Jim Mackell
01-02-2019, 12:39 PM
For the last year or so one of our garage doors has been hard to operate. Lifting or lowering was getting more and more difficult. Replaced the 30 year old Craftsman opener. Nope. Cleaned and lubricated all of the little rollers on the door sections. Nope. Took off all the trim and refastened making sure there was adequate clearance. Nope.
This morning I happened to look at the cable and spring assembly. On my doors the cable is attached at the bottom of the door, runs up to a sheave at the top of the door frame and then alongside the rail to the spring. The sheaves are original installation 39 years ago. Each sheave is 3 inches in diameter with a center surrounded by ball bearings - so the sheave can spin or rotate as the door is raised or lowered. The bearing race had rusted away and the shaft was frozen solid. So sheave not spin, so cable has to be dragged across surface, so door hard to raise or lower!
Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought to check this. Now run out and check your sheaves for free rotation before you forget!
This morning I happened to look at the cable and spring assembly. On my doors the cable is attached at the bottom of the door, runs up to a sheave at the top of the door frame and then alongside the rail to the spring. The sheaves are original installation 39 years ago. Each sheave is 3 inches in diameter with a center surrounded by ball bearings - so the sheave can spin or rotate as the door is raised or lowered. The bearing race had rusted away and the shaft was frozen solid. So sheave not spin, so cable has to be dragged across surface, so door hard to raise or lower!
Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought to check this. Now run out and check your sheaves for free rotation before you forget!