Bicycle Mechanics - 20mm hub play

hello i have a 05 manitou nixon comp fork and i am having problems with play in my front hub. i have a wheelset off a 05 kona stinky(sun s type rim kk 20mm hub brand new with 1 ride on them)i have about 2 to 3 mm of play in my hub(while on the ground i can move it side to side) no matter how much i tighten it.i have removed the end caps/spacers and checked the bearings and axle and there is no play.i assume it must be coming from the end caps.my other wheel(azonic outlaw) has no play at all! any suggestions? does anyone make spacers?please help thanks

sometimes a little bit of play is hard to feel at the axle -- 2-3mm at the rim is practically nada at the hub. Head over to the park tool site and learn to adjust your hub and you should be able to get rid of it, or take it to a shop.

It's also vaguely possible that you actually have play in your headset and it feels like hub play. Grab it by the fork and shake it a bit, and see if you feel any clunking.

thanks for your advice this hub is not adjustable its a low end 20mm through axle hub "i wish it was":) . and it is not the headset(like i said my other wheel is fine with no play) although thats sort of what it feels like on the bike i have taken it to a mechanic and he could not figure it out either. the only thing we could come up with is the fork/axle is not getting tight enough to preload the bearings.or the end caps are too short to preload the bearings. any suggestions?

Well, I'm guessing you got a hub with bogus bearings. I'd take it to another shop and see if the hub can have new bearings pressed in. It sounds like the first shop doesn't really know what they're doing.