http://www.franksgaragedoor.com/garage-door-tips.htm
Frank reccomends WD, and call him when it needs repair. I am
guessing that the LPS3 or white lithium will last longer.

Years ago, I bought some "chain lube" stuff, with an eye
towards using on my chainsaw. It turned out to be black,
sticky, and full of moly, maybe. Totally messy. I may still
have the can of stuff, I seldom use it for any thing. Might
help with squeaky car door hinges, I may try that some time.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Eli the Bearded" wrote in message
...
Last week the garage door torsion spring snapped. It was at
least
twenty-five years old and no one lamented it's short life.
So a
day or two later we got the spring replaced, and a new
garage
door opener for good measure. The door is wood, single car
sized,
and quite heavy. I don't have any specs, but the spring is
clearly metal, so here I am.

I was not there when the installer was, but I was told he
recommended oiling the spring with WD-40 every three months.
Now,
to me "oiling" and "WD-40" are not the same thing, but I can
see
people confusing them.

I can see two theories behind why you'd want to oil the
spring:
1) a light coat of thin oil will keep it from rusting; and
2) as the door opens and closes, the tension put on and
released
from the spring causes it to rub against itself.

With the previous install, the rollers were occaionally --
perhaps
yearly -- lubricated with white lithium grease but that's
it. At
the end of the life of the old spring, it had a small amount
of
rust, but I don't think it caused the spring to fail early.
Nor
did the spring look like it had worn down much, so I'm not
sure
the rubbing action is very significant.

So what should I plan on doing?

Elijah
------
even if this isn't metalworking, it's metal