Your garage door is huge, heavy, and multiple times a day, 365. All those moving and interlocking parts mean that, through repeated motion, your garage door will get a little unbalanced every once in a while; the door may even come off track. And it might get noisy and move jerkily if parts are gunked up, rusty or loose. These are the signs it’s time to adjust your garage door.
Should you repair the door yourself? It depends…
When it comes to repairing garage doors on your own, there are several parts of your garage door that require adjustment from time to time, but only some that are safe enough to deal with yourself. The most important pieces of your garage door that should be monitored and adjusted from time to time are the:
- Battery backup
- Fasteners
- Rollers
- Sensor Eyes
- Springs/Cables
- Tracks
- Trolley
Let’s look at these garage door parts, potential problems, and how to deal with parts that need repaired or replaced. The good news is, diagnosing any of these issues is pretty easy. The question that follows, though, is: Do I want to deal with it myself?
Let’s see:
Checking in on Your Garage Door’s Battery Backup
Your garage door opener has a battery backup. If it doesn’t; it needs to. It’s, like, the law now – and for good reason – you don’t your car stuck in your garage in emergencies and power loss. Anyway, it’s super simple to make sure your opener’s battery backup system is still online.
Battery backup units for garage door openers have little LED lights on the side that communicate where it’s at in its power cycle. It charges itself by siphoning power from the opener, which is plugged into a constant power source. If the backup is charging – usually a yellow light – wait until it gives you the green light and then try this test. Otherwise, to be sure your battery backup is fully-functional, unplug your garage door opener and then try to use the garage door.
If the garage door isn’t responding and you know for a fact the battery unit should be charged, it’s probably time to replace it. Garage door opener backups usually last 1-2 years; batteries degrade even when left unused. The good news is, replacing the battery backup on your garage door is an easy DIY fix – just buy a new one and switch them out – simple as that.
Make Sure None of Your Screws Are Loose
There are several different types of fasteners and hardware in your garage door’s infrastructure. A couple times a year, you should look at everything on your garage door – even these little parts and pieces. Check these things for rust, stripping, loosening, or seizing:
- Ceiling track anchor
- Junction of vertical and horizontal tracks
- Panel hinges
- Roller arms
- Track anchors
- Weather stripping anchor screws
If it’s just a bit of surface rust, a good scrub with a wired brush to remove it followed by a small dose of garage door lubricant can rehab many of these little parts and pieces. However, remember not to lubricate fasteners too much – they’ll just come loose again!
Any screws, nuts, bolts, hinges, etc that are looking compromised – whether they’re stripped, seized or corroded – switch them out with new ones. It’s just a quick trip to the hardware store, but can make the difference between a safe garage door and one that has a door panel fall off randomly one day.
If there are any places where the anchoring surface is now too large for a fastener due to wear, use, corrosion, etc, you may have to fill the hole with the appropriate type of putty and let that cure so when you reinsert the screw it has something to grab onto.
Are the Rollers Still… Rolling?
Worn, dirty or broken rollers can make a garage door hard to open, jerky, and/or noisy. These are the little ball bearings at the end of the arms that connect and secure the garage door to the track. They’re often metal; we like nylon ones better, though.
If the rollers just have surface rust or are covered in dirt and debris, you can wash it off with a rag and some gentle soap – maybe a wire brush, if needed. Any chipped, missing or broken rollers will need replaced, as well as any damaged screws.
We like to use nylon rollers because they don’t rust or corrode, and they tend to offer smoother movement.
Make Sure Your Photo Sensor Eyes Can See
This is one many homeowners often forget, and it’s easy to – the sensor eyes are just little parts at the foot of your garage door tracks. But, they’re the gatekeepers for the whole garage door; if they can’t communicate, you’re never getting that door closed.
Inspect the photo eyes for cracks, obstruction to the lens, or loose screws making it wobbly/off-angle. Often, the lenses just need a good wiping down. It’s an easy, quick fix anyone can do in just a few minutes.
Coordinating Garage Door Cables & Springs
There are two types of garage door springs: torsion and extension. Torsion springs are generally considered the best of the two for better, smoother and quieter garage door operation. If your garage door isn’t 40+ years old and/or manual, it likely has torsion springs.
Extension springs sit along the tracks on either side of the garage door. They use tension to help the garage door opener lift and lower the door. Tension springs can be adjusted by moving the hook that holds the cable to another hole to increase or decrease the tension.
Torsion springs are at the top of the header above the center of the garage door. They use torque to help the garage door opener operate the door. Torsion springs can be adjusted using a metal rod by slowly turning one end of the spring. Always use a rod that’s at least 18” long so that you are at a safe distance should the spring snap.
