Fender Biflex truss rod replacement

[Ian Pender]

I've got a non-functional truss rod on a 1994 Fender Strat here. I've done the whole 'pull the walnut plug and replace the truss rod nut' song and dance on these guitars before, but I have a hunch that I'm going to need to replace the entire rod on this one. Someone has completely rounded the hex head of the truss rod nut. I've got the walnut plug out of the way, and I've tried turning the nut with a screw extractor, but it's completely seized up, and I don't want to put anymore force on it, or I'm going to break something. I'd like to pull the rod entirely and replace it and the adjustment nut, but I'm at a loss for how I should go about doing this if it isn't already broken at the heel anchor. Any suggestions? Also, I'm aware that there's an anchor under the 7th fret inlay, would I need to pull the inlay and remove that as well?

Thanks in advanced!

[Keith Somerville]

It'd be a lot easier to remove that pesky nut. If it's been cranked up really tight, sometimes clamping the neck straight can take pressure off the nut and make it easier to remove. Applying heat can also help: it's tricky to avoid scorch marks but you can do it if you're careful. Replacing the rod is a pain in the backside.

[tadej bratkovic]

The best way is to rout out the walnut strip on the back and drill out the 7th dot marker to get the small anchor undone. No need to remove the walnut plug at all. The biflex is just a plain rod, get some threads machined and you are ready to go. The heel anchor then often comes out with a sharp slap or two on the fretboard, once the skunk stripe is gone. Otherwise, drill some holes, thread them and make a makeshift puller.

Also drill some holes in the skunk stripe along the whole length to get a feel for how deep to rout. Remember that this rod is parabolic in shape and the skunk stripe is the the thinnest right around the 7th fret.

Fender installs these rod with the heel and 7th fret anchor already attached, and they are pushed through the walnut stripe slot towards the nut. Then they align the 7th fret anchor and hammer in the heel anchor. The mini anchor gets tightened last.

[Charlie Sanders]

Honestly, the best thing to do is to do what Leo had originally intended.  Replace the neck.  That is one of the reasons it is a bolt on.