I recently purchased about 15 year old house, I have Sears's craftsman 1/2 HP automatic garage door opener Model# 139.53513. Anyone idea how old this garage door opener would be? It suddenly stop working and when I opened the unit it looks like plastic gears are worn out. Is that something I would be able to fix it myself. I do not have owner's manual.
Do you think it is a good idea to buy new garage door opener? any recommendation on brands? Should I buy chain or belt drive?
That unit is almost new!
I just replaced one it must have been 20 years old or more. At about 5 years the electronic circuit board went, I replaced the board. At about 15 years the plastic gear went, I replaced the gear. Just a few weeks ago the motor gave up. I bought a new one, replaced only the box with light and the wall switch and installed the new electric eyes. The rest I'm saving for parts.
It's a lot easier to replace the gear than to put up a new unit.
Stay with what you have.
Part Number for gear drive unit is 41A287? Do you know that part wil have instructions on how to install it. Thanks for your help!
Sears is pretty good about supplying replacement parts. I don't know your skill level, so not sure if you can install it yourself.
Not anymore. They only guarantee replacement parts availability for 1 year after purchase. I found this out trying to get repair parts for my lawn tractor. It's just a puppy at 17 years old.
The OP should look at sears.com under parts. That is where the sears parts outlets order from!
I'm at work and don't have the part numbers of my unit with me. It sounds similar to yours. I replaced the white plastic gears several years ago. You can order a kit which includes a couple of gears (I think a worm gear and the big round gear, and some clips gear grease, and maybe washers). I would definitely recommend the kit. If you replace only the big round gear, and the worm gear is also worn, then the new gear will just wear fast again. The instructions that came with the kit were very thorough. The hardest part was getting the box down to work on. Not that bad though.
Paul S.
That unit was made by Chamberlain and was also sold under the brandname Liftmaster.
If you want to save some money and deal with a nice small family run business, I can recommend these folks:
It comes with illustrated instructions that any reasonably handy person can follow successfully. With shipping it will run you about $35. It even comes with the grease.
Commodore Joe Redcloud
You can replace the gears without dismounting the unit!
Commodore Joe Redcloud
Really..Can you replace the gear without dismounting the unit. Please tell me how? I am going to buy the kit...it is around $31 at the sears parts store...thank you all..much appreciated
just in a ball part how old is my garage door opener will be? Thank you all
Once you have the kit, and compare the parts in it to your unit, it should be clear as to how you can do this. It's really not a big deal. The instructions do not even mention removing the unit.
Just make sure to use all of the grease supplied. The failure was really caused by the original grease which hardened and stopped lubricating. The new grease won't do that.
Your opener is probably about 20 years old. The one in my house is about the same age, and it still works like new. I do make a point of lubricating the chain with lithium white grease every few years. Dirt being attracted to the chain because of the grease is a non-issue, as the chain moves slowly, and rust is a bigger enemy than dust and dirt in this case.
Commodore Joe Redcloud
Joe, Thank you for all your help. I am going to install those gears tomorrow.
Commodore Joe Redcloud wrote:
Sometimes if you call Sears they have a part in stock that is supposedly unavailable if you look online.
Not anymore. That was my point. You call Sears Parts and the person who answers just uses the same web site that you have available.
Any reason to use white lithium based grease? What's difference between WD 40 vs white lithium based grease?
WD-40 is a drying agent, not a lubricant.
That's like asking what's the difference between a duck and an elephant. WD-40 is a solvent that is good for cleaning things. White Lithium grease is a lubricant that will stay on the parts and continue lubricating for a long time. As a lubricant, WD-40 is about as effective as water, gasoline, or any other very thin liquid.
WD-40 has it's uses, but this definitely isn't one of them.
Commodore Joe Redcloud©
Thanks for the update. That is sad that they aren't as dependable for replacement parts. Just sucks, that's all.
Some doors have a bottom sensor that makes them reverse, others have photo eyes that stop or reverse them. A photo eye probably cannot see the 1x2.
(top posted for your convenience) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) snipped-for-privacy@7cox.net
Decrease the down force, it should be close to the middle position or a little less. The adjustment knob is to the right & below the srew terminals that the photo-cells & wall button hook to. This is not the down limit (travel) adjustment that is adjusted thru the hole in cover.
Doordoc
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