Garage door: Force adjustment??

[General Lee]

My garage door makes a little bit too much vibration noise where I think its not good for the door. I'm not sure if its sprocket noise or what. I've tried adjusting the the chain to manufacture specs and it actually made it worse.

Does the force adjustment have anything to do with with vibration noise. I haven't tried messing with the force adjustment yet. Anyone have any ideas? Any other adjustments I could check?

 

[nova65ss]

The force adj only tells the opener how hard to push once the door meets resistance. You want it as sensitive as possible but do not want the door reversing for no reason.

What brand opener are we working with here? If the chain is too tight it cause a popping noise and also prematurely wear out the busing on the sprocket housing. Better to be a little loose than too tight.

How does the door work manually? Does it go up and down with ease and not shoot up ar slam to the ground?

 

[General Lee]

Its a Craftsman opener. I don't think its to tight. When the door is closed, there is sag in the chain. It basically lays on the T-rail. The instructions say there should be about a 1/2 inch from the base of the T-rail to the chain. I adjusted it to these specs and the noise got worse in my opinion, So I loosened it back and the noise basically remains. I wouldn't describe the noise to be *popping*, it sounds more like a grinding sound.

The door opens and closes smoothly when manually opened.

 

[nova65ss]

You will want to check the chain tension with the door disconnected from the trolley. When the door is all the way down there will be sag on one side of the chain and the other side will be really tight. Does it make the noise when the opener is running and not connected to the door? Have you tried to lube the opener rail? How old is the opener?

 

[General Lee]

All adjustments were made with the door disconnected from the trolley. When the door is closed, the chain is only on one side of the rail. On the other side of the rail is a cable. There is a sag in the chain when the door is closed and the manual says its normal.
I haven't tried to listen for the noise with the door disconnected, I'll have to try that. Everything is lubed that is supposed to be. The opener is 9 years old I believe, thats how old the house is and I am not the original owner.

 

[eljefino]

IIRC a lot of the sears openers are made by chamberlain; look at pictures of a chamberlain and see if the adjusting knobs etc are the same setup as yours.

Wonder if you're getting a resonant noise, may try applying force here and there, carefully, to change the frequency/deaden the racket. First see if it's a door section that's vibrating, or the rail, or the motor, or the tracks. Check where the rail bolts to the header above the door to see if that's tight, if it's loose, the opener will vibrate against the ceiling it's hanging from.

 

[General Lee]

IIRC a lot of the sears openers are made by chamberlain; look at pictures of a chamberlain and see if the adjusting knobs etc are the same setup as yours.

Wonder if you're getting a resonant noise, may try applying force here and there, carefully, to change the frequency/deaden the racket. First see if it's a door section that's vibrating, or the rail, or the motor, or the tracks. Check where the rail bolts to the header above the door to see if that's tight, if it's loose, the opener will vibrate against the ceiling it's hanging from.

Hey thanks, I'll check all that.

 

[nova65ss]

The grinding noise might be coming from the sprocket on top of the motor. They usually last on avg about 10 years. Check the copper bushing that is under the sprocket in the housing and make sure it isn't worn or broken.

 

[General Lee]

yeah, the sprocket is where it sounds like its coming from. Are they replaceable or to you have to buy a new opener?

 

[mhoffm911]

My brother in law and I replaced the sprocket in my Craftsman opener last year. I ordered it from Sears. It comes in a kit and was a fairly easy replacement.