Fixing Sears Craftsman Garage Door Opener--stripped gears

[sharajc]

AWESOME IS ALL I CAN SAY!!! Thanks for saving me from having to call a serviceman!! It was AS EASY AS YOU SAID!!! All I can add, if someone hasn't already, when you put the top round piece back on (where the main metal gear is/where the chain of the opener wraps around) be sure you line it up so the very top guard piece lines up with the aligning groove cut out so it locks back into place. Mine is flapping loose at the moment, so I have to take apart and realign.

[jaybone317]

Can someone point me to the links to get the replacement tools? I think I have this exact problem. I will take the cover off tonight and check for the plastic shavings! Garage door opener makes noise but the chain isn't moving anymore. This looks like my exact model as well! Great video!

[Quick2000]

Mine is belt drive and only several months old. The door is not opening more than a foot and stops. I can manually press the black button on motor unit and the door will go all the way up. Manual says maybe travel module is not connected or needs replaced, its not making any noise at all, just stops

[timetotravel]

@Quick2000

My opener would "stall" during open and return to close. I found some adjustments that alter the close/open force. If yours has the force adjustments perhaps they need to be increased?

[Bouncepass3]

With the help of this video I installed the replacement gear yesterday. The step by step instructions are excellent and saved me money and time. Thanks for the high quality video!

[you0rsp1]

Thanks for the helpful vid. My moms door just went down and she was about to buy another one. I told her to hold till I could look at it. Saw that gear was worn, found your vid, saved her some money. Jesus bless you, take it easy.

[1971tdog]

Holy crap dude my door just stop and found the exact problem with exact same opener you did. It looked like mice had got in the motor it was so bad. Thanks a lot for the great video. I thought I was going to have to get a whole new opener. Keep those videos coming as they are really well done.

[chelodeconcon]

Thank U!!! I found the video great. I would point out that two of the screws come out easy, for the third one I used a rachet (sp?).

[macker0077]

Finished the replacement procedure this weekend. As noted here, it's a straight forward job. My replacement part pkg. came with the gear and sprocket assembly altogether already, so I simply replaced the entire piece, which made the job even easier! 2 of the 3 screws that fasten the top hat/chain sprocket to the unit are easy..........the 3rd one is tough to get at, and I couldn't get it back in once removed. I would have had to have removed some additional stuff. I left it out.

[thecuiteness123]

THANK YOU SIR,, I WAS GOING TO DO THE SAME THING,, BUY A NEW OPENER,, NOW IM GOING TO MAKE MY ORDER FOR A NEW GEAR AND NOW I KNOW HOW TO DO IT,, THANKS AGAIN,,, JOHNNY FROM FLORIDA,,

[macker0077]

@timetotravel - Curious how long your unit(s) lasted before you had to replace the gear? Mine just went as well. Like redmerc68, I was prepared to go buy a new unit.....now I'll just order the part!! Thanks for making the video!

[veroyfofo]

Thank you so much for all your suggestions- We figured out that we just simply had overworked the motor while trying to adjust the up and down process. I tried opening it with the auto controls and it worked and I think we are back in business- I thank God for wonderful people like you- you saved us so much money in repairs- Again I can't thank you enough! God Bless!

[veroyfofo]

Thank you so much for your information. We just changed the gear on ours, we have the same opener as the video. However, we had a problem getting it to close and open to the right time- we changed the up and down buttons- Now the motor is getting too hot and stops working- once it cools down it's fine- What do you think we need to do?

[timetotravel]

1) Are you sure the door is not bottoming out on the floor? Probably a long shot but if it were the motor would heat up 2) did you use plenty of grease? 3) are the springs that help raise the door adjusted correctly--basically can you open and close the door with minimal effort--if not CAREFULL IN ADJUSTING THE SPRINGS. huge force that will go boing. 4) dry chain or rollers? 5) try disengaging the door from the connecting rod to isolate where the excessive resistence is.

[tmanthorne]

MAN! That was a great video! Well done, clear instructions and easy to watch. Thanks for saving me money. PS- do you have any videos on raising 3 daughters?

[timetotravel]

@tmanthorne

The more time you spend with them, the easier it is. Spend some time with them making youtube videos--you will be amayzed on the benefit to all.

[redmerc68]

THank you SOOOO MUCH for posting this video. I was about to buy a new opener thinking my was done for when I found your video as a last resort. Got my parts in a few days and completed the job in an hour. Hardest part was popping the roll pin out, otherwise it was a piece of cake like you mentioned in your step by step instructions. THANK YOU SO MUCH for saving me money!

[timetotravel]

@redmerc68 Glad it worked out. I have 2 openers and did this job on each. I got smart the second time and made a How-To video for others to use.

[ponder1106]

First I would like to say that this video is very helpful. The problem i am having though is getting that pin out. I have done what you recommended in the video, tap w/screw driver and a nail set but it doesn't seem to be moving at all. Any tips?

[timetotravel]

@ponder1106

Tapping? You will need to convince it with a better verb... Pund it, beat it, hammer it, wack it, pummel it...

It will take some force getting it out, If you have a bench vice, it will make a nice rest while you pound on it.

[xgman269]

Thanks for the video .I Had two estimates 225 &110 dollars ended up doing it myself for 37 dollars for the kit.Took me about 2 hours over 2 days Hardest part was getting the old gear off had to use a hacksaw to cut it off. After that everything went smooth. Once again thanks for this great video

[timetotravel]

@xgman269 Well done! Glad this worked out for you.

[GrnXnham]

Great informative video except for the "15-20 minute" estimated time that this job takes. Work time will vary but I can guarantee you that no one but a pro, who has done this job many times and has all of the correct tools ready to go, is going to finish this job in 20 minutes. Allow a couple of hours.

[farstarfilm]

Yes yes I figure it out already but thanks for geatting back to me and yes it was the force adjustments just need to turn them a little for it to continue its travel or door to close or open. people just higher part of normal then back to 4 oclock that should do it. The worm gear the bushing, you need to makesure its in opposite of noch or to slip in further to get lock clip in. I had trouble with that.

[farstarfilm]

Great vid I just finished replacing gear unfortunately