Repairing the Garage Door Track

A serious safety issue arises if your garage door track gets out of alignment.  The proper alignment of the metal track of your garage door is needed for the smooth operation of the opening and closing of your garage door.  Therefore, an out of alignment or broken track can cause a major problem.

As the wheels of your garage door roll up and down, they need to be able to run smoothly on both sides to prevent your garage door from “tilting” and/or putting additional pressure on the tracks which can cause further misalignment or even breakage issues.

Due to the heavy weight of the garage door, this can be a dangerous situation.

A garage door track problem can be identified by gaps between the rail and rollers or bends in the rails themselves.  The rollers of the garage door should be in smooth contact with the track at all times when opening and closing the garage door.  A small problem can quickly escalate to a large problem due to the heavy pressure of the garage door if not addressed immediately.

Sometimes, you can identify a problem if you hear a rubbing noise at any point on the tracks whenever the garage door opens or closes.  Occasionally, the rubbing spot may even cause the garage door to slow down.

You may try to fix the problem. PLEASE USE THESE INSTRUCTIONS AT YOUR OW N RISK.  We do not guarantee and are not liable for you following these instructions.

First, loosen the screws that are holding the track to the frame.  Use a rubber mallet and gently tap the track to move it back into the proper position using a level to ensure that it is perfectly straight..  when  you have the correct alignment, tighten the screws to make sure that the track will not move and cause additional problems when you open and close your garage door.  You will need to do this same process on the other tracks as well to make sure they are not also out of alignment.

If the garage door will not move at all because of an alignment issue, then the problem is most likely a serious one that you will not be able to fix yourself.  Calling a professional garage door repair technician at Best Overhead Doors will ensure that the proper equipment is available to safely realign and repair the garage door without endangering yourself.  It may be that the track is broken beyond repair, and in that case, Best Overhead Doors can install a new garage door for you.