On Fri, 26 Jan 2007 15:48:48 -0600, "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.

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.