Help?!

[CycleSafeUK]

Are you charging people for these repairs, and if so are you insured?, because reading some of your posts it seems to me that people are bringing you bikes to repair in good faith, and you come on here asking how to effect that repair, I'm not being funny just very curious as I think you could be building up to a big fall if you can't strip, clean, grease and correctly reassemble an aheadset so that it's not loose when braking, if there is an accident it's you that will end up in court explaining all this in front of a judge if one of your customers comes a cropper.

I did say I've sent the owner of the bike elsewhere to have this specific issue checked out.
I'm well aware of what can happen, do you not think i would've covered all of these things before starting a business? (insurance etc)
i'm not entirely stupid as you're making me out to be...

 

[CycleSafeUK]

Can't envisage what a 'tension screw' is in a brake context.

Bottom left
Apologies if that wasn't clear

 

[CycleSafeUK]

Are you charging people for these repairs, and if so are you insured?, because reading some of your posts it seems to me that people are bringing you bikes to repair in good faith, and you come on here asking how to effect that repair, I'm not being funny just very curious as I think you could be building up to a big fall if you can't strip, clean, grease and correctly reassemble an aheadset so that it's not loose when braking, if there is an accident it's you that will end up in court explaining all this in front of a judge if one of your customers comes a cropper.

'loose when braking'. When I said that in my original post, I did state that someone else had been looking at it and wasn't sure what they were doing, it was in the same state when it arrived to me like that. The person who gave it to me then added her son was playing around with it and may have lost a part.

 

[DRM]

I did say I've sent the owner of the bike elsewhere to have this specific issue checked out.
I'm well aware of what can happen, do you not think i would've covered all of these things before starting a business? (insurance etc)
i'm not entirely stupid as you're making me out to be...

I'm not suggesting you are, having been in the business of repairing things, for more years than I care to remember, I know how things soon go pear shaped when Mr/Mrs customer doesn't get what they want, or even worse if there's an accident, as was posted else where, the attitude of "well he blew my little darlings tyres up as a favour 3 months ago and now the saddles too low, it's his fault my little darling fell off" is all too prelevant these days, as others on here will also testify to.

 

[Racing roadkill]

The issue you’re describing is fairly common, when you put the headset back together, but with the spacers in the wrong order. You’ll never get the pre tension you need. The top cap should only be tightened until the play in the headset is eliminated, if you over tighten it, you end up with an ‘indexed’ feeling when you turn the bars, and damage the bearings. If it was me, I’d put another 3mm spacer under the bars and see if that sorts it. In fact, looking at the picture, I can see exactly what the problem is. You’ve got the top cap on upside down. The curved bit goes facing down.

 

[Ajax Bay]

when you put the headset back together, but with the spacers in the wrong order. . . .
I’d put another 3mm spacer under the bars and see if that sorts it. In fact, looking at the picture, I can see exactly what the problem is. You’ve got the top cap on upside down. The curved bit goes facing down.

How can spacers "be in the wrong order"? They just determine bar height (good practice to have at least one between top cap and stem clamp - which the bike in the OP has).
I have tried but failed to understand what @rr means by putting another spacer "under the bars". Can anyone help? Under the top cap? How would that make a difference?
Do others think (in the image in the OP) that the top cap looks the correct way up? If it's the wrong way up, I have a fair few bikes which will need their headsets/stems adjusting.

 

[DRM]

It seems the right way up to me, however I think one way or another the bearings are shot/dry, it will still need the forks dropping off to see what's going on in there

 

[winjim]

How can spacers "be in the wrong order"? They just determine bar height (good practice to have at least one between top cap and stem clamp - which the bike in the OP has).
I have tried but failed to understand what @rr means by putting another spacer "under the bars". Can anyone help? Under the top cap? How would that make a difference?
Do others think (in the image in the OP) that the top cap looks the correct way up? If it's the wrong way up, I have a fair few bikes which will need their headsets/stems adjusting.
View attachment 526433

Looks alright to me, the recess for the bolt head is on the top. Some are flat on top, some are curved. They usually have a little step/flange sort of design* on the bottom so they fit into the spacer don't they?

*sorry, that's a terrible description but you know what I mean. Like this:

 

[I like Skol]

Now we're giving the op conflicting and incorrect advice. I think we should just leave it at the suggestion the bike is taken to someone that actually knows what they are doing!

 

[winjim]

Now we're giving the op conflicting and incorrect advice. I think we should just leave it at the suggestion the bike is taken to someone that actually knows what they are doing!

Incorrect and potentially dangerous.

 

[CycleSafeUK]

Now we're giving the op conflicting and incorrect advice. I think we should just leave it at the suggestion the bike is taken to someone that actually knows what they are doing!

Thank you, the reason i'm on this forum as is everyone else is to seek help when they need it. All i was looking for was just a straight forward answer and to all those who did above, thank you!
I wouldn't put someone's safety at risk if I didn't know what I was doing, I've sent the owner of the bike elsewhere to someone who has the right tools and knowledge to undergo repairing it, as I said again, I wouldn't put someone at risk like that.

 

[CycleSafeUK]

Just thought I'd add this:
Visited the bike again today to fit the new brake part as said earlier,
also re-visited the headset as the lady is still waiting to hear back from the other mechanic (last time i re-assembled it the same way it was given to me), today I unscrewed the top cap and realised there were 2 spacers at the top, and it is visible in the picture if you look carefully too. I put those both below the stem and screwed it back in and now there is nothing loose. Whilst doing so, I noticed the bearings were completely shot through as someone suggested earlier. They were fully rusted and there was also no grease along the headset and around the bearing even though there should've been hence the crunching sound.
Of course the bike isn't going to be used until it's sorted anyway

 

[Racing roadkill]

It seems the right way up to me, however I think one way or another the bearings are shot/dry, it will still need the forks dropping off to see what's going on in there

How do you think that’s possibly the right way up? It’s got a flat top, the curved bit sits atop the spacer / steerer.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Why do FSA put their logo on the underside of this top cap ("the curved bit sits atop the spacer / steerer")?
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/fsa-star-nut-top-cap/rp-prod120505
[Don't mind us, @OP, just chatting.]
Sheldon Brown:

https://sheldonbrown.com/headsets.html
@rr - image of your new bike's headset topcap perhaps?

 

[Vantage]

That looks flat?