How to Fix Garage Door Off Track

When garage doors don't work properly, your day-to-day life becomes rather difficult. This is not only a safety hazard but also a situation where you potentially don't have access to your car and other valuable equipment. The best course of action is not to wait, but to fix the doors as soon as possible.

A very common cause of problems with garage doors is that they go off their tracks. The garage door system consists of rollers, tracks, and switches, and if there is a problem with any of them, it will often result in a malfunction. The longer we ignore the problem, the more costly the repair may end up being.

Those who don't have much experience in such repairs will benefit from the services of professionals, who will be able to assess the damage and fix it. When it comes to off track garage door repair, though, the procedure is not too complicated. Below you'll find a tutorial on how to fix your garage door by yourself.

Gather Necessary Equipment

The first thing you want to do is to prepare the tools and materials that you will need to complete this repair. You should gather equipment such as a hammer, pliers, wrench, wood blocks, some lubricant, and silicone spray.

Disconnect the Opener

To perform the repair safely, you must disconnect the doors from the opening mechanism. Find the rope (it should be in the center of the track) and pull it. This will allow the door to disconnect, so you can carefully open them.

Open the Door

Now you can open the door manually. You could use help from somebody, as you need to open the door, lift it and set it on the wood blocks to keep it open. It's best not to try to lift the door yourself, as most garage doors are too heavy for that.

Find the Problem

Once the garage door is disconnected, you can find the source of the problem. Take a closer look to determine what has caused an issue with your garage door track. Here are some of the most common reasons why garage doors go off track:

Loose tracks

One of the most common issues with the garage door tracks is when they separate from the garage walls. Fortunately, the repair of such a problem is not a complex task. You should use a wrench with the appropriate socket size and tighten the loose bolts to the wall.

Damaged tracks

Dents or damages to the tracks are not a welcome sight. They can cause problems with garage doors going off track quite easily. The repair of damaged tracks will depend on the seriousness of such damage. In some cases, you can try to restore them to their original shape; in others, replacing them will be the most sensible solution.

To straighten the dents, you can grab a hammer or a rubber mallet and, using wood as your straightener, hit the dents until you achieve the correct shape.

Misaligned rollers

When you don't see any issues with the tracks themselves, the next thing you should check is rollers. If the garage door rollers are misaligned, it can cause the tracks themselves to be misaligned as well.

The correct position of horizontal tracks is when they are slightly angled towards the back of the garage. On the other hand, roll-up door tracks shouldn't have any deviations in their angles.

There is an easy fix when you encounter this problem. All you need to do is loosen the fasteners and adjust the track to restore its proper alignment.

Dirty rollers

Sometimes the problem is as simple as dirty garage door rollers. Dirt from the environment will build up on the rollers over time, and it can cause problems with lubrication. As a consequence, the rollers can go off track, and you have to struggle with malfunctioning doors.

To fix this, you should clean the rollers first (you can use some kind of quality dish detergent), and then apply a coat of lubricant (like a silicone spray).

Bring Wheels Back to Track

When you fix the problem with the tracks or rollers, it's time to bring the off track garage roller in the correct position on the tracks. To achieve that, use a pair of pliers to open the track in the spot when the garage door roller slipped out of the tracks and bring the wheels back into the track.

Test the Door Manually

Check if the rollers are working properly and if the doors are operating smoothly. This is the moment to catch any other problems before you reattach the door for good, so if you still see any issues, repeat the previous steps or consult a specialist.

Reattach the Door

The last step in your adventure with fixing off track rollers is to reattach the garage door and check the automatic operation of the system. Using the remote button, let the doors go through the standard opening and closing cycles. Pay attention to whether or not doors open and close smoothly.

If you don't see any problems, congratulations! Your garage doors are good as new. In case of any doubts or malfunctions you were not able to address yourself, you can contact a team of specialists or look for the answers on https://www.garagedoornation.com/. We have many valuable tutorials and offer expert advice on all your garage-related repairs!

Conclusion

There is nothing more satisfying than fixing a problem with garage doors by yourself. Garage door rollers going off track is not a complicated repair, and by following our tutorial, you can perform it on your own with much success!

A few things worth paying attention to when it comes to garage doors are regular checkups on the state of the tracks and rollers, cleaning and lubricating the rollers, and minding any dents or damage to the tracks, as well as checking for any loose parts of the construction.

By addressing all of these weak points, you hopefully won't have any problems with garage doors going off tracks in the future.