The garage door trolley is installed between the garage and motor that works as a rail. It is also known as a carriage, a very sensitive part, and also the most critical one. Using the part, the door connects with the mechanism of the opener and raises or shut the garage door.
Typically, the trolly and the opener are installed all together. Because of wear, the trolley is damaged before the opener, and it needs to be replaced. If you hire a technician, it requires a lot of money; why do that? When you can do this repair job by yourself.
This article will support you by describing the process of how to repair a garage door broken trolley. According to this lesson, you can successfully repair the broken trolley.
Things to consider before starting
Regarding the trolley is a little bit tricky but also super easy if you go through this process. You need some small tools like pliers, a new trolley and a ladder. However, after collecting the tools, you must consider your safety first.
When you are ready to repair the broken door trolley, you must be sure that the garage door is in the down position. Because when you pull the safety cord from the trolley, the door will be released and crash down with the full weight of the garage door. As a result, the door can be broken entirely and cause dangerous issues.
Be aware of the electric power when you are plug or off the opener device. Must wear gloves for your hand safety.
How To Repair a garage door broken trolley
While operating the garage door, if you hear grinding noises or take longer in opening and closing, then understand that it needs to be repaired. The garage door trolley can break for many reasons. Replacing is the only way to repair the door trolley. So here is the process
Step 1: Turn off power
Start the process by disconnecting the power from the electric point to resist unwanted shock. If you connected the opener with the electric box via wire, pull down the breaker.
Step 2: Disconnect the broken trolley
There is a safety rope connect with the trolly that is used for emergency release on the carriage. For disconnecting the trolley from the door, pull the release cord and separate the trolly from the garage door.
Step 3: Release the carriage assembly
Now lift up and down the garage door using your hand, this way, you can pull out the end of the carriage assembly’s rail. Doing this, the door trolley will completely separate from the opener and the garage door.
Step 4: Untie the cotter pin
As the door trolley is placed at the top, you need a strong ladder to reach. Place the ladder under the door trolley, must keep closing the ladder to the end of the rail. Now untie the cotter pin, and you can use two pliers or use your hands.
Step 5: Remove the older trolley
The trolley is now free, and you need to turn the trolley and remove it from the rail angle.
Step 6: Place the new trolley
Locate the new carriage in the rail angle in the same process as earlier you took it off. It is super easy.
Step 7: Connect with the rail
Attach the end of the rail onto the replacement carriage and snap the cotter pin. After this connection, the new trolley is all set to go.
Step 8: Run the garage door
Now operate the garage, that means to raise and down again with hands. This time, the door automatically reconnects with the door opening panel.
Step 9: Reconnect with power
When you ensure that the trolley is fully connected with the door opener, you can reconnect the opener with electric power.
Congratulations, you can do the repairing job correctly and become successful.
Maintaining the trolley
The trolley is a moving part, and it attracts the wear very quickly. So for a seamless experience, you need to grease up the system and trolley every six months. You can use white lithium lubricant on the chain and every spring. It takes only 10 minutes and keeps the trolley in a sound position for a long time. This way, you can maintain the trolley and prevent breakouts.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Answer: For several reasons, you may find yourself opening the garage door by yourself. Like opener parts failure or loss of power supply, then you pull the emergency cord to release the door opener. But later, you need to re-engage it. You can resent the trolley in two systems: manually or automatically.
Put in the cord spring lever in the connected position and pull up and down the door until the track is re-connected. For the automatic system, you can use the garage remote that reconnects with the trolley automatically. So following these simple teachings, you can reset the trolley.
Answer: the garage is opened many times, like thousands of times or more. When you are using the door opener, sometimes the door can be back off the track. It’s a common issue for garage owners. Typically the repair cost for putting the garage door back on the track is $120 to $165.
You can do it manually and save money. First, separate the opener and the trolley. Now open the door and locate the jamming wheel on the place. Try to operate the door manually; if it works, then connect the opener.
How do I maintain the garage door opener?
Answer: The garage door is always an essential part for the garage owners, and you need to maintain it properly for a smooth experience. Otherwise, the parts may be damaged or broken and cause repairing. You can make this easy with these requirements:
- Observe the opener whenever used and find out that it runs smoothly or not.
- As the door opens and closes many times, sometimes the knobs or hardware may dislocate, so you need to check them often and tighten them.
- Examine the door balance. If the balance isn’t proper, then the pressure will go to the opener, and finally, it won’t last long.
- The rails need to be replaced after 7 years or so and inspected every year.
- There is weather stripping on the door’s bottom, and if it is cracked, change it.
- The door track always needs to be clean and free from debris, and you will always have a smooth opener.
Final Words
A door opener is a beneficial gadget for garage owners. The garage door is opened a thousand times and manually doing this is really hard, where the door opener works so smoothly. So we need to take care of every part of the door opener.
This is because the trolley is a critical part and needs money to repair the broken one. But you can do it yourself by doing some DIY. By coming after the super easy steps on the tutorial of how to repair a broken garage trolley, you can do the job successfully.
