Garage Door Opener Advice

First off, hello everyone. I am new to the world of garage door openers, so I am inquiring here for some advice before I dive into a couple projects.


So I have a garage with two doors. One door has an opener installed, but it doesn't work. The unit has power, but when you press the opener button it just makes a clicking sound and the door doesn't move. Any advice as to what this problem might be? I know nothing about the opener, it was like this when I bought the house. I am going to start working on it tomorrow so I can get some more specifics like the brand and model number then.


Also, I would like to put an opener in the other door. What is a good brand to install for this door? Do they come with a track and all needed hardware, or does this need to be bought separately? The door is not very heavy it is easy to open by hand, so I would imagine I don't need anything too heavy duty, I would just like a unit that will last and be mostly maintenance free.

 

If the one that clicks is chain drive, probably a stripped gear in the motor housing. If it's screw drive, possible stripped carrier. Both are DIY-able, but a bit above novice ability I would say. can you post make and models(s)?

 

And for the install, I like the Genie screw-drives; that's what's on my door.

Here's a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD6wyh50bgY

 

Hey it is actually a stripped gear. I took the unit apart today, and a ton of plastic shavings fell out of the case. The gear is worn down to the point that it does not make sufficient contact with the other gear. Its a chamberlain 1/2 hp security. I can't see the model number its all worn out. The unit looks really old. Is it worth hunting down new gears, or should I just get a new one? Also, what causes the gear to get worn like this?

 

That's a toss up. When you said stripped gear, I was going to guess Craftsman; our last Craftsman chain-drive did that. I replaced the gear and it went a few more years before the electronics started to go squirrely. I REALLY like out Genie screw-drive which has performed very well except for stripping the carrier a year or so ago. If it's already pretty ancient, may be worth the extra $ to just upgrade now.

As for the stripping gears, maybe one of our door pro's can jump in here. My only thought would be maybe weak spring(s) causing excess load on the plastic teeth.

 

Craftsman uses several companies to private label their openers. You probably have a Chamberlain.
While there are gear kits available, you may want to replace that opener at the same time as you add the new opener to the other door.
Genie and Overhead are the same company. Usually Overhead openers are installed by door pros while the Genie is a D.I.Y. unit.

I like screw drives. About the only thing to wear out is the coupler between the motor and screw. After 10 - 15 years, it may, and I stress may, need replacing. that's a 15 - 20 minutes job to replace a $10 coupler.

 

I will definitely look into those brands when I install one in the other door. I won't be doing the install until the spring, so I have some time to shop around. As for the existing one, I found a gear kit today for 10 bucks on ebay turns out its the chamberlain 41A2817 kit. I called chamberlain first, they wanted 27 plus 12 for shipping! What a joke, I told the lady thanks, but no thanks. No way two little plastic gears cost 12 dollars to ship. The ebay seller gave me free shipping, so I figured its worth fixing this thing up for 9 bucks. Maybe I'll get a year or two more out of the unit. So to prevent the new gears from stripping, I should check the springs? anything else?

 

Release the door from the opener and open and close it by hand. If it tracks smoothly and basically can stop and stay at most points of travel, you are good. Reattach the release.
You may want to lightly oil hinges and the axles on the rollers. Do not oil the tracks, just keep them clean.

 

Well, they might.

I had a thread a few weeks ago over shipping costs. Doing some research I found out that both FedEx and UPS have VERY arcane methods of determining shipping costs and yes, it IS possible that the $12 fee you mention IS what they charge the supplying company to make the shipment.

I buy a lot of junk, er, valuable treasures, mail order and as much as possible I try to get free shipping or at least USPS flat rate shipping.

 

So the gears came in, they weren't too hard to change. There were a lot of wires to unhook the motor, and there were a lot of pieces on the motor shaft to remove before the gear could come out, but all in all it took me about 2 hours. I changed both gears, greased them real good, then I oiled the wheels on the side of the door, adjusted the close and open height, and turned up the spring tension adjustment. The door seems to be working fine, we will see how long the gears last. If the new ones shred up again, i'll know something else is wrong. For 9 bucks, if I get another year out of this thing i'll be happy. Thanks everyone for the advice.