Twice a year, run the balance test, the auto-reverse test and the photo-eye test, lubricate the rollers, hinges and springs with a proper garage door lubricant, and clear the track. That routine prevents most premature failures and takes about twenty minutes.
A garage door is the heaviest moving thing in a house and it gets less maintenance than almost anything else in it. Most of the emergency calls we take were preventable with twenty minutes twice a year.
Here is the whole routine, including two safety tests that genuinely matter.
The two safety tests
- Auto-reverse test. Lay a solid object, traditionally a piece of two by four laid flat, on the floor in the centre of the door opening. Close the door with the opener. When the door touches the object it must stop and reverse. If it does not, the close force is set too high and the opener needs adjusting. This is the test that protects against something being under the door.
- Photo-eye test. Start the door closing, then wave an object through the beam near the floor. The door must stop and reverse immediately. If it does not, the sensors are misaligned, dirty, or have failed. Never disable or bypass them.
The balance test
This is the single most informative thing you can do and it takes a minute. With the door fully closed, pull the emergency release cord to disconnect the opener. Lift the door by hand to about waist height and let go. A properly balanced door will stay roughly where you put it. If it slams down, the springs are weak or failing. If it flies up, the springs are over-wound. If it is very heavy to lift at all, a spring has broken. A door that is out of balance is making the opener do work the springs should be doing, and that is how openers die early. Re-engage the trolley by pulling the cord back toward the door and running the opener once.
What to lubricate, and with what
| Part | Lubricate? | With what |
|---|---|---|
| Rollers, the bearings | Yes | Garage door lubricant or light oil |
| Hinges, at the pivot | Yes | Garage door lubricant |
| Torsion springs | Yes, lightly | Garage door lubricant, coat the coil |
| Bearing plates and shaft | Yes | Garage door lubricant |
| Opener rail, chain or screw | Yes | White lithium grease, thin coat |
| Opener rail, belt drive | No | Nothing |
| The track itself | No | Clean it, never lubricate it |
| Nylon roller wheels | No | Bearings only, not the nylon |
| Anything | Not WD-40 | It is a solvent, it strips lubricant |
The track is the one people get wrong. Lubricating the track collects grit and makes the rollers worse. Wipe it clean instead.
The full routine
- Watch and listen to the door go through a full cycle. Note any grinding, scraping, jerking or uneven movement.
- Run the auto-reverse test and the photo-eye test.
- Run the balance test with the opener disconnected.
- Wipe the tracks clean of grit, salt and debris. Do not lubricate them.
- Lubricate rollers, hinges, springs and bearing plates.
- Check and tighten the roller brackets and hinge fasteners, which vibrate loose over hundreds of cycles.
- Inspect the lift cables for fraying, particularly near the bottom brackets. A frayed cable is a repair now, not later.
- Check the bottom seal for splits and for ice damage, and check the bottom brackets for corrosion.
- Clear ice and packed snow from the threshold so the door is not being broken free every morning.
- Replace the opener remote batteries before they die.
What not to touch
Two things on a garage door hold enough stored energy to injure you seriously and neither is a maintenance item. The torsion springs above the door are wound under extreme tension permanently, and nothing about them should be adjusted, loosened or wound by anyone without the proper winding bars and the training to use them. The bottom brackets at the base of the door are under full lift cable tension whenever the door is closed, which is why they carry warning labels, and loosening one without first releasing the spring tension is how people get hurt. Lubricating a spring from a distance is fine. Adjusting anything is not.
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Frequently asked questions
How often should a garage door be serviced?
Run the homeowner routine twice a year, spring and autumn, which takes about twenty minutes. A professional service is worth it every two to three years on a normally used residential door, and annually if the garage is your main entrance or the door runs many cycles a day.
What should I use to lubricate a garage door?
A proper garage door lubricant, or a light oil, on rollers, hinges, springs and bearing plates. White lithium grease on a chain or screw drive rail. Nothing at all on a belt drive rail or on the track. Do not use WD-40, which is a solvent that strips lubricant rather than a lubricant itself.
How do I test if my garage door is balanced?
Close the door, pull the emergency release to disconnect the opener, then lift the door by hand to waist height and let go. A balanced door stays roughly where you put it. If it slams down the springs are weak, if it flies up they are over-wound, and if it is very heavy to lift one has probably broken.
How do I test the garage door auto-reverse?
Lay a solid object flat on the floor in the centre of the opening and close the door with the opener. When the door contacts the object it must stop and reverse. If it does not, the close force is set too high and needs adjusting. Separately, wave something through the photo-eye beam while closing and confirm the door reverses.
Should I lubricate the garage door track?
No, and this is the most common maintenance mistake. Lubricant on the track collects grit and turns into an abrasive paste that wears the rollers faster. Wipe the track clean instead, and lubricate the roller bearings, hinges and springs.
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