Adjusting chain on garage door opener

[brianl703]

I noticed that the chain on my garage door opener had started to sag..it was hanging about an inch below the middle of the T-shaped track with the door closed. It also seemed like the garage door wasn't going down smoothly. (The door goes up and down fine when I pull the red handle and close/open it manually).

So I adjusted it (at the threaded piece the chain attaches to with the two nuts on it) until it hangs about 1/4" above the T-shaped track with the door closed.

Does that sound about right, or have I overtightened it, or could I tighten it some more?

The door closes more smoothly now--it doesn't seem like it's hanging up a bit like it was before.

 

[Schmoe]

Sounds like you nailed it. It will probably give up a little more slack when it warms up as metal expands, but if it's working great now, should be good from here on out.

 

[Scooby]

brian,

I did the same thing a couple nights ago.

I went and bought some graphite and put that on the tracks/wheels, and some motor type lube for the chain and pivot points of the door. This lube is said to be free of accumulating dust.

While doing that I noticed the chain sagging. I adjusted that as well.

Now the door is whisper quite and smooth as a whistle. The only noise now is the slight noise of the motor.

 

[Schmoe]

I wish now that i had bought a chain drive as opposed to a screw drive. That screw drive is a heck of a lot NOISIER.

 

[ShortBuSX]

Chain driven openers are never "smooth"...if you hain is sagging your probably in need of a gear kit or idler pulley. Depending on which brand of opener, you may or may not be able to get a kit for it...Stanley, Atlas/Rollite and the like have all gone out of business(no parts available)...so then your option would be a new opener.

The really sad thing, is that your opener problem is probably a sign that there is something more significant wrong with your door which caused this to happen...these plastic parts are the designed failure points, and are designed to fail instead of burning up the motor. And they fail usually when the door becomes excessively heavy or has too much friction from the rollers.

 

[brianl703]

I adjusted it by maybe 1/4", if even that..the chain/cable assembly is at least 12 feet long and if it stretched 1/4" in 10 years I think that's probably normal.

So far it's been operating fine, and the door goes up and down smoothly, without excessive effort, when I open it manually.

 

[ShortBuSX]

Youve had this chain driven opener for 10 years? Okay, maybe itll last you 10 more years with your adjustment...then again that gear may only last you another 3 months...maybe I dont know what Im talking about. Gears are cheap nylon, designed to fail...and like I said "cheap" usually less than 50-75 bucks to have it replaced if it does fail.

BTW what brand is it???

 

[brianl703]

I'm not sure how old it is; it was here when I moved in 5 years ago. The house is 10 years old, and I'm guessing that the opener was installed when the house was built. It's a Craftsman.

 

[wileyE]

Don't forget to lube the door channel rollers also.