Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Bought myself a Ric (07') just a week ago. I'm not its first owner, but the bass is in mint condition, without any scratches. According to the seller it was not played since its initial purchase, which was 4 years ago. Poor guy bought it as a present for his wife, but soon they got divorced. Anyway, the only unusual thing i noticed about the instrument was the fact that the neck was slightly bowed. I decided to adjust both truss rods and started turning them (1/4 turn twice a day) in order to get proper neck relief. After the first adjustment I noticed some unusual rattle coming from the truss rods. I thought that it will go away after I complete the adjustment. I was wrong. The adjustment is done, but the rattle is still there. Maybe I messed up and ended up turning the truss rods unevenly? Should I loosen the rods completely and readjust them(evenly, this time)? By the way, I heard something about applying insulation to the truss rods in order to get rid of the rattle, is this method reliable?

By the way, here are some questions concerning truss rod adjustment(joeysbassnotes.com is unavailable, so I need some reference) :
1. Is the order of adjustment important? If yes, which one of the two truss rods should be adjusted first?
2. Should I remove the strings or simply loosen them before the adjustment?
3. If I'm going to completely "unscrew" the truss rods, should I remove the strings to prevent the neck damage?
4. Can you tell from the picture if the rods are adjusted unevenly?
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2444779/20120504_234612.jpg (The picture is quite large, so it won't fit in here)

Welcome to the RRF Almaz.
1. No.
2. Leave them in tune.
3. I would.
4. No.
How's that for pithy?
The rods come from the factory with either masking tape or shrink tubing from end to end (less the threads). I would make sure something else is not rattling and telegraphing to the neck. It could well be a saddle or somthing else.
Here's your pic (click to enlarge).

It sounds like one rod is broken......

http://i.imgur.com/5bKMq.jpg Here is the picture of the unscrewed nut. What do I do now? In order to pull the rods out to see what's wrong with them, what's the next step? Btw, does it seem to you that the right one is longer? The rods look a little bit asymmetric from the body side. http://i.imgur.com/rg6Tv.jpg Is it alright for them to be like that?
In case there's nothing wrong with the rods, how do I screw them back? It's a little bit tricky to adjust them evenly, after all.