Garage door troubles

[Firetacoma]

Recently moved to a new house... during the inspection it was noted that occasionally the garage door didn't close properly. It would come down part way, and then go back up (as if something was breaking the beam). The theory then was that the beam gizmos were out of alignment. Well, that wasn't the case. The rollers seem to sort of bind up on one side as it's coming down sometimes. You can hear it strain and then kind of break free. How can I determine if it's a track issue or a roller issue? I'd love not to have to watch the door go all the way down before I can drive away.

 

[rieferman]

my door sticks too, so I'm curious to hear the advice on this one.. on how to troubleshoot or fine tune a door.

 

[logical]

I think your best bet is to disconnect the opener and raise and lower it slowly by hand a few times to sense what/how/where it is binding. It could be any of 10 different things including unbalance springs (is one even broken maybe), bad roller that gets sideways in the track, bent track, misalligned track sections, etc.

 

[bry@n]

Try greasing the track and see if it still happens.

 

[Firetacoma]

Disconnecting the opener and running it back and forth by hand seems like a good first step... as well as greasing the tracks.

What type of grease do door tracks get?

 

[kbs2244]

Any old grease will work on the tracks.
Not too much or it will rub off as you walk by.
But also oil the rollers on the door.
They tend to get gunked up.

 

[BigE]

Stand at the back of the garage and look toward the garage door, centered on the garage door opener rail. I've found several that you'll notice that the opener is a few inches off center of the door. It will actually push the door sideways over time leading to the "catching" you're describing. Just a thought.

 

[nova65ss]

I do not like grease it collects dirt and wears bearings out, it gets real messy also. I would figure out what is binding and go from there.

 

[BAM-BAM]

You may also want to check that there's enough tension on the spring and the door's properly balanced.

 

[Firetacoma]

Thank you all for the replies... I'm hoping to get some time to look at it this weekend.

 

[DCLXVI]

I like white lithium grease. Real slick and thin enough not to collect much debris/ dirt.
Like has been said previously, disconnect the motor and lower it by hand. Look to see that everything is the same on both sides; are the springs stretching at the same rate?, is anything binding?
I don't know how old the door is, but those springs won't last forever. They will stretch or even break. Have repaired a few broken ones.
Always replace springs in pairs (should you notice one is the problem). And take one with you to the garage door place in order to get the right ones. There are many types and weight ratings.

 

[ddawg16]

DO NOT grease the tracks....that is why you have rollers.

One of the most common problems is binding caused by the tracks being too close togther.

Raising and lowering it by hand is good advice....you will get a real good idea of the problem that way. Basically, the door should move easily enough so that your wife can raise and lower it with one hand.....

 

[twostory]

Rollers fails, I had one go bad.

Door would still go up/down, but not smoothly.

Replaced the roller, now all works well.

 

[Schtauffer]

Greasing garage door tracks because the door doesn't roll nice is like greasing the tire tread on your car because the wheel bearings are shot.

 

[Kevin54]

Also make sure the sun is not hitting one of the electric eyes as it will cause the door to malfunction. Some of the new eyes have sun shields over them now because of that reason.
If it is the door binding, it is an easy adjustment. If you look at the mounting brackets they will slide in and out and slight adjustment sideways. It could be that the door is adjusted to where it is tight against the door jamb seals when it gets down towards the bottom.
You will want to also check the tensioner adjustment on the garage door opener if it has one. You can adjust it to have more downward pressure. It could be the case that it has not been adjusted from the factory and is set at a light load. By that I mean that the slightest interference going down will cause it to raise back up. By adjusting the pressure, you can set it to crush a can if you want.

 

[txz28]

On this topic, my garage door has the two side vertical tracks not quite aligned and the door scrapes the track on the way up and down.

Are there any tricks to checking / realigning a garage door? Where do I start?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[nonhog]

I'd watch each roller as it goes through its range. I had the same issue years back and found a bad roller that was "popping" replaced it and adj. the rest.
Good to go! Good luck !

Tacoma huh ? I'll fix your garage door if you fix my trailer wires
JK