Can't remove jack from P Bass

[mattbrown]

Need to replace this faulty crackling jack. The solder joints are fine, its definitely the jack. Wiggle the patch cable a little and the signal is in and out. But I can't get this guy out. The nut on the inside of the body is locked on tight, I have a wrench on it, but I can't get anything to grip the outside plate of the jack to twist it loose. I tried inserting the head of a flat head screw driver inside the jack but it can't grab. Is there a tool that would grab those little teeth around the outside of the jack?

Matt

[walkerci]

This is what I would do...

Unplug the bass and take any batteries out first.

Inside the body cavity, grab the prongs on the jack.
Now take another wrench and loosen the nut from the inside.

If that doesn't work and you don't mind destroying the old jack...

First, cut the leads going to the jack. You don't want the next step to rip the wires out of anything else inside the bass.

From the outside, drill through the jack with progressively larger drill bits.
Eventually either something will loosen up or the body of the jack will be eaten away. Either way, a pair of needle nose pliers should be enough to remove the remnants.

[Beej]

I just use a large set of channel-lock pliers and clamp a solid hold on the jack from the outside and inside, and then use a thin wrench to turn the nut. If it's stuck, put some penetrating oil on it and give it another shot...

[mjac28]

Here is a great tool http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=251184077090

[hdracer]

I have one of these. They work great on tightening the nuts on pots and pulling the knobs off too.
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Sp...i_Spanner.html

[mjac28]

Originally Posted by hdracer

I have one of these. They work great on tightening the nuts on pots and pulling the knobs off too.
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Sp...i_Spanner.html

Interesting little tool.

[elgecko]

Is that shielding paint on the nut? If it is, it might help to scrape it off from around the jack before trying to undo it.

[Smilodon]

Go to you local hardware store and get a set of screw extractors (Pigtails).

Screw one of those into the jack and use a wrench to hold it in place while you loosen the nut. This will destroy the jack, but that doesn't matter since it's broken anyway.

[funkytoe]

Speaking of shielding paint, before you yank that jack out, are you sure the cable is not shorting to ground when plugged in to the jack? How deep is your route right under and/or surrounding the input jack? Does it have shielding paint or conductive tape right there? I've seen problems like this before when the route was so shallow that, when plugged into the jack, the tip of the input cable would actually brush the conductive shielding tape lining the cavity and short out the signal. Given the photo you posted, it looks like someone may have gone overboard with the shielding paint/tape in the past. Something I would at least check before putting in a brand new jack and finding out that you still have the same problem. Any chance the tip of your cable is coming into contact with the shielding when you move it about?