Garage Door Maintenance Tip – How to Fix Sticking Rollers
There are a lot of things in our lives that we expect to work right every time we use them. Some of those things can cause serious inconvenience or even danger if they don’t work right. Your garage door opener is on that list. Imagine the frustration of needing to get your car out of the garage to get to work or go to an important appointment but finding your garage door is jammed and you just cannot get it open. Most problems that would put you in that situation can be averted with simple periodic maintenance.
One of the more common, and generally simple to fix, problems is sticking rollers. Sticking rollers usually come to your attention because the door doesn’t move up and down smoothly. Another clue is squeaking or scraping sounds as the door moves.
When any of those things happen, the problem is likely to be sticking rollers. There are two different ways the rollers can stick. Either the roller shaft is not moving freely or the rollers themselves are sticking. Either way, your maintenance is going to address both problems to deal with the current problem and as preventive maintenance to avoid future incidents.
First, get the proper lubricant for the job. A simple 3 in 1 type oil is perfect for this application. In addition to its lubricating properties, it works well because you can get it in small containers that are easy to handle and have a nozzle that makes is easy to direct the oil to the spots needing it.
With oil in hand, start lubricating all rollers, top to bottom, on each side of the door, manually move the shaft of each roller. Move it throughout its range of motion while applying the oil to the brackets (inside and outside) with which the roller is mounted to the door. That will include some small amount of lateral movement, as well as rotating the shaft. Continue spinning the shaft and moving it left to right until you are sure that the lubricant has thoroughly coated the entire shaft. When you think you’re done with a roller, spin the shaft to make sure it is moving freely – and keep oiling until it does. Before leaving that roller, squirt some oil at the base of the roller to penetrate the bearings inside. Make sure everything is moving smoothly and quietly before moving on to the next roller.
After lubricating each roller, open and close the door a few times. This will be a final step to make sure the oil applied is distributed to all points where it is needed and any problems that caused you to take on this project have been resolved. If problems persist after properly lubricating the rollers, you may need to replace rollers. It would be a good choice to schedule an inspection by a qualified repairman to determine exactly what is needed.
Doing these things as regularly scheduled preventive maintenance decreases the likelihood that you will ever have to do them to repair a problem. Regular preventive maintenance also extends the life of your garage door – or at least the intervals between any professional repairs.
