Garage doors

[StarPD]

About 6 or 9 months ago, my garage door spring broke, with the car in the garage, naturally.

I had a guy come out and replace it, only I had him put a double spring in rather than a single one as was the OEM setup. I also had him "service" the door. That consisted of spraying some WD 40 on the hinges and rollers. Within a few days it started squeaking, clanking ang jerking again. It has steadily gotten worse until I was afraid the door would fall down on my new car. Even though I have regularly lubed the hinges and roller shafts, it was banging pretty hard as it came down especially.

This morning while pondering this and preparing to call another garage door outfit to replace hinges and rollers in my door(s), there are two, a double and a single car, I had a brainstorm. Darn near knocked me out, since I'm not used to that much any more. Anyway, I wondered if the coils in the new springs were binding on each other. I got some CLP "Breakfree", and liberally lubed all hinges and roller shafts. Then I liberally lubed the springs on both doors. Presto! The doors worked smoothly and silently. I then added some CLP "Breakfree" for stainless steel and full auto guns (I don't think they make it any more) on the springs, since they are wound tightly and the coils rub pretty hard on each other, and ran the doors up and down several times. I wiped the excess off with a paper towel, and tried it once more.

It has never operated as smoothly and quietly as it does now.

So, if your garage door is noisy and jerky, besides lubing the hinges and roller shafts, try lubing the spring(s).

I just saved probably around $150 for a service call and whatever the charges would have been for (probably unneeded) hinges and rollers.

Sometimes I scare myself when I do something right.

Life is good.

YIPPEE!

[heywier427]

good to know, seeing that my construction company just started selling and installing garage doors....and we have no clue

[StarPD]

good to know, seeing that my construction company just started selling and installing garage doors....and we have no clue

I was hoping my discovery might help other members. Maybe this will help you save your company AND customers some hassle and money.

BTW, CLP "Breakfree" is a firearms product. The term CLP means that it Cleans, Lubricates and Protects. It was originally intended as a full maintenance product for M-16 rifles. It is a penetrant but has Teflon in it. It will migrate down into the tightly compressed coils, then leave a thin Teflon coating that will last for a while, and it will prevent rust. I use it for almost everything around the house. Any gun shop should have it.

[Q451990]

Good post! I had the same experience. I also found that lubricating the bushing near the middle of the bar that is turned by the spring (in the bracket that bolts to the frame of the house) helped quiet my current garage door.

I use a synthetic lube from DuraLube. I think I lubed my garage door at the last house when I bought it in 2002, and again last year... this stuff lasts a while.

Heath

[PachoC]

Just a couple of weeks ago I had to replace the torsion springs on my garage door. I was able to do it myself, thanks to the information I found at: http://www.garagedoor.org/residential/

Their customer service was excellent and I was able to quickly get the appropriate springs for my door shipped in record time. The technical information on how to replace them is extrmely good.

NOTE: One tip they mention when istalling them to avoid the coils from binding to each other is to pull the spring out 1/4.

In terms of lubrication, they recommend the old trusted 10W-30... They do not recommend WD40....

[maxnix]

NOTE: One tip they mention when istalling them to avoid the coils from binding to each other is to pull the spring out 1/4.

In terms of lubrication, they recommend the old trusted 10W-30... They do not recommend WD40....

good link!

¼ their length?

There is an actual garge door spring lubricant that will not drip on your car. It's really just the casters that need it.

[PachoC]

Nope - just 1/4 inch: When you are winding the spring and have reached the final turn, you need to pull the plug (end of the spring) 1/4 of an inch, axially; then you tighten the set-screws on the plug. Note: If you are going to attempt this, make sure you carefully read the instructions provided on the site. Dealing with these springs can be very dangerous, if done incorrectly.