When you hear the words "tune-up" and "garage" likely you think of your car,motor cycle, or lawn tractor. Add to the list, your garage door. Tuning up your garage doors is easy and can add years of service life (at least five years) to the equipment. The questions of course is, where to begin? What tools do I need? How long will it take? Is it safe? When should I call in a professional? While doors vary in size and set up such as overhead torsion springs and automatic openers, most of the maintenance described in this post apply.
Start out by first inspecting the operation of the doors. listen for any grinding and/or squeaking noises. Also if you notice any rough operation and the safety mechanisms are reacting poorly, this is a sure sign the doors need some attention. So the tools that will be most useful are your eyes and ears.
Lubricate Moving Parts
Lubricating the moving parts on the door will aid in its smooth and quite operation. Before you do, wipe away any old grease and dirt that has built up. Grease and dirt will form a sludge that acts as an abrasive and eats away the rollers. Be sure to oil
- each seam of every hinge. A few drops of household oil such as 3-in-one or WD-40 works well. Applying the oil on top Will allow it to lubricate the entire seam.
- Apply some drops on each seam of the roller mount brackets on the door,and some on the ends of each roller pin.
- Apply a few drops on the roller track. To be sure that all the rollers come in contact with the lubricated areas, apply the oil about 1ft from the curve in the track. If you have nylon rollers Do NOT oil the track, certain oils can soften, gum up and ruin the nylon rollers, check your Manuel for care of the track.
Cables and Springs
Tune-up your garage door by inspecting the cables. Over time and if not properly maintained cables can fray and break in two places; along its length and at the ends where they connect to the roller brackets and spring mechanism. Look for broken, bent, and loose strands on the cables. If you find they are frayed, bent, or broken this is the time to hire a professional and have the cables replaced.
The high tension torsion springs the type mounted on a rod over your door acts as a counterbalance and determines how much effort it takes to raise and lower the door. These springs are very dangerous. Extension springs the type mounted on each side of the door by the tracks are dangerous as well. If adjusting or replacing these springs are necessary, hire a pro. What you can do however is visually inspect them for corrosion. If it looks good apply a bead of oil along the top of the springs, the oil will eventually work its way down coating the spring and preventing corrosion. 
Tuning up your garage doors is easy, but often overlooked. The next post will give further tune-up tips to help keep your door in tip top shape.
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