Old wood garage door issues

[GLE3]

Earlier this winter one of my extension springs broke on my overhead door. I heard it was best to replace all 4 instead of just one, so I took the spring into the local door dealer. Dealer asked if there was any special reason I only had 21 inch springs on my 8 foot door and I told him the previous owner did the install and I am not sure why it was done that way. He offered to special order some 21 inch springs in or buy some 25 inch he had in stock that day. I figured it wouldn't be too tough just buying the 25 inch and shortening the cable some to make up the difference. It seemed to work for a while after the repair but lately has been increasingly tempermental. The door now shimmies the last foot of closing and one of the corners of the door rubs the doorframe. Sometimes it is enough to stop/backup the door. When I have the door in a upright position, there is more space between the door and the track at the top of the door than the bottom.


Hinges, pulleys, and rollers were replaced in 07 by a local repair man.

I am a newbie when it comes to garage door behavior diagnosis could someone give me a idea on where I should start looking at order to fix my issue(s)?

[Nestor]

I'm no expert in garage doors either, but I can tell you that wood swells and shrinks with seasonal changes in it's moisture content caused by seasonal changes in the ambient air temperature and humidity.

So, if it's been warm and humid in your area lately, the problems with your wooden garage door may very well be due to the wood swelling and rubbing on one side of the door frame, or some other rubbing somewhere else.

If it wuz me, I would go to my local pharmacy and buy a few 3 fluid ounce bottles of glycerine for about $3 each (typically) or a coupla 5 ounce bottles for $5 each. Use the glycerine as a light oil to lubricate any surfaces where you suspect there may be some rubbing going on, INCLUDING the surface of any rubber door gaskets you have to keep the weather out of the garage. If you find that lubricating those surfaces works, then either sand those wood surfaces down to reduce the friction between them, or go to any hardware store and buy some "Dry graphite" spray lubricant. (Locksmiths will also sell graphite powder to use as a lubricant in locks.)



or,


That word "dry" in dry graphite lubricant means that the propellant in the can is volatile and evaporates quickly, leaving only the dry graphite powder behind. Spray that graphite lubricant on any rubbing surfaces that the glycerine helped.

I suggest using glycerine instead of oil because glycerine is very much like a light grade of oil in it's lubricating properties, but it has one important difference in that it evaporates completely without leaving any residue. So, if it turns out that using glycerine on any of the rubbing surfaces doesn't help, you don't have an oily mess that's going to attract dirt and that bugs are going to stick to to clean up. You can just leave the glycerine alone, and it will evaporate completely in a day or two or three, depending on the temperature.

Graphite is used as a lubricant in locks because dust doesn't stick to it and turn the oil into "grime" that would interfere with the operation of the lock. What makes graphite particularily applicable for use on your garage door is that, unlike oil, it's lubricating properties don't change with temperature. It's as slippery at 40 below as it is at 40 degrees above. Wear old clothes when using dry graphite spray lubricant cuz it's kinda messy to work with. If you get the stuff on your hands, soap and water should take it all off.

[norlando]

He offered to special order some 21 inch springs in or buy some 25 inch he had in stock that day. I figured it wouldn't be too tough just buying the 25 inch and shortening the cable some to make up the difference.

I suspect this is the root of your troubles. The purpose of the spring(s) is to counterbalance the weight of the door. You can't just arbitrarily change spring sizes without affecting the door operation in some manner. First thing you should do is disconnect the opener from the door, and open/close it by human power. Check to make sure the door opens and closes easily and smoothly; it should not require great effort because the springs are doing much of the work. Make sure the door is balanced. Balanced means it stays down by itself, stays up by itself, and stays in the middle by itself (or moves only a little bit if you let go in the middle).

[TJR]

^ Second that^
Also if you dont have the same pull on both cables(and shortening the cable some to make up the difference) the door will be "bouncing""walking" (call it what you want) from side to side.
With a torsion spring conversion you will have a much smoother operating door.