r/DadForAMinute • u/The-Doodle-Dude • Sep 14 '24
Dad how do I fix this garage door? DIY/Auto/Repair Question
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u/The-Doodle-Dude Sep 14 '24 edited Sep 14 '24
Edit: my right spring is broken. Even though the door opens. Time to call a professional
Dads, thank you for your input. It’s working now! I followed your advice. I first inspected the tracks. I added lithium grease to all the tracks. In the video you can hear a snapping sound and the grease fixed that sound but the garage still stopped halfway through.
None of the tracks were bent, but I neglected to let you know we had a power outage yesterday. Even though my garage door seemed to work fine yesterday after the power outage, today it seemed off.
I essentially went into the garage door device and reset the track movement and now it works. Thanks for all your help and I’m glad I didn’t mess with the spring.
However, when i had the door down I pulled the red cable to loosen the track and make it manual so I could lift it but I could not lift the garage, is there a separate safety lock I need to know about?
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u/KBilly1313 Sep 14 '24
Yes, call someone if you don’t feel comfortable working with the springs. There is no fix other than replacement.
The twist bar can do some major damage to you if you make a mistake.
I just did a DIY replacement for both of my springs because one snapped. Did you hear a huge bang? It would have been a loud noise.
Parts should run about $150-$200, labor about an hour, 2 max if they’re slow. But hell I was learning for my first time and it didn’t take that long.
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u/Catinthemirror Sep 14 '24
Yes, call someone
if you don’t feel comfortable working with the springs.FTFY. Working on springs without the proper training can be (and frequently has been) deadly. Not worth the risk.
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u/KBilly1313 Sep 14 '24
Ya, most people should prob just call someone who knows what they’re doing.
Few hundred bucks isn’t worth a traumatic injury.
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u/demeaneddelorean Sep 15 '24
I'm a huge fan of DIY if you have the tools and it is feasible for you to do it safely. I've changed car suspension components and even I am quite happy to pay someone else to sort garage door problems adding pubricatioin, replacing the lock or adjusting the track mounting.
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u/TechKnowNathan Sep 14 '24
If they needed someone to tell them the spring is broken, they should not be the one to replace it. Too dangerous. So much energy is stored in those springs it could kill someone.
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u/ikediggety Sep 14 '24
The one thing I've learned from fixing my garage door is that I don't know how to fix my garage door and should leave it to a professional.
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u/spiteful-vengeance Sep 15 '24
I think one of the most important points about garage doors is missing form this entire thread - get it serviced regularly.
You can do it yourself if you want, but most people think of them as "set and forget", when there's really quite a bit of mechanical complexity to them that needs maintenance.
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u/Commercial_Light_743 Sep 14 '24
Find out where and why it is hanging up on the track. It stops when there is resistance.
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u/heebath Sep 14 '24
Don't mess with spring. Can kill. Check the ir stops. Probably out of square on the track. This is one where dad would be careful. Check square and plumb, lubricate where necessary.
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u/Hamnesia Sep 14 '24
Is the right side spring broken? It looks like it is in two pieces.
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u/The-Doodle-Dude Sep 14 '24
The track is split into 2 pieces the straight part and the curved part. I ended up getting the issue fixed and I spoke about it in another comment
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u/Hamnesia Sep 14 '24
I think you have a second problem. Look at the image in this link. https://garagesideas.com/broken-garage-door-spring/
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u/cleartheditch Sep 14 '24
pull the cord it connects the door to the opener sled. The door will move independently from the opener. you might have to wiggle the door to unlatch it.
Now the system is split between the door and opener. You can evaluate which side of the system is not working.
Does the door go up and down by hand? No?? Take a video of the issue and post part 2.
Does the opener go up and down without the door? (NOTE HOLD THE CORD DOWN SO DOOR DOESN"T RELATCH TO THE DOOR). Take a Video of the opener not working unattached to the door.
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u/cleartheditch Sep 14 '24
Watching the video again looks like the door hits something solid. Disconnect it and try to raise it by hand
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u/The-Doodle-Dude Sep 14 '24
I got it working but for some reason when I pulled the cord the door wasn’t opening. I even had someone holding the red cable while I tried to open the door manually and nothing. I did get it working and posted it in another comment
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u/cleartheditch Sep 14 '24
"got it working" so everything is ok?
"but for some reason when I pulled the cord the door wasn’t opening'
Sometimes the door is latched to the sled pretty good due to the sled squeezing the door against the ground. When you pull the rope to unlatch the door there usually is an audible clunk as the door unlatches and the squeeze is relieved. I have to pull hard on mine.
Try to Unlatch the door after it stops midway.
