Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Ole, this may help: http://www.rickenbacker.com/pdfs/trussrods.pdf

I really would like to get this fixed, and I truly appreciate all your inputs here, guys. What do you make of this:





Looks like it has the modern 4003 rods, right?

it is possible and probable the nuts at the other end are moving up further into the maple.

From the pix, can you tell if this is the case here?

Ole, does your nut driver fit well onto other RIC truss rods nuts?

Hard to say, I don't have a 4003 around to check. But I meassured the nuts with a digital caliper, and they are .247" (6.27 mm).

Yep, those are the new rods, alright. I didn't know that any of the new rod basses got the old thrust block. My July and August 1987 basses got the new rods and the new thrust plate. I guess I learn something every day!

Those acorn nuts do look a little sunk to me, but I've never had to deal with that problem so other opinions would be a good idea.

I wonder if you would be able to put one of the modern steel thrust plates on your bass at this point, or if you have to stay with the old aluminum thrust block. I think if it were mine, I'd prefer steel if possible...but maybe since the bass wasn't originally fitted for one it wouldn't work.

This thread would probably be helpful:

viewtopic.php?p=525763#p525763

The truss rods are out!






















Based on what you've told me (many thanks!) and what I could find elsewhere I'm thinking of replacing the truss rods.

I'll buy a new set of truss rods with a steel truss rod spacer. Clean the area where the spacer goes (the old spacer had chewed quite a bit into the wood). Maybe add an extra spacer (1 mm? 2 mm?) to compensate for lost wood.
Add a few extra washers where the acorn nuts go (body end) if necessary, also to compensate for "lost" wood.

Based on the pix above, do you think this will work? I'm not a luthier, but to me it seems manageable. Please warn me if I'm doing anything wrong here..

Truss rods don't get bent like this inside the neck. They were pre-bent at the factory. I'd insert them back in the neck just as they are but make sure that in their final position, the curve is counteracting the pull of the strings. (the nuts at the headstock end will be slightly bent downwards - a half-turn of the rod from where it is now).

Pre-bent? I've pulled rods out of modern 4003s that were totally straight.

The rods should have a slight arc to them and they should be inserted with the arc up (frown) with the 4003 or in this case 4001V63 on it's back.

oler wrote:I've got an '86 4001v63 that needs a trussrod tweak. I have an Xcelite L8 1/4" wrench, bought it on eBay, I was sure it was the right tool. It's the same one that's for sale in the RIC boutique, BTW.

I had one of those wrenches. The same plating as on the outside of the wrench was also applied inside it, making it too tight. The nuts just wouldn’t go in. I go one of these instead – problem solved:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Truss_rods/ ... nches.html

cassius987 wrote:Pre-bent? I've pulled rods out of modern 4003s that were totally straight.

I'm sure most rods are straight but some were bent at the factory. I know that for a fact.

When a curved rod flips inside the channel then it should be very difficult to straighten the neck, and will result in over-tightening - which I'm sure is the case here. A straight rod will work better than a curved rod that has its curve facing the wrong way (smiley when the bass is on its back) but a curved rod inserted the correct way will work even better. That's my own experience, anyway.

When I considered straightening the rods in one of my Rics and consulted this forum, John Hall advised that I don't, and explained that the rods were curved for a reason. He was right - the bass has a laser-straight neck now, very low action and no buzzing or fretting out with medium-gauge strings... it was a ski-slope when I bought it and now it's an amazing neck.

Give it a try, if it doesn't do the job you can always pull them out again and straighten.

Wiker wrote: I had one of those wrenches. The same plating as on the outside of the wrench was also applied inside it, making it too tight. The nuts just wouldn’t go in. I go one of these instead – problem solved:

I had a similar experience. Go to any hardware store or Sears (Craftsman tools) and you'll find a vastly superior tool for the job.

Just straighten the rods, get a new thrust plate, washers and nuts, a reinstall.

The threads are so eaten up I think I'll replace the rods as well.

I've contacted pickofthericks to hear if they ship RIC parts abroad.

It seems that the RIC boutique only ships to the US and Canada.

aceonbass wrote:I've had customers necks that could no longer be adjusted. After pulkling the bent rods, straighteniong them and reinstalling them, the adjustability was back. When you buy new rods, they are straight.

I'm with you Dane. I've had to pull the rods and straighten them on two of my basses to get a "wave" out of the necks. After straightening them and reinserting, the necks were fine and the rods worked as expected.

ilan wrote:
When I considered straightening the rods in one of my Rics and consulted this forum, John Hall advised that I don't, and explained that the rods were curved for a reason. He was right - the bass has a laser-straight neck now, very low action and no buzzing or fretting out with medium-gauge strings... it was a ski-slope when I bought it and now it's an amazing neck.

Give it a try, if it doesn't do the job you can always pull them out again and straighten.

This is exactly correct...based on my same experience.
I think either way was to be used depending on the individual instrument.