Cannondale F400

[Peachy!]

Thanks for the replies gents.
The bike, although a little rough looking was actually rideable when I picked it up. The headshock seems to my uneducated eye to be sort of ok, it operates ok and certainly has enough spring/strength left in it to not collapse under my weight (which is unfortunately quite considerable) I’ll follow the advise from above and carefully grease. Strip down so far is as per the photo and probably won’t go any further other than I might strip and service the rear mech, that I can do almost with my eyes closed! No gaps in the head set, just a chrome spacer.

 

[old_coyote_pedaller]

OK, I know that you are seeing bike in the metal and I'm looking at photos but it still looks to me like top bearing is partially out of headset cup.
The fork is retained in bearings by an interference fit on section of steerer then a rubber and metal seal on top then locked on by stem. What tends to happen when fork is removed, stem off, by carefully knocking steerer downwards through the top bearing, the short interference fit section passes through bearing but the lower bearing comes out of it's cup, it generally stays on it's part of steerer on fork. When the fork is put back in bike if not done properly, if just pushed up from below, it can push top bearing upwards as the interference fit section sticks in bearing. The correct method is to use a tool which is basically a metal tube the same diameter as inner race of bearing, fork is slid up into headtube then tool is used to drive the bike/top bearing down on to fork till steerer is correctly seated in bearing and bottom bearing fully back in it's cup.

I've checked both my Headshok bikes and the Lefty one as well and none have a chrome spacer with the seal on top. I'd rather be wrong and you tell me so but could you take off stem and seal to check it is a "chrome spacer", not the top bearing?
Sorry for nagging on about this but it'll give me peace of mind knowing for sure.

 

[Peachy!]

OK, I know that you are seeing bike in the metal and I'm looking at photos but it still looks to me like top bearing is partially out of headset cup.
The fork is retained in bearings by an interference fit on section of steerer then a rubber and metal seal on top then locked on by stem. What tends to happen when fork is removed, stem off, by carefully knocking steerer downwards through the top bearing, the short interference fit section passes through bearing but the lower bearing comes out of it's cup, it generally stays on it's part of steerer on fork. When the fork is put back in bike if not done properly, if just pushed up from below, it can push top bearing upwards as the interference fit section sticks in bearing. The correct method is to use a tool which is basically a metal tube the same diameter as inner race of bearing, fork is slid up into headtube then tool is used to drive the bike/top bearing down on to fork till steerer is correctly seated in bearing and bottom bearing fully back in it's cup.

I've checked both my Headshok bikes and the Lefty one as well and none have a chrome spacer with the seal on top. I'd rather be wrong and you tell me so but could you take off stem and seal to check it is a "chrome spacer", not the top bearing?
Sorry for nagging on about this but it'll give me peace of mind knowing for sure.

And you would be right...
Thank you. All sorted now.

 

[Peachy!]

Finished for now, as I’d said before, not a Peachy restoration, just a wash & brush up.

 

[old_coyote_pedaller]

No problem, glad it's sorted, now enjoy.
Nice bike, it wouldn't be getting out of my sticky little mitts.....
I really like my 2000 F800 in Team Blue, took off the Headshok it came with and fitted a 100mm Lefty.
Good wee bike on XC stuff. Also have a '97 F700 in red with a 70mm Headshok I rebuilt with brand new 80mm cartridge, and a '98ish Super V in blue which again I replaced Headshok with 100mm Titanium Lefty. It's light, and although not a DH bike it's OK going down. Unfortunately it's in bits at the mo.

 

[coomber]

Lovely. Those dales were ace