Henry Rifle Forums

Go for it. If you are somewhat handy you can handle it. I've found the big trick to the openers is the springs. Make sure you have the right spring length for your door height and the correct weight. The door should balance and open without a lot of heavy lifting. If the springs are right the door opener really doesn't have to do much work.

I have had two garage door openers in my life. They were both installed by the manufacturer.

My right arm and my left arm.

They are still working.

I have installed 3 garage door openers. Two were Genie and the last on was made by Chamberlain. I wish they were all like the last one. It has a belt drive and a battery backup for when the power is out. I take my time and follow the directions closely.

Over the years, I have had two springs break - I call professionals (Overhead Door Co.) to install new ones. The last repairman told me the new springs he put on were rated for 25,000 opening cycles.

Were they the wrap around style or long coil springs like a screen door spring?

If I had the wrap around style I'd let a pro mess with them.

Mine have the screen door style. I've broken a couple over 25 years. at least one because it was the wrong one. Too short. I have 8' doors. Most are 7' and that's what the local home stores stock springs for. Last one that broke I went on line and found the right springs for the 8' doors and weighed the
doors with a scale. Bought the proper ones for the weight. Those springs were better made and work great. No problems since.

The builder installed inexpensive Craftsman openers. Over the years I've replaced 2 of them. I think the circuit boards start getting flaky in cold weather.
I've stuck with the Craftsman because they still make them and I can get them on sale for under $100. Only need to replace the motor head so it only takes a short while to replace that and no changes needed to anything. Thought about upgrading but I figure it's easy and only spent $200 in 25 years. I can live with that.

The last three I installed had the coil springs over the top of the door with the round rod running though the springs. I just followed the directions and it was perfectly safe. If a spring breaks (as a couple of mine have over time), then I call the pros. Each of those service calls were approx. $250.

I guess Im lucky I have garage door man that came to my house replaced all the rollers on 2 doors put new seals on the bottom of the doors and replaced one of the motor gears that was about to wear in two. Cost me a total of 300.00 and I thought that was a heck of a deal. Its not whether I can do it anymore its whether I want to do it. That is the question.

BigAl52 wrote:Its not whether I can do it anymore its whether I want to do it. That is the question.

This is true.

That's how I feel now too...

I'll call the garage door company first....

Done 2 motors and 2 sets of springs over the years. Lift master owns Chamberlain, mount holes are the same. When you change springs, relax spring by releasing slider and open doors all the way up. Unplug motor. Clamp runner with vice grip just below bottom of door to keep door up while working on it. Remove springs and safety cable which are relaxed which only involves a few bolts. Make sure safety cable runs through middle of spring and is same as side to be done. Use the other side as model. Do same For other side and ensure spring length are the same. If you have 2 doors use the other door as a guide. Most foam doors of 8' size use 130# springs. Yours probably are color coded green or yellow. Spring sets usually come with new safety cables and springs sb replaced in pairs. Remove vice grips, plug motor back in, hit button and should be good to go. If adjustments in door close pressure are needed or travel adjustments are required, the adjustment screws are on side or back of motor. If you need to adjust springs be sure to use vice grips. Spring tension is increased by moving pulley to next hole. This is normally not necessary if you use same holes as used originally. You can do this!