If you have a garage door that uses a Craftsman garage door opener, you may occasionally need to adjust the door so that it opens and closes properly. In some instances, however, the opener may need no adjustment -- rather, the doors may simply need some minor, tender loving care. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Tighten the door hardware. Before you even touch the garage door opener, go over your door hardware and make sure that the bolts on the door are all tight. If you find one that's loose, tighten it down with a socket wrench. Doors typically have one-half-inch bolts, but this can vary, so have several sockets ready.
2. Open and close the door using the opener. This will help you diagnosis the problem and figure out if you simply need more or less torsion or travel.
3. Adjust the travel dial using your flathead screwdriver. The back of the garage door control unit should have two dials that are inset in to the units case. The dial on the right hand side will reduce or lengthen the amount of travel the door has, based on which way you turn it. If the door isn't closing all the way, adjust to the left. Adjust a one-half turn and open and close the door. Adjust either way as necessary.
4. Adjust the torsion dial with the screwdriver. The torsion dial is on the left hand side on the back of the control panel and regulates how much pressure the door has when opening and closing. If you can't get the door to go up when it's down, you may have to raise the torsion by turning the dial to the right. If the door closes and then starts back up, you might have too much torsion.
5. Open and close the garage door and continue to adjust the dials as needed. You may not get it on the first try. The key is continued, small adjustments to either the torsion or the travel dial until the garage door performs as it's designed.
Tags: garage door, close door, dial right, door hardware, door opener, door that, door when