Garage door spring makes several "clank" noises (opener, springs, Home Depot) - House -remodeling, decorating, construction, energy use, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, building, rooms - City-Data Forum

Dopo · 11-08-2009, 06:57 PM

When I open my garage door with the garage door opener, the spring above the door makes a few loud noises. It looks as if the bar and the spring bounce 3-4 times and when they bounce, they make a "clank" noise.

Does anybody know what is causing that or how to fix it?
Thanks

K'ledgeBldr · 11-09-2009, 08:00 AM

Garage door torsion springs are not items for the typical DIY's to touch.
Call a reliable garage door company and have them look into it.
But, for info sake- it doesn't sound like a broken spring otherwise the door wouldn't open. It could just need an adjustment. Or the bearing on the center support could be going bad.
Garage doors, like any other mechanical device need maintenance to perform. It's truly amazing how profitable that business is because people do NO maintenance- they just think it will last forever. Then complain when they have to shell out close to a grand.

GoHokiesGo · 11-09-2009, 09:38 AM

I spray a garage door lubricant on the torsion springs in my garage, along with the wheels on the track. This usually helps to quiet down the door if there is any binding while the spring is compressing/uncompressing.

However, like K'ledgeBldr said, it's not usually a DIY job unless you're familiar with garage doors. The springs are under extremely high tension and can get your seriously hurt if you're unfamiliar with the parts and dont have the proper tools and setup.

jimboburnsy · 11-09-2009, 09:39 AM

You may want to try giving the springs themselves, the rollers and the track a liberal application of silicone lubricant. It isn't impossible that "dry humping" is the whole problem

EDIT: GoHokies had the same idea at approximately the same time, it seems. I've replaced my own torsion springs without incident but will not do it again. I think the service call will be around $70. I actually feel pretty stupid for risking my face to save $70.

Dopo · 11-09-2009, 07:28 PM

I tried some WD-40 on the tension spring and the noise went away

I hope it's not going to mess it up, next time I'll get a lubricant specially made for that.
Thanks for the help.

GoHokiesGo · 11-10-2009, 11:08 AM

the WD-40 is ok for a temporary solution; WD-40 is not meant to be a bearing lubricant for something like garage door wheels and springs, but it has light oils that'll last for a little while to help you out. It wont mess anything up, but it'll wear off quickly since it's such a low viscosity. Just grab a can of silicone lubricant next time you're at the hardware store.

I use a PB blaster Garage Door lubricant that I got for like $4-5 at Home Depot, and it works just fine for the most part. ..:: Blaster Chemical Companies, Inc. - Product Detail ::.. (http://blasterchemical.com/display.cfm?p=50003&pid=5 - broken link) But most any silicone grease or bearing grease/oil will work just fine, even motor oil would work if you can get it in there.

eltbee · 11-10-2009, 02:14 PM

Not to hijack the thread but I once used a silicone based lubricant on the roll up tension spring (Liquid Wrench brand I believe) and it caused the bind on opening mechanism on the opener to trigger when the door opened. After that I sprayed it down with WD-40 and it started working again (not tripping). This seems counter-intuitive but I didn't investigate further. Someone once suggested that this was because the lubricant was so successful it altered the effective weighting of the door so the spring would have to be adjusted.

I just bought a too expensive can of Genie brand general lubricant for my drive chain. I was told it is Lithium based (?). Can that be used on the spring or should I stick with my can of Silicone lubricant like mentioned in the this thread (for the tension spring only).

GoHokiesGo · 11-10-2009, 05:07 PM

If your tension spring was binding due to corrosion or dirt, then that is probably why the WD-40 helped you more in the situation. WD-40 is a penetrant oil, it's meant to break down and clean corrosive substances from metals. So if your spring was binding due to oxidation or corrosion, the WD-40 would have helped clean that off and mildly lubricate the spring. You could spray the WD-40 on first, let it sit for a few days, and then reapply with a coat of the silicone lubricant and it would most likely keep your garage door from

As far as the Genie brand Lithium based grease goes - I think it'd be fine to use. Don't quote me on it, but I think any silicone, lithium or teflon based grease would work appropriately for this situation just fine. Motor oil would work as well even, you just want the higher viscosity that greases provide to keep the lubrication in place and not dripping off.

Bydand · 11-11-2009, 12:21 AM

When I was installing overhead doors for a living, this is the stuff I used all the time. superslickstuff Works like a charm and doesn't hold dust and grit like most lubricants will. It is good for the rollers, springs, shiv's, every place parts are moving and rubbing. Kind of spendy, but it lasts a LONG time and a little goes a long ways.

jimboburnsy · 11-11-2009, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bydand

When I was installing overhead doors for a living, this is the stuff I used all the time. superslickstuff Works like a charm and doesn't hold dust and grit like most lubricants will. It is good for the rollers, springs, shiv's, every place parts are moving and rubbing. Kind of spendy, but it lasts a LONG time and a little goes a long ways.

I just bought three cans. Looks like great stuff.