Steps a Professional Door Installer Takes to Maintain or Replace Your Garage Door Rollers

A man showing how to lubricate garage door rollers

A working garage door is something that we rely on every day, especially on frigid winter days or cold and rainy days. Imagine having to get out of the car to physically open your garage door in the middle of a horrible snowstorm or in the middle of a torrential downpour! That’s no fun.

The point is, we want our garage door to continue to open and close smoothly so we can continue to live in comfort- and stay warm and dry! This is why it’s important to perform routine care and maintenance on your garage door and its working parts.

Paying close attention to the cues that your garage door provides during normal operation is important. It’s good to catch any potential problems before they get too far out of hand! Are the rollers squeaking? Is the door opening roughly? Is it vibrating excessively when opening? Is the door out of alignment, causing one side of the door to be lower than the other side?

Garage door rollers are one of the most important parts of the mechanism. They perform most of the work and also hold the weight of the door itself. As with any moving parts, taking good care of them is essential for longevity.

Image from a video > Through the course of its life a garage door opens & closes 20,000 times

What’s a garage door cycle? A garage door cycle includes one opening and one closing.

Image from a video> 20,000 opening and 20,000 closing of a garage door is the equivalent of travalling up and down the Everest 5 times

Garage Doors Work Hard! Watch this video. We analyzed the data and determined that garage doors work hard and deserve to be taken care of.

So what’s involved with care and maintenance on a garage door? There are a number of working parts on a garage door and often the symptoms will determine what all is involved in the care and maintenance of the system- which is why it’s important to pay attention to these symptoms! At a minimum, the parts should be kept cleaned and lubricated to ensure it works at its best.

A professional garage door technician has provided us with the basic care and maintenance steps you can take as well as the steps to replace the garage door rollers.

First, what kind of rollers do you have on your garage door?

There are three roller types available. Which ones do you have?

Here are the three roller types:

  • Black Rubber: They do not have ball bearings. These are usually found on garage doors that are up to 10-feet wide.
  • Steel: These steel rollers have ball bearings. When ordering new rollers, be sure to request rollers with at least 10 ball bearings.
  • Nylon: These rollers operate with minimal noise. They can be used on both single and double doors. Nylon rollers contain 12 ball bearings.

One of the most common signs that you need to lubricate the garage door rollers is that loud, screeching, squeaking noise you hear when you open and close the garage door. Visually inspect the rollers for damage. If there are no physical signs of damage, you can proceed with lubricating the rollers. We’ll walk you through a few steps to determine which rollers you have and how to lubricate them

2-inch Nylon rollers for residential overhead garage door

Common Rollers: 99% of residential garage doors come with 2-inch diameter rollers, like the ones shown above.

Always Cut Off the Power Before Starting to Work!

A yellow sign saying Safety First

It’s ESSENTIAL for your safety that you complete these steps prior to performing any care and maintenance on your garage door:

  • Cut the power.
  • Unplug the garage door opener.

Performing care and maintenance on a garage door that’s still connected to electricity can be dangerous and should not be done. Be Safe!

How to Lubricate Your Garage Door Rollers

NEVER USE OIL-BASED LUBRICANTS!

Image of lubricant recommended for tracks, hinges, springs, and rollers

Oil-based lubricants are degreasers and so while your rollers need “grease”, oil-based lubricants won’t produce the desired results. Oil-based lubricants can also gunk up the rollers causing them to function poorly or not at all.

Always use a silicone-based lubricant on your garage door rollers. Here is some information about lubricating garage door rollers by type:

  • Steel Rollers: Lubricate the ball bearings ensuring that the inner parts are lubricated.
  • Nylon Rollers with Exposed Bearings: Apply the silicone-based lubricant to the outside of the roller and where the shaft meets it.
  • Nylon Rollers with Sealed Ball Bearings: These don’t need to be lubricated. If they’re not working correctly, replace them.

Tips:

  • Use the straw attached to the can
  • Apply in thin coats.
  • Wipe off any excess lubricant with a clean cloth right away.
  • Rollers must roll, not slide, in the track.
  • Perform maintenance every six months. Set a reminder on your phone or mark your calendar!

Take the time to inspect and care for the other parts of your garage door hardware too. You could lubricate these parts:

  • Hinges
  • Locks
  • Arm Bars
  • Bearing Plates
  • Springs need to be lubricated regularly too, but homeowners should not perform work involving the springs. Garage door springs are under extremely high tension and are a serious safety risk. It’s best to leave this part of your garage door maintenance to professionals.

Nylon or Steel Rollers?

You may have inspected the rollers only to find that they have physical damage and so you’ve determined that the rollers will need to be replaced. Now you have a choice between nylon rollers or steel rollers.

We’ve outlined the pros and cons of both nylon and steel rollers for you here. Nylon garage door rollers are more expensive than steel rollers but are:

  • Quieter
  • Tougher
  • Last 10 years

According to Tim, from GarageTransformed, steel rollers are:

  • Noisy
  • Prone to corrosion and rust
  • Require maintenance more often
  • Last three to five years

How to Replace Garage Door Rollers in 5 Steps

A professional door installer has provided instructions for how to replace the garage door rollers, although we advise contacting a professional to replace the rollers for you as it can be dangerous.

Warning sign

Safety Disclaimer: Replacing garage door rollers can be very dangerous. If you’re not a professional, have someone with you during this process or contact a professional to perform the work for you.

NEVER loosen the bolts that secure the bottom fixture to the garage door or remove the cable from the bottom fixture.

WARNING: The springs are under very high tension and if not handled correctly, it could cause THE SPRING TO SNAP, the door to fall, or to cause the door to jam. The garage door itself is heavy and could injure you. This could result in property damage and/or personal injury or death. USE CAUTION!

We highly recommend that you contact your local garage door & opener technician for any maintenance or part replacement. There may be more care and maintenance that can be done than you realize. Leave it to the professionals to identify and take care of it all.

Steps to Replace Garage Door Rollers:

  1. Unplug your garage door- you don’t want it to be accidentally operated while you’re working.
    1. Unwind the springs with a winding bar.
    2. For safety reasons, hinges and rollers are best replaced with the door in the "down" position, but springs need to be unwound before.
    3. Add a vise grip to the spring shaft to lock the cable into place.
  2. Remove the garage door rollers by following these instructions:
    1. Loosen the screws from the hinge holding the roller.
    2. Tap the hinge out with a hammer to release it.
    3. Remove old rollers.
      1. IMPORTANT – When you remove a hinge and a roller, you need to replace them before removing another. The hinges and rollers are what hold the door into place.
  3. Replace the old rollers with your new garage door rollers following these instructions:
    1. Slide the roller into the correct hole.
    2. Tip the roller back into the track.
    3. Position the hinge over the bolt holes.
      1. NOTE: It is advised to use bigger screws or Loctite.
    4. Tap the bolts back from the outside through the hinge holes and tighten the nut.
    5. Repeat these steps for each roller. Once all the rollers have been replaced, you’re ready for the next step.
  4. Wind the springs back to their original tension
    1. Adjust if necessary.
    2. Remove the vise grip from the shaft.

Do You Want Professionals Handling Your Garage Door Rollers Replacement and Your Garage Door Maintenance?

If you’ve decided you’d rather leave this work up to a skilled professional, we are here to help!

Garage doors and openers are our passion and our expertise. Not only can we offer a tune-up service, but we can also answer all of your questions about garage doors and openers. You can also learn more about our services and repairs.

Contact us by calling 508-563-5633

If you prefer, we’re happy to offer an email quote, too!

Do you think it might be time to replace your garage door? Find your dream garage door by visiting our site.

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