Garage Door Opener Repair

[MoKelly]

In the scheme of things, I realize this is very very very minor for TBN projects.

But, maybe it can help someone.

My son’s garage door opener wasn’t working right. It would open about half way then go back down. It was unreliable.

Looking at the unit it was clear the gear on top of the unit where the chain wraps around was wobbly/broke. So, we called a garage door company. They said $90 to come and $100 to repair. Parts extra.

We declined. I found the part on Amazon and got it 2 days later. The fix took 30 minutes max.
It was easy even for someone with zero knowledge of garage door openers.

The part picture is attached.

MoKelly

 

[kirkawilson]

Same thing happened to my opener where my plastic drive gear teeth wore down. My opener was many years older so I considered replacing the entire unit. After thinking through the whole scenario of changing to the new opener codes for all vehicles as well as some battery operated remotes, I opted to replace the gear also. It wasn't expensive but the changeout took quite a few more hours than expected. All has been well for over a year now.

 

[dodge man]

I did a similar repair on my opener also. It痴 been several years ago but it痴 still working.

 

[Norm W]

I had the same problem, but I didn't know if the parts would be available. So I made one out of aluminum.

 

[user.69169]

De encyclopedia of garage doors
Do-It-Yourself Garage Door Instructions | DDM Garage Doors

If it ain't der just call, dey help you

 

[jonsstihl]

check the spring tension adjustment every year and you will never wear out the gears. most gear problems are because nobody ever checks the spring tension or lubricates them in the case of torsion springs.

the door should be weightless when it is half way up.

 

[jonsstihl]

If you have torsion springs you need two half inch rods about 18 inches long and a pair of vice grips and an adjustable wrench for the set screw but be careful because there is a lot of energy in that spring

 

[ConawayFarms]

I had a similar issue with my garage door opener last year. It kept stopping midway and would reverse itself instead of fully opening. Turned out, the problem was with the travel limit settings and a worn-out gear. I tried adjusting the limits myself, but the gear repair was out of my comfort zone. I ended up calling a garage door service.They handled the repairs and even offered remote troubleshooting, which can save a lot of trial and error. For more details check Garage Door Openers.

 

[jfsawatzky]

If you have torsion springs you need two half inch rods about 18 inches long and a pair of vice grips and an adjustable wrench for the set screw but be careful because there is a lot of energy in that spring

Heres the situation I had… Somehow one cable jumped off one pulley earlier this year. So I searched and it was a fairly simple fix as indicated above. What I didn’t expect is the cable on the other side slipped out as I turned the bar to provide slack so I could wrap the cable around the pulley. So what started as a one man job became a two person job

 

[mrmikey]

Odd timing LOL. I just replaced a 14 year old Genie garage door opener yesterday with a Chamberlain that I bought at Costco on sale for CAN $300. Quite a different machine when setting up the limits, there's no mechanical setting, it's all done thru the electronics of the drive head, went quite easily. It's quiet, not that it matters on a detached garage, and relatively fast.
Only thing I don't like with the new one is the actual mounts for the door. The old Genie came with mounts that attached from the top panel to the hinge of the next panel. The new one come with a single 3" long mount and tells you to reinforce the door so you're on your own...I kept the old mount.
Reason I changed it, the range of the remote was non existent and it would occasionally reverse itself for no reason.
Today I'm going to set up the video keypad which got terrible reviews online as it's battery powered, only reason I got it it, came with it as a deal.