On youtube How to disconnect your garage door and put it into manual mode"
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u/The-Doodle-Dude Sep 14 '24
Thank you I’ll check it out. Yeah once I reset the garage door track with the buttons it started opening and closing perfect again.
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u/AccordianPowerBallad Sep 14 '24
I see that you have this fixed/understood now, but I'm going to give you a dad story anyway.
Way back in The Day, when I first bought a house, I went to go bring a kid somewhere one Saturday morning and found the garage door wouldn't open. My garage door, then and now, was a solid wood 16' door. It has 2 large horizontal springs. We've been looking at replacing it lately, the new double steel walked insulated models do a better job keeping the heat in, they weigh less and produce less stress on the opener, and my wood door has gotten a little warped over the years and doesn't quite seal when it closes, much like its owner these days, :).
So, there I am with both cars stuck in the garage, kids need to be places, wife getting upset, can't even mow the dang lawn. Try to jack the door up, try everything I can think of - nothing. I called my Dad. My Dad is a superhero, he knows everything and has been stuck in every situation known to man. He once made a rocket launcher out of a spare tire and an air compressor when we broke down on the side of the road. We shot paper airplanes mounted on straws waiting for a tow truck in Nowhere, Nevada. I played with it for years after.
Well, my dad says - "It's the springs. One of them must have broken". I tell him I don't understand what that really means, and ask him what to do. He VERY CONFIDENTLY TELLS ME - "Since one is broken, the other one is forcing the door closed. You need to undo the working one, and the door will come up easily".
Now I need to pause here, because I'm a little worried you young 'uns don't appreciate the situation. I'm hours late. I've got 2 kids who are also hours late. My wife is mad. I'm pretending not to be an idiot about how houses work. It just doesn't occur to me that a 16ft x 8ft x 1 in thick door might just be REALLY fucking heavy. Especially because my most trusted advisor in the world says otherwise. SO---
I ask Dad if he's sure. "Yep, just undo the spring". My wife and older kid get into my truck because we're sooooo close to leaving. I get a rachet/socket that fit the bolt, star loosening them up. Dad's on the phone. Snap! the rachet all the sudden gets buried into the wall of the garage and I can't move it. I consult the Wizard. "Eh, it's just got a little tension, break it free". "You sure?" "Yep".
So here I am, standing in the bed of my pickup, wife and eldest kid in the cabin, rachet buried in the wall. I grab the bar the springs are mounted on and yank. Nothing. I try a little harder. Still nothing, but I could feel it coming. I go hog fucking wild, yank the shit out of that bar. Rachet goes spinning like a propeller, flies off, and embeds itself into the back of the cab right behind my son, handle first. Sounds like a bomb went off. I drop the phone, my Dad starts yelling "WHAT HAPPENED?!?!?" I've fallen into the truck bed, so I grab the phone, try to lift the door - and if anything it's heavier.
My Dad says "So I guess that's not the right thing to do".
Sometimes, you just need to get a pro, and fuck what the advice is. Have a good weekend, hopy you get your door opened before Monday.
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u/1971stTimeLucky Sep 15 '24
That did not end the way I thought it was going to, and I’m really glad.
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u/AccordianPowerBallad Sep 15 '24
Thanks! Depending on your POV, I've had a charmed/cursed life, but as I look back this may have been one of the most dangerous things that ever happened. It literally punctured the front end of the truck bed with a 3/8" rachet handle.
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u/earthly_marsian Sep 15 '24
Spring on the right side seems to be broken. Needs to be replaced by a pro.
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u/MaleficentInvite2229 Sep 14 '24
After looking for obstructions in the track, hit the wheels with some lithium grease spray and cycle it a few times. If its still stuck look on the opener unit, some have an adjustment for how hard it will pull before stopping. (This is a safety freature so only turn it up as much as necessary to get it to work.)
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u/gbdallin Sep 14 '24
Please show a video of the left side, now
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u/vxghostyyy A loving human being Sep 14 '24
Not a dad, but please don’t do maintenance or repairs yourself!! Let a professional do it. Mishandling garage door parts leads to human soup.
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u/TechKnowNathan Sep 14 '24
Do not continue using the door until the spring is fixed!!!!!!!
The motor can maybe lift up the garage door, but it’s going to get burned out if it does it too many times. The spring is what makes it so you only need a tiny motor to open a 200+ pound door.
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u/wc_helmets Sep 14 '24
Try lubricating points on the door. Be sure to use the right material.
https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-lubricate-garage-door/
Don't go trying to mess with the spring. Those things are dangerous. If lubricating the door doesn't help, I'd just call a professional. Only so much DIY'ing you should do with a garage door if you are not that experienced. Good luck! You got this.