So... are my truss rods totally f**ked?

[teptwizz02]

I have a 1976 4001. I thought the neck could use a little straightening. I carefully (or so I thought) followed Joey V's video tutorial. I seemed to have barely made a difference in the relief, but I may have screwed up the truss rods entirely. They're just all over the place. Not even... bass side bent to the left... treble side jammed down (already like that actually). I don't think they're supposed to be protruding like that, not to mention unevenly. Probably should've left it alone. Anyway, hopefully the attached pic is good enough for y'all to provide your thoughts on the issue. I should point out that now that everything's in place, i'm not seeing any real issues with playability, so maybe none of this matters at all. Thanks, guys.

[radapaw]

I've only got a few Rickenbacker trussrod repairs under my belt, but I'd try to get that thrust plate up against some wood and get the rods sitting a little further into the neck.

First I'd try loosening things up to 'hardly snug' and tapping the thrustplate with rods assembly back into position with a dowel and mallet.

If it still was causing problems, I'd remove string tension, remove nuts and the thrust plate and clean up that plate of any marring and degunk the surrounding area, (you may need to move the rods out a bit to get the plate off if they are nosing down). reinstall the plate against the wood and gently drive the rods back into place with a dowel and mallet, lubricate and repeat setup.

ultimately you may need to get the rods out and do some refurbishing.... rebend, file chisel ends, retape, lube etc....

[teptwizz02]

Appreciate the response. Obviously my post was a result of immediate hysteria after botching the job. After a bit of time to settle, I came to the conclusion that I'd have to remove the truss rods and reshape them at the ends. Still an extreme measure I think, which is why I'm even more grateful for your more tiered approach beginning with smaller solutions. It may not be clear from the picture, but one of my primary sources of anxiety was the fact that the truss rods no longer appear to be flat but have a twist to them. I don't know enough to determine whether or not this is normal, but unless anyone points out otherwise, I'll move past this and proceed with the initial repair steps. Thanks again.

[collin]

I know this doesn't sound like great news, but it's much better if your truss rods are FUBAR than the actual neck. The truss rods from the 50s-70s were made of really weak metal. They easily stripped, twisted and stopped working.

The "bobby pin" design is really simple, and one of the nice parts is that the truss rods can be removed from the neck. Replacement old style rods aren't available anywhere, to my knowledge, but they are easily fabricated from stronger modern material.

[thisismusicinc]

I'm no expert, but you will find threads in here discussing truss rods rotating in the neck. Good luck!

[ram]

not sure about twisting or not but id you are pulling them just take your time and don't put any undue stress on the fret board... gently clamp it. As noted there is a good bit of info in the Forum concerning this and a whole bunch of gifted resources (Forumites) ready to advise. Good luck and keep us posted... maybe some pictures?????Good Luck Mister Phelps!

[teptwizz02]

I was able to unscrew the nuts (with great difficulty) and remove the small plate. As you can see, the left truss end rod is bent down considerably, which made it more difficult to remove the nut (the trench I dug underneath it is a strong indicator of this). While I was attempting bend up the left nut so I could get the nut driver around it, I heard a snap. I have no idea where that came from, so I'm a bit worried. The end did not break and I can't see any fingerboard separation. That twist of the truss rod on the right is another area of concern.

[jps]

The snap was probably just the pressure being relieved on the upper half of that truss rod against the spacer bar.