Fender Jazz Bass with truss-rod problem

[Eugen C]

Hello

I have this bass for repairs, is a Made In Mexico Fender 5 strings.

The truss-rod nut can't be adjusted. In fact, I think that the truss-rod is broken and the nut is missing.

Why I think this? Because I have to insert the Alen key very deep till I hit something and using a small screwdriver it seems that there is no hole for the key.

Can you please tell me how to approach this repair?

Here are some pictures:

https://picasaweb.google.com/eugenro2001/RepairsFenderJazzBass5Stri...

 

 

[Mark Pollock]

Found some pictures that may be helpful - I know nothing about this otherwise, but you seem to have folks stumped. Scrool down to see what this guy dealt with...

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/bad-neck-732059/index2.html

[Jeff Highland]

Perhaps the nut has been removed and not put back at some stage.If the rod is still there unbroken a new nut may fix it.

Try looking in with some stronger light

If not, it's replace the neck or dig out the skunk stripe and replace the truss rod

[Pierre-Antoine Roiron]

Hi,

these basses do usually have a 3/16" nut. Here it's clearly missing. If you can't put a new one, then the trussrod is broken and chances are it will be cheaper to buy a new used neck than to repair it.

[Paul Verticchio]

Hello.

I've worked on many MIM Jazz basses and sometime the truss rod nut is buried way down into the neck.  On more than one occasion I thought the adjustment nut was gone.

Sometimes they're so far in that I have to use the long leg of my hex wrench to get to it.  And, once you find it, it may be a bit of a battle to get the hex driver to engage the socket due to the installation angle.  Use a really powerful LED light to try to see it. Just keep trying.

Just chiming in with a vote for a complete replacement neck IF the truss rod is broken. Removing/reinstalling the truss rod (if broken) is not a cost effective solution. 

"Personal reasons" for wanting to keep that neck, of course, supersede my earlier suggestion.

The VERY best of luck with this project.  Let us know how it turns out? (-:

[Christian Johnson]

I use a T-handled hex wrench for these (3/16).  You can tell if it's broken/missing/loose because the neck will be a loose piece of spaghetti under tension.  Mexi fender necks are notoriously soft, in my experience. 

[Eugen C]

Thank you for all your answers.
I tried to feel how is the bottom of the hole so I poked around with a small screwdriver. The bottom feeled flat.
I wanted to be shure if the truss=rod is broken or not so I made a cut in the second fret slot and I removed that portion of the fretboard.
You can see the photos on my Picassa album, the link is in the first post.
The truss-rod is broken just where is the shim.

I will speak with the owner and proceed as he decide.

[Eugen C]

The owner wants to proceed with the repair.

I will remove the wood strip from the back of the neck and replace the truss-rod