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How to lube' garage doors Bob 01-26-2007
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Posted by Bob on January 26, 2007, 4:48 pm


I'm almost embarrassed to ask this. I have two sixteen foot wide garage
doors and both make a lot of squeaking and crunching noise when opened or
closed. The one on the house attached garage has an opener which works fine
except in cold weather (that's below about 40 degrees), when it opens fine
but balks on closing. Opener stops, light blinks, etc. I may need to
adjust the downward force. But first, I need to lubricate the doors.

That's my question. Just what do I lubricate and how do I do it. I'll tell
you what I tried but doesn't seem to help.

Using a pump oil can, I squired SAE 30 oil around where each roller meets
the shaft. I don't think a lot of oil actually gets inside the roller shaft
area though. I love WD40 for some things, but don't think it is applicable
in this application.

Should I lightly grease the outer surface of the rollers where they roll on
the track? It seems to me this would be a dust magnet.

I appreciate any advice you guys have. Thanks in advance. Bob



Posted by professorpaul on January 26, 2007, 6:29 pm


If it is a chain drive, lube the chain - SAE 30 motor oil works here.
Wipe off the extra.

If a worm drive, use grease. Automotive ball joint grease will work
just fine. Lubriplate is also good (non-migrating zinc oxide grease?).

Look at ALL the joints and rollers -- the door hinges, rollers in the
track, etc. The oil will work itself in here with a few cycles of the
door. The pump oiler lets you get it to the bearing.. I use SAE 90 gear
oil here -- stays in place betters, and doesn't drip as much. Getting
up on a ladder might be necessary to reach everything. Make sure to get
the bearing in the spring system, as they are under a lot of tension
and have a lot of friction.

About once a year does the trick, or when things seem to get noisey. I
haven't found greasing the track to make that much difference, though
it does help to cut down the "rattle" a little.

WD-40 is basically paint thinner (Stodart solvent) and a propellant.
Good for loosening things up, but little or no long term lubrication
qualities.

Your milage will vary...


Posted by Berkshire Bill on January 27, 2007, 8:50 am



> If it is a chain drive, lube the chain - SAE 30 motor oil works here.
> Wipe off the extra.
>
> If a worm drive, use grease. Automotive ball joint grease will work
> just fine. Lubriplate is also good (non-migrating zinc oxide grease?).
>
> Look at ALL the joints and rollers -- the door hinges, rollers in the
> track, etc. The oil will work itself in here with a few cycles of the
> door. The pump oiler lets you get it to the bearing.. I use SAE 90 gear
> oil here -- stays in place betters, and doesn't drip as much. Getting
> up on a ladder might be necessary to reach everything. Make sure to get
> the bearing in the spring system, as they are under a lot of tension
> and have a lot of friction.
>
> About once a year does the trick, or when things seem to get noisey. I
> haven't found greasing the track to make that much difference, though
> it does help to cut down the "rattle" a little.
>
> WD-40 is basically paint thinner (Stodart solvent) and a propellant.
> Good for loosening things up, but little or no long term lubrication
> qualities.
>
> Your milage will vary...
>

Everything you said makes sense but I go one further. Use wheel bearing
grease on the last coils and hooks of the door springs. From printing press
experience the bends and hooks fracture from heat and the grease helps
distribute the heat .. maybe an old pressmans tale but it works for me.

Bill



Posted by Carnival Midway Hawker on January 26, 2007, 6:56 pm


wrote:

>I'm almost embarrassed to ask this. I have two sixteen foot wide garage
>doors and both make a lot of squeaking and crunching noise when opened or
>closed. The one on the house attached garage has an opener which works fine
>except in cold weather (that's below about 40 degrees), when it opens fine
>but balks on closing. Opener stops, light blinks, etc. I may need to
>adjust the downward force. But first, I need to lubricate the doors.
>
>That's my question. Just what do I lubricate and how do I do it. I'll tell
>you what I tried but doesn't seem to help.
>
>Using a pump oil can, I squired SAE 30 oil around where each roller meets
>the shaft. I don't think a lot of oil actually gets inside the roller shaft
>area though. I love WD40 for some things, but don't think it is applicable
>in this application.
>
>Should I lightly grease the outer surface of the rollers where they roll on
>the track? It seems to me this would be a dust magnet.
>
>I appreciate any advice you guys have. Thanks in advance. Bob
>


You are absolutely right about the 'dust magnet' in the track..

You are doing it right by lubricating the shaft of the rollers, and
the roller bearings. You missed the most important thing though..

Get on a 6' ladder and beat the torsion spring(s) with a hammer some
to break up the rust and reset the springs in case it has some
windings stuck. Then spray the hell out of them with lube. WD-40 is
not the best - some old fashion 10-in-1 is better (or the 30 weight).
Operate the door 4 or 5 times than re-lube. Don't soak it so much
that it drips though.

You're going to like the results after lubing the springs.



Posted by Joseph Meehan on January 26, 2007, 7:10 pm


Bob wrote:
> I'm almost embarrassed to ask this. I have two sixteen foot wide
> garage doors and both make a lot of squeaking and crunching noise
> when opened or closed. The one on the house attached garage has an
> opener which works fine except in cold weather (that's below about 40
> degrees), when it opens fine but balks on closing. Opener stops,
> light blinks, etc. I may need to adjust the downward force. But
> first, I need to lubricate the doors.

First you need to check the door balance (spring force) Make sure you
know what you are doing there as some setups can be dangerous if you don't
know what you are doing. You can lube all you want, but if the springs are
not properly adjusted, it is not going to be good.


>
> That's my question. Just what do I lubricate and how do I do it.
> I'll tell you what I tried but doesn't seem to help.
>
> Using a pump oil can, I squired SAE 30 oil around where each roller
> meets the shaft. I don't think a lot of oil actually gets inside the
> roller shaft area though. I love WD40 for some things, but don't
> think it is applicable in this application.
>
> Should I lightly grease the outer surface of the rollers where they
> roll on the track? It seems to me this would be a dust magnet.
>
> I appreciate any advice you guys have. Thanks in advance. Bob

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit




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