If you notice any visible wear, deformation, corrosion or breaks in the springs, do not try to adjust them, repair or replace them yourself – garage door springs are under extreme pressure and can cause bodily harm when they snap. While you might consider adjusting healthy springs yourself, you should never DIY garage door spring repair.
The other side of spring issues is the garage door’s cables. Over time, cables may need adjusted, and the interplay between the springs and the cables usually means adjustments need to be made in tandem. It’s pretty simple to change the tension on the cable, which can correct a noisy, jerky or crooked garage door:
- With the door closed, disengage the garage door trolley from the opener via the red hanging cord. Raise the garage door manually and clamp the tracks directly underneath to secure it there.
- Loosen the clamp on the cable and adjust the tension of the cable. It should lay organized and tight against the pulley.
- Tighten the cable clamp back up.
- Re-engage the garage door with the opener and then cycle the opener. This will further tighten the cables and the springs, which should get your door balanced and moving smoothly.
This can still be a hard job for a novice, so you may want to consider a professional, rather than repairing the garage door yourself. To be honest, any time the issue with your garage door is its springs, whether the problem is big or small, we recommend giving us a call. It’s worth the peace of mind on the safety of the repair alone.
Has the Door Come Off its Tracks?
Sometimes, the issue with the tracks is simply that things have gone a bit wonky after so much wear and tear. When a garage door’s tracks are off alignment, it can cascade and affect everything else on the door – from the springs to the door panel hinges. There are two ways a garage door’s tracks may need to be adjusted:
- Align the track with the door itself so the rollers work properly and adjust the track so the door aligns with the weather stripping. Try to leave a half inch to ¾ of an inch between the edge of the door and the track.
- Adjust the space between the wall and the tracks. If the track is farther or shorter away from the wall than the garage door is in its frame, it will cause roller friction, unbalanced wear and tear, or a poorly-secured door.
When your garage door is visibly off its tracks, there’s usually a bend in the track. This is also an easy DIY repair, so long as you have a couple C clamps and some pliers lying around.
- Open the garage door to above the bend in the track.
- Secure the garage door in that position by placing a C clamp on the tracks under each side of the door. Stick a ladder under there, too, if you want.
- Using pliers and maybe a rubber mallet, if needed, restore the track to its original shape.
- Operate the garage door, ensuring the rollers are back in the track and able to pass through unobstructed.
While often you can get a door back on track yourself, if it’s difficult or you’re feeling you have to really force the garage door to do what you want, leave it be and give us a call. We’re available 24/7 for just this type of thing. Just don’t keep using your crooked garage door and ignoring the issue, or you’ll have a much bigger issue with your garage door in a very short time.
What to Do When Your Trolley isn’t Trolley-ing
Sometimes your garage door opener forgets its limits. That means that you’ll hear your garage door opener running even after the door is fully-opened or fully-closed. Or, your garage door won’t open or close all the way. This is often an issue of the drive on the trolley track.
The trolley is the little unit on the center vertical track that the opener sits at the back end of. The trolley only needs enough chain/belt to run between the opener motor and the garage door header. Sometimes it will get lax and need tightened. With the garage door closed, disengage the trolley from the opener using the red hanging cord. Shorten the drive as needed, re-engage the trolley, and run the opener to see the results of your handiwork.
The limits issue may also require you to make an easy adjustment on your garage door opener, too. There will be two little screws with arrows indicating which way they’ll adjust the opener’s limits. Simply use a flathead screwdriver to mess with these until the door is back to balanced and accurate operation. Yet another easy garage door repair to do yourself.
A Few Last Tips & Knowing When it’s Time to Call in the Pros
A big part of minimizing your garage door repair costs – whether it’s costing you a service visit bill or a whole Saturday when you only planned for a couple hours – is proper maintenance. And that means seasonal inspections, cleaning and lubrication.
- Never use WD-40 on your garage door; it can be corrosive to certain door hardware. There are special lithium-based lubricants made specifically for overhead door parts and you can find them at any hardware store.
- Never lubricate the garage door’s tracks – just the rollers and hinges. Lubricating the tracks will cause them to attract more dirt and debris, gunking up the whole situation and making it more likely for the door to come off track or stop operating correctly.
- Never try to repair garage door springs yourself.
- If you’re having a problem with your garage door opener, give us a call before you try to do anything yourself; we can help you make sure you aren’t voiding your warranty.
When it comes to garage door repair – DIY or not – the main thing is not to ignore problems, because they will get bigger. When you do encounter issues with your garage door, air on the side of safety: if you’re not sure if you can safely and effectively do something yourself, just don’t. This is what garage door repair companies are for. We can help you get your garage door back on track (literally) in no time.