It’s a good idea to visually inspect your garage door chain from time to time, as well as the springs and cables. This can help spot wear and tear before it’s a problem that requires an emergency call to our 24/7 garage door repair line. Look for signs of rust, a stretched spring, or brittle spots in the metal, or other signs of disrepair.
But what if you find your garage door chain has loosened or slackened? Should you attempt to tighten it or outright replace the garage door chain? To repair or replace is the universal homeowner’s question.
Whether you should tighten the chain or hire a professional to do it, or outright replace the chain really comes down to the age of the chain. If the chain is less than 10 years old and in fairly good condition otherwise, it is certainly worth repairing. If you’ve owned the house only a few years, we’d recommend bringing a garage door repair professional out to inspect the chain for an assessment.
Examine the Chain Up Close
The first step is to disconnect your garage door opener from the door. You can do this by tugging on the cord that hangs down from the device that connects the door to the opener.
Next, get up on a ladder to visually inspect the chain up close. You might be able to tighten the chain yourself using the trolley adjustment bolt. This DIY garage door repair is something you might try, providing you are at least somewhat handy with a toolbelt.
Tightening the Chain
To tighten the chain, you’ll need an adjustable wrench and a pair of locking pliers.
First, make sure the opener has been disconnected by the power supply. This could be as simple as unplugging it or flipping the connected fuse in the fuse box.
Your garage door chain may look like a bicycle chain, but be aware it does not make a continuous loop. One end of the chain connects to an adjustable bolt, which connects to the door trolley or carriage. The trolley moves across the center of the rail to automatically raise or lower the door. A chain that has loosened overtime can be repaired by tightening the adjustable bolt.
First, remove the outer nut that fastens the bolt into place by turning it counterclockwise (a similar motion to opening a plastic bottle of cola). But be care to NOT REMOVE the bolt completely. This can cause the chain to slip completely off its installation and cause injury. Plus, it can be a real pain to reconnect it.
Next, tighten the inner nut. This will provide more room for the bolt to be pulled through the trolley mounting hole. You are essentially moving the nut backwards towards the opener to allow more length for the bolt to pull towards the door. Use an adjustable wrench to turn the nut backwards, clockwise.
Last Steps
Move the nut one half inch back to its original position. With the locking pliers, grab the shaft of the bolt and pull it towards the door, tightening the chain.
Once you’ve removed enough slack, retighten the outer bolt. Make sure you have a locking washer to keep the bolt from loosening.