Color me stumped...Garage door issues.

Jim O'Dell

Member
Messages
2,783
Location
Between Aledo and Fort Worth, TX
Hi! I haven't posted here in a while, but I have been looking in periodically. Got an issue with our garage door. This is a normal roll up door of wood construction. It is 18' wide. About 3 weeks ago, we started getting a gap at the left side. I have tried increasing the tension on the right side spring, didn't change. This morning I decreased the tension on the left side...still no change. I can stand on the door with it disconnected from the opener and it will go down, but won't stay there with weight off of it. In fact I have to bounce on the door to get that side to touch the floor. The gap is 2 1/2" at the far left side of the door, slightly out of the picture. DSCN3476 garage door.jpg With the door in the up position, you can also see that it is off. DSCN3475 garage door.jpg I could easily add to the bottom of the door to get a seal, but that isn't fixing the problem. Any ideas? I can't see any cracks in the slab or the brick that would indicate a drop on that side of the house. Even so, I'd think the door and track would follow it down. I don't see anything binding in the track. The door moves evenly open to close, just not level with the floor. I'm stumped. Jim.
 
First thing I would do is to check the height of the opening on each side to make sure they are equal. Then I would get as long of a straight edge as possible and check the floor for level. One of those self leveling lasers would be perfect for this.
 
First thing I would do is to check the height of the opening on each side to make sure they are equal. Then I would get as long of a straight edge as possible and check the floor for level. One of those self leveling lasers would be perfect for this.

Alan, the opening height on the left side, the side with the gap, is 6' 8 5/16". The right side where the door touches the floor is 6' 8 11/16". This would make sense if the gap was on the right side. It is just more confusing since the gap is on the other side. The floor does drop 1/2" on that side of the garage. No cracks in the concrete that are perpendicular to the door opening that would suggest that that side dropped. Even added together, it doesn't add up to the 2 1/2" gap that has appeared. I do think that there has been a little gap all along on that side, but just enough to see a little daylight under it. I'm sure the thin gasket on the bottom of the door hid some of the gap.

I would check to see if the guides for the rollers are still vertical and have not moved out of position over time.
Bill, rollers and mounts are all still in perfect position on the door, both sides. Door rolls and opens smoothly with the lift and by hand. Nothing binding.

I even checked to see if the door had warped. My longest straight edge is only 5', but I don't detect anything in the door top or bottom moving 2' at a time the length of the door. Does any of this raise any ideas? Thanks guys! Jim.
 
When the door is down are the tracks parallel to the sides of the door and are they plumb? I would also pull a tape measure from the top of the door to the header on each side with the door all the way up just to make sure they are equal or pretty close to equal.
 
Had asimilar problem due to one thingie's that hold the cable to the shaft for the spring shaft had slipped. I had to detension spring then adjust the position of the things and then re-tension the shaft. A very scary thing that I finally called out a guy to do since the spring could kill ya.
 
When the door is down are the tracks parallel to the sides of the door and are they plumb? I would also pull a tape measure from the top of the door to the header on each side with the door all the way up just to make sure they are equal or pretty close to equal.

Yes, parallel and plumb as well as I can tell. With the door in the up position, left measurement from the door's top to the header is 86", right side is 85".

Had asimilar problem due to one thingie's that hold the cable to the shaft for the spring shaft had slipped. I had to detension spring then adjust the position of the things and then re-tension the shaft. A very scary thing that I finally called out a guy to do since the spring could kill ya.

Both mounts are secure. Guess I need to check the right side tension on the springs. If it slipped on that side I guess it might allow the door to drop more there with less tension and create the change I see in the door to floor mating. Hmmmm.....Jim.
 
What type of spring system is it? Does it use the long springs on each side or is it the type thats mounted to the header above the garage door?

If it is the first type and I lived closer I would come and do it for you. The one thats mounted to the header of the door needs a spanner type wrench to do properly.
 
What type of spring system is it? Does it use the long springs on each side or is it the type thats mounted to the header above the garage door?

If it is the first type and I lived closer I would come and do it for you. The one that's mounted to the header of the door needs a spanner type wrench to do properly.

It is the latter. I have two bars that I have adjusted them with. I understand how to do it, I'm just a little leery of taking them all the way down. If I decide to do it, I will wait until next Saturday when I would have the whole day to do it. I have been hit by the springs that are mounted on the sides before. Ruined a pair of glasses. They didn't have the safety wire on them. Anyway, I'll make that decision at a later time. Thanks for your help today. I really appreciate it!!!! Jim.
 
Long time no update. Alan, you were very close to the answer. A couple weeks ago, LOML wanted some house numbers attached to the garage door. Personally I thought it made no sense as the garage is on the side street from the front door. But then again, the front door doesn't face the street our we are addressed to...it is actually the side street where the garage is...makes even less sense, huh?
Anyway I was looking at the door for placement with the door down, and what did I see??? Strands from the cable that lifts and lowers the door frayed. Not sure how many strands there are, but I only had 2 left intact!!! Man, was that a disaster waiting to happen. Pulled the wife's van out and we used the front door for several days. Got a guy out to look at it and 150 well spent dollars later, new cables and the door tuned up. Guess what else happened??? Yep, the door mated to the floor again, all the way across. So it was a tension issue in that the cables on the side that was on the ground must have been stretched out allowing it to touch first.
Now if I could figure out why the opener light stays on......Jim.
 
It's actually, at least I think, the relay that turns the light on/off either through the timer after the door goes down, and/or the manual switch on the wall. It will either lock on and not turn off, or lock off and not turn on. I can take the bulb out for a few days, reinstall and it will work fine for a few months. Has been doing this for 3 or 4 years. Makes no sense. Jim.
 
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