My Garage Door Opener Broke



Question:
About a month ago, my garage door went about half way closed and then stopped. There were NO unusual noises from the Genie opener. It just stopped. I pushed the button again and the motor ran briefly, but the door didn't move. So I pulled the manual release and shut the door by hand. Today I got off my lazy butt and tried to fix the opener. I can see nothing wrong with the rails or the motor. When I push the button, the motor runs continuously until I touch one of the microswitches on the rail. I did not hear any funny noises so I would assume the motor is ok. There is a plastic belt running inside the rail. It is about 0.5 inches wide with holes spaced evenly along the entire length. Since I did not see a threaded rod, I would assume the opener is not worm-driven, but uses this belt to raise the door. The entire belt looks worn and is clearly broken (frayed and chewed-up) on one end. I'm not sure if the belt is supposed to form a continuous loop, but it definitely is not now. I'm guessing this is the culprit. Any idea how I can fix it? I can think of three possibilities: (1) Replace the entire opener--motor, rail, etc. (2) Replace just the belt. (3) Call a pro and have them worry about it. Is installing a new garage door opener difficult? Can I do it myself or do I need a second person to help me position the parts on the ceiling? Has anyone tried to replace the belt? Incidentally, I'm not sure how old the opener is, but I'm guessing it was here when my townhouse was built (16 years ago). If I do replace the entire opener, I'm going to get one with a worm-drive.

Answer:
I'm not sure about Genie openers, but my Sears (Craftsman) did basically the same thing. It needed new gears inside the opener unit itself. They actually make the gears out of plastic (big surprise) and they just wear out after awhile. Probably not worth it for you to pay someone to come in and fix it, but mine wasn't all that hard to fix, and cost $12 in parts. Runs great now.





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