Garage Door WHACKY

Jan 19, 2009 16 Replies

I installed our garage door almost three years ago and it's worked fine until recently. In recent months, it's been acting like the panels are getting out of alignment and it binds up and reverses direction. I need to find the manual to see if there's a sensitivity adjustment. We're about 18'' behind in rainfall this year and we did put piers on the back of the house when we first moved it so it's possibly the house has shifted.



Sound reasonable???


If there are separate springs for each side the spring tension may not be even. That can cause the door to be uneven and bind.

Don Young

if it's got torsion springs, you may have one broke and not know it.

Disconnect the opener, operate the door by hand slowley taking note of where the door is binding/catching/jamming. Adjust the wheels, tract or springs as necessary until the door runs smoothly. Reconnect the automatic opener. Simple as pie.

Have you ever tried to make a pie? :-)

Just for the heck of it, measure the door opening diagonally both ways. If the corner to corner dimensions are not the same, you've found your problem.

Joe

Not necessarily; doors are installed into out of square openings all the time. It's not the opene\\ing that's important; it's the tracks, springs and rollers not to mention motor.

The adjustment is under the cover or on the back of the opener. And think 'WD -40' JR

formatting link

formatting link

WD40 is a no-no to use for lubricating purposes. That stuff will gather more debris than fly paper gathers flies. Use a Teflon lubricant, lithium grease or anything equivalent.

Why think WD-40??? that s*it is useless and water displacement is not what is needed in this case.

s

THANKS SO MUCH for the feedback! Yes, I did use WD-40 but I do have other lubes. I'll see if I can adjust the springs. They both have tension but I can't tell if they are equal. I need to go back and check out the one post with links that I think were about the question of sensitivity adjustment.

Thanks again!

Brad

The OP has had piers put in, therefore, the possibility of the house having shifted since the door was installed must be considered. This ought to be the first thing on the list. It would be futile to start messing with all the other possibilities if the tracks aren't even parallel. Ten minutes well spent IMO.

Joe

Everything attracts dust and debris especially grease. That's a fable started by WD40 haters. I'll admit WD40 does not last long enough as it's too thin. So is 3 in 1 oil. I use motor oil in my oil can, works great. The thing about lubricants attracting dust and debris is why we have maintenance to CLEAN and RELUBE things. Something many people never do is clean equipment. No wonder they are always broken down.

BS; WD40 will do just the opposite. In fact, WD-40's claim to fame is that it removes moisture and contamination. What WD-40 does NOT do after it cleans, is lubricate; so an application of light oil is still recommended.

WD-40 will evaporate and collects almost nothing. It's pruposely made to be that way.

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required