If your garage door is off-track, it’ll be out of operation until you get it repaired. A broken garage door is frustrating, as it can trap your car inside and leave your home exposed to the elements. The good news, however, is that the fix can be taken care of quickly by a professional, and there are ways you can prevent the issue in the future. We’ll teach you how to quickly and safely assess your garage door rollers and perform preventative maintenance to help keep them in working order.
How to Tell if Your Garage Door is Off-Track
The first step for DIY garage door repair is to identify the source of the problem. When a garage door is off-track, it may get stuck, hang loosely from the tracks or sit at an awkward angle. If you experience any of these issues, do not attempt to force the door open or closed. Trying to force a door to work is dangerous and could bend your tracks, cause more rollers to pop out and damage your system.
What Causes a Garage Door to Go Off-Track?
Knowing why your garage door came off-track can help you prevent the situation from happening again. Most garage doors have between 10 and 12 rollers, and if any come off the track, you can spot them with a quick visual inspection. Taking care to ensure your safety, enter your garage and look at the tracks mounted on either side of the door. Common causes for garage rollers to come off the tracks include:
- Damaged tracks: Bent or damaged tracks can force rollers out of alignment.
- Loose tracks: The vibration of your door can loosen the bolts that hold the tracks in place.
- Force and impacts: If you hit your garage door with your car, you could send rollers off-track.
- Dirt and lack of lubrication: Built-up dirt and grime along with a lack of lubrication can throw rollers off-track.
How to Fix Off-Track Garage Door Rollers
Once you know the cause of your issue, you can be confident in your repairs and fix the off-track garage door. If your rollers came off due to a problem with your tracks, for instance, you’ll want to address the tracks before setting the rollers back into place. If there is an issue with your garage door track causing the rollers to be off, it’s important to have a professional take care of the repair. A professional garage door repair technician will tighten and secure all your hardware, clean your tracks using a household cleaner and lubricate all your metal hardware with a silicone spray. To fix off-track garage door rollers, they’ll follow these steps:
- Disconnect the power: Pull the rope hanging down from the motor to engage manual operation for the door.
- Align the door: Line the rollers up to the spot where they jumped off the track, locking the door in place with vice grips.
- Open the track: To make room for the roller, use a pair of pliers to work the track open, then guide the roller into place.
- Close the track: Using a rubber or wooden mallet, hammer the track back into shape to prevent the rollers from coming off again.
- Check the door: Open and close the door a few times to check the repair before reconnecting your automatic garage opener.
Once a professional has put the rollers back on track, you can perform some simple preventative maintenance to prevent the garage door rollers from going off-track again:
- Regularly asses the rollers and track: Remember to check your rollers and track every now and then. Make sure rollers are in the proper places and that the track is free of debris.
- Apply lubricant: In order for the rollers to run smoothly on the track you can also apply lubricant.
Get Professional Assistance
You can perform preventative maintenance to reduce the risk of your rollers coming off-track, but if you notice that any rollers are already off-track, call a professional to assess the situation and complete the right repairs. Such an expert will know how to replace your garage door rollers if necessary. If your garage door is off-track in the Nashville or Gallatin area, contact EXL Garage Doors today.