Garage Door Maintenance Care Guide

Replacing A Bad Gear In The Opener Is A Common Residential Garage Door Repair

It's unpleasant when your garage door won't open. You may be in a hurry to get your car out and be on your way. If your garage door makes a grinding noise but it won't open, the problem could be with the opener. However, the opener itself may not be bad. The problem could be with the main gear inside. However, you'll need to call a residential garage door repair company to send a technician to check the opener. Here's how a repair technician might help.

Check For A Damaged Gear

If the technician opens the garage door opener and finds the teeth on the gear are ground down, they might be able to replace the gear and spare you the expense of having a new opener installed. However, if the teeth on the gear seem to be in good shape, then your opener has a different malfunction. The main gear in your opener is a large plastic gear with teeth that work to move the garage door chain or belt. When the gear is stripped, the door won't move even though the motor is working.

Determine The Parts To Replace

A bad main gear in the opener is a common garage door problem. The repair person determines if the gear is the only thing that needs to be replaced. They might also decide to replace the sprocket and smaller worm gear too.

Replacing the gear is a fairly easy repair, but it can be time-consuming to reach the parts and get the old gear out. Still, replacing a bad gear is less expensive than replacing the entire opener.

Replace The Bad Gear

The first step is to take the covers off the opener to see the internal parts. When everything is out of the way, the gear is easier to see and reach. The garage door repair technician may decide to use a replacement kit that contains a new gear, worm, sprocket, and shaft rather than replace only the gear so the replacement is less tedious. The technician notes where the chain is attached so it can be replaced the same way to save time over trying to balance the door from scratch again.

After the chain is removed, the shaft holding the gear can be unscrewed and pulled out. The new shaft with the new gear on it is put in and greased well. Then, the chain is attached and the door is tested to make sure the door is balanced. If the door operates okay, the opener is put back together, and your door should work properly again. For more information, contact a residential garage door repair service. 


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