Originally Posted by jmraspa
actually, the bearing cage inside the headset fell apart. it is in about eight or nine little mismatched pieces. when I removed the headset, the bearings and pieces started to fall out; slowly though, because they were covered in dirty grease. I cleaned everything off, but it looks that even if i were to put the pieces back in, it would take forever to match them back up again. Can I use any old replacement set of bearings and cage, or do I need a specific one? My bike is a Schwinn Traveler from the 80s (I think), and the headset says "Tange Seiki Co. LTD Japan" on the top nut.
I need major help quick, because this is the bike I ride to and from school and work, and I'm screwed without it.
You should be able to get replacement caged bearings at just about any LBS, however, as everyone else has suggested, you will be better off using loose bearings as replacements. You need 5/32" balls and you will need 50 of them (25 for the top cup and 25 for the bottom cup, assuming your headset is 1"). Get "Grade 25" balls, if you can - they are the hardest and the roundest. Caged balls are not good in headsets and competent wrenches replace them with loose balls at the first opportunity. All caged balls do for you is make assembly easier. They also lead to brinnelling and indexed steering, both of which are undesirable problems for your headset.
I have resurrected several old headsets just by replacing the caged bearings with loose balls. Try this first and if it's not operating smoothly, then you may need a new headset. An easy way to see if the bearing cups and races are still good is to run a ball point pen around them and if they are pitted you will feel them quite easily (even if you can't see them). If you have pits, you will be better off with a new headset,
as those pits will just eat new ball bearings faster and faster.