Fender Stratocaster Truss Rod

I have acquired a very nice 2001 American Stratocaster. However, I cannot tighten the truss rod enough to get a good action. I loosened the rod a quarter turn then tightened about a quarter turn plus another eight turn. I hear a crack and the neck got a bit better. The guitar lived in North Carolina all its life. Is there something I could do the free up the truss
rod?
Thanks, Rod in Idaho

Rod,
A properly functioning truss rod turns easily and smoothly, and you can bend the neck forward and backward as needed. The truss rod nut stops turning because it has hit the end of the threads on the rod. The next step, if you are strong and have a good rod wrench fit, is to strip the nut. Don't do that. Back the nut off and add some washers. A good hardware store will have small washers. An eighth of an inch of washers will add an eighth of an inch of adjustment to your rod. If that doesn't fix it, the rod may be broken or defective. There are also some Fender rods accessed only by a tiny hole at the peghead.

We are an authorized Fender warrantee station. They never pay us to replace a truss rod (We have replaced a few, on the owners dime, for around $500). They send us a whole new neck if the truss rod is bad. Try the washer trick first.
Good luck.

Steve Mason