Replacing The Rollers On Your Garage Door
Garage doors tend to grow noisier and noisier as they age. A lot of this noise is related to the rollers on either side of the door. The good news is that you can drastically reduce the volume of your door by replacing these rollers with new ones. If you would like to learn more about how to accomplish this upgrade, read on. This article will walk you through the roller replacement process, step by step.
Necessary Supplies
Before you get started, you'll want to gather all of the needed tools and supplies. To begin with, you'll need some new rollers. Most garage doors have six rollers, but count the existing rollers on your door to be absolutely sure. Consider upgrading to nylon rather than metal rollers. Not only is nylon less noisy, but it is also not prone to rust, which tends to become a problem for metal rollers.
Tool-wise, you will need all of the following:
- two large work clamps
- a pair of heavy-duty pliers
- a flat heat screwdriver
- a pry bar
First Steps
The first thing you will want to do is open your garage door all the way and attach one of your clamps to each of the tracks, a little more than halfway up. These will act to prevent the door from crashing down on top of you while you work. Next pull the release rope dangling from the top of the opener. This will release the door from the opener, allowing you to manipulate its position by hand. Finally, unplug the opener's power source, just to be on the safe side.
Bending The Track
Now you are going to use your pliers to bend open a small portion of the track. This will allow you to slip the rollers out of place. Identify the area near the top where the straight up and down track meets the curved portion of track. With your pliers, carefully bend open the inside edge of track until the edge is pointing outward.
Now move your garage door downward until the first roller is positioned in the bent-out portion of the track. The roller should be able to wiggle back and forth freely, but chances are the track will not be loose enough to allow you to remove the roller by hand. Instead, use your screwdriver to gently pry the roller out through the bent-open side, then pull it out of its two support holes on the door.
Repeat this process for all of the rollers on the door, then replace them with the new rollers. Once this has been accomplished, use your pliers to again bend the track back into its original shape. Your pry bar will be a helpful tool for fine tuning the shape of the track. Turn the door back on, re-attach the emergency lever, and remove your clamps to finish.
For bigger issues, such as garage door spring repair, contact a professional.