Garage Door Opener Problems! - Craftsman 139.18854 -?

Question

Hey..

Looking for someone help with my garage door opener.

Door was opening fine in warmer temps, now in cold, it's only opening up a foot or two. If I assisted with a bit of a lift, it would open the full way no problem (there was no grinding, nothing sounded wrong, it was just like it gave up!)

So, I opened her up, but in the process of diagnosing - I stripped the large white plastic gear. (probably not the actual problem, now just a secondary!)

It's a craftsman 139.18854 model.

Should I just give up on this 10 year old opener? or should I replace the cheap plastic gear, and try and work out why it was giving up part way through the pull. (it would reverse when the button was pushed).

Any help is appreciated!!!

I am in the ottawa, ontario area.

Thanks in advance,

- Simon

Should have mentioned, the opener came with the house, and there was always some slack in the line (of the chain pull) I am sure some of this jarring was not good for the opener.. but I am not sure if it's a matter of the engine giving up the ghost, or whether a nice tight chain would have it running more smoothly!

Cheers!

more info:

-> force adjustments for both up and down, are already dialed right up to the 9! (max)

so there is no more "force" available on the dial.

Metal Door - new springs last year.

Door is recently (1 week) well lubed.

Both springs are in tact, and look perfect.

No odour from motor - but it's a little late to tell right now.

Can't open door on my own, it's an over-sized 2 car garage with a double-layered steel door (probably well over 300lbs)

I can get it to go up and down a little on the tracks on my own.. but I can't really test smoothness due to the sheer amount of force I am exherting while testing.

Answer 1

If you can't open the door on your own when the garage door opener is disconnected then you have something wrong besides the garage door opener. The opener is trying to lift dead weight and that's why the gear stripped. You should be able to lift the garage door easily with one hand. A garage door opener is meant to work with a properly balanced garage door opener, not take the place of the counterbalance springs. Since you have a double car door then I'm assuming you have two torsion springs. Look for a gap in one of the springs indicating a break. Like I said, no garage door opener in the world will lift a door reliably that you must struggle yourself to lift.

You either have 1) a broken spring 2)lost spring tension 3) broken cables. This must be repaired before you address your garage door opener's issues.

Once you have the counterbalance situation taken care of then you can go ahead and replace the gear. I have been doing this for a long time and it still takes me an hour with lots of swearing to do a gear change. It's a pain in the @ss, but do-able. A gearset with both the worm gear and the helical gear will run you about $25.00.

Good luck Simon. I hope I was able to help.

Answer 2

If you can get a replacement gear, that is now primary.
Next - Oil or lube each and every roller wheel where the bearings are.
The opener box has 2 knobs for regulating the up limit switch and the down limit switch.
Raise and lower the door to work in the lube and grease the chain too.
Make sure the track is tight and free of dents and/or obstructions.
Make sure you have enough light while the door is closed.
Now try resetting the limit switch for the up position.
Then adjust the down limit until the door stays closed while the rubber seal on the door is snug.
If this doesn't work, a new opener is your best bet (and I think the new screw-drives are best) at least 1/2 Hp.

Answer 3

Before replacing the garage door opener, disconnect it from the door and attempt to open and close the door manually.

If it is very easy to open and close the door, and based on the symptoms you describe, then the problem is likely the motor. (Is there an electrical smell?)

If you can't open the door with one arm you might have a broken spring even though you replaced them a year ago. If they are torsion springs, check them closely for a break. If only one of the two is broken you could get the symptoms you observe.

You could also certainly wreck a gear by using the opener without the help of both springs.

Answer 4

Do you live near a Military base or an Airport, Like within 3 miles as the Crow Flies. Older units were susceptible to Sweeping Radar Units used for detecting approaching aircraft. To be honest this will only really change when either the frequency of your unit is changed or by updating the opener to a newer model. I had the same problem about 8 years ago. Every time the radar made a sweep my Garage door opened and the TV came on all by itself, and the volume went all the way up. The frequency on the opener and the door were within the frequency arc of the Radar at the Military base.

Answer 5

A couple things:

1) If the paint on the door is old and cracked, and it's a wooden door, rain may be seeping into the wood durring rainy weather making it harder to open due to the extra weight of the water in the wood.

2) If your garage gets cold, and the gears are lubricated with grease, or heavy gear oil, it may be more difficult to turn the raise mechanism.

3) The counter weights may need adjusting.

Answer 6

The opener seems to be doing its job but the springs that help it open the door may need replaced or tension added. Look the springs over and usually you can pick up replacements, check all rollers and lube them all. FYI, a gargae door spring is rated for only so many cycles, sounds like one or both are spent... Note measure the stretched length of the springs, then when you replace them match it to start.