Road Cycling - Giant TCR forks play

I have just bought a Giant TCR frame 01 2nd hand but not made up. I have bolted the fork on but there is still some play near the top. Although I have not yet chopped the fork stem to the correct length.

Can anyone advise what I am doing wrong! Or maybe email me a pic of how it should fit together. Possibly I was not given all the bits.

Thanks

what's the frame made out of? what style headset is it (regular cup style, internal, or integrated)?

are you talking about back and forth play, like the fork rocks in the frame, or up and down play like what happens when there aren't enough spacers on the steerer tube?

if there is back and forth play, i'll start with the two most catastrophic things that could be wrong with it, and go to more fixable things...

1) if the frame is any kind of metal, the head tube could be ovalized (not very likely unless the previous owner crashed it).

2) if it uses an integrated headset (where the bearings just get pressed into the frame without a cup), there could be frame wear, which is not repairable (this is only slightly more likely than the first one).

3) you could just not have the headset adjusted properly (this is the most likely), or the cups or bearings may not be seated properly in the top cup.

check it over to make sure everything is adjusted properly, and if there is still play in it, take it to a shop and have them inspect it.

if there is up and down play, or the play is related to there not being enough spacers, cut the fork to the right length, or add the correct number of spacers and try it again.

this post should probably be moved to the mechanics forum, by the way...

If the fork is not cut to length and the stem cap not installed it would be hard to get all the play out because you can't adjust the headset.
There is also supposed to be a beveled ring that is installed between the bearing and the steerer.

aww...there goes the rev. again, being practical... :)