm and 2x1.6mm 4.6 mm packing in total.
But if you fit poly bushes its different. ( two brands tested )
If you look at the photo below you

can see the problem.

the poly bush spacer is much longer than the original at 55 mm and the original is 46mm . So it is clear that you cannot add the spacers to to poly bush system so it is intended you miss out the spacers.
Comments invited

 

I think you need to add the stepped washers ( and any others that impact length) each end before you have a meaningful length measure of the originals.
I have poly uppers and caster shims went back in where they were.
Old and new assemblies need to be stacked up with spacer tubes and all associated washers and total lengths compared.

 

The ones I used came with their own "end washers" plain and flat so no need or space for the stepped washer or shims.


The other set I did not use came without end washers and one bush was thinner than the other but the central tube was still 55 mm.

Glue the washers in with contact adhesive to make the job easy.

 

I didn't mean to include them in the poly assembly. What l mean is that in measuring the overall length of the old tube you need to include all the washers. If your old tube is 46 mm long but you also have a stack of washers of 9mm total you need to include both figures.

 

The ones from the RHS were so smashed up I cannot really measure anything except the tube so when i do the LHS this morning I will see what bits I get out.

 

Well I took out the LHS bushes ...they had clearly been changed and even had 4 spacer washers. Bolt on this side was fully tight .For some reason the person who re fitted it put 3 washers behind the bolt head. there is a small groove behind the head and these got jammed in that and the bolt would not pass the fixing for the wheel sensor wire . Had to cut those with the angle grinder .
Someone had cleaned part of the bolt with a file. I almost left the old bushes in place as they looked so good but took them out ..quite a struggle with a threaded rod and large socket to push the tube out .
The assembled original is 48mm end to end without shims. The poly bush is 61mm end to end which means it sticks out 6.5mm more into the central gap of the wishbone so I am not worried about shims.
I did note when investigating that some of the bush makes have the poly all the way along the tube and some like mine only at the end. Worth checking when you buy.