Dealing with Garage Door Track Issues

Since they are stationary garage door parts, you would not expect tracks to give you much trouble. However, there are several factors which make them more prone to issues than you may think. These include the frequent movement of the rollers up and down, the fact that the tracks consist of different sections and the fact that they are now much thinner than their counterparts made some decades ago. Take a close look at the most common problems affecting these components and learn how to resolve them.

Effective Solution Applied Properly

When the overhead door cannot close all the way, this is most often due to a pebble or a thick accumulation of dirt stuck inside one of the tracks. In this case, you should get the door into fully opened position and remove the obstruction. For dirt removal, it is best to use a car brake cleaner. You should definitely clean the metal rollers too since they carry the dirt which sticks to their lubricated wheels. Cover them with light non-sticky lubricant or have them replaced with nylon garage door rollers which do not require lubrication at all.

Loosening of the brackets that hold the sections of the tracks is not an uncommon problem. It is associated with scraping sounds which are quite annoying. Check the bolts and replace them if they are very rusty or damaged. Our experts in Woburn recommend that you clean the brackets and tighten the bolts well, but not too much.

Bending is a more serious problem affecting garage door tracks. In some cases, it occurs due to misalignment of the two sections and the running of the rollers. It is typically minor and can be fixed effectively without much hassle. The problem can also occur when a lift cable gets broken and the door starts hanging on one side. In this case, the repair may involve the replacement of the entire section.

It is possible for a track to break as a result of an accident such as collision or severe misalignment of the door. The only broken garage track fix is replacement. This job must be done straight away so as not to put the safety of people at risk. The replacement component has to match the specifications of the original one.