Why is my garage door opener shaking really hard every time I open the garage door?

A garage door opener that is shaking really hard when opening or closing is the warning sign of

a bigger problem.

The first thing you should do is close the garage door and inspect the spring(s). In a torsion

spring system, the spring will be mounted on a spring bar/torsion tube that is mounted to the

header above the garage door opening. If the spring is broken it will be obvious, there will be a

large gap between the spring coils. On an extension spring system, the springs will be mounted

above the horizontal track. again a broken spring will be easy to identify. If the spring(s) are

broken call a garage door technician to replace the springs. if the spring(s) appear intact and

not broken, disconnect the garage door from the opener by pulling the red rope or handle. This

disengages the door from the opener. Next try to manually lift the garage door. if the door is

very heavy, you have a spring that is failing but has not broken yet. Call a garage door

technician to replace the spring(s).

If the garage door is easy to lift but as the door goes up or down it becomes harder, your garage

door is likely rubbing against the garage door opening frame. In this case you need to adjust the

jamb brackets that mount the tracks to the garage door opening to allow for proper clearance.

This adjustment should help to stop the opener shaking during operation.

If the door is easy to open in close and is not rubbing against the frame work, then the problem

is in the opener motor and you should call a garage door technician for repairs to the opener

parts.

Some of the common opener problems that cause the unit to shake when opening and

closing are:

Gear and sprocket units failing in chain and belt drive openers.

Bent opener rails.

Bent screw in screw drive openers. If you have a bent screw it is impossible to straighten the

screw, you can sometimes replace the screw rail system for your opener if the parts are

available. Parts may not be available for older units because the designs have changed, so

replacing the opener may be the only option.

Working on garage doors is dangerous and requires the proper tools and techniques. We

recommend having a trained garage door technician perform any repairs to your garage door

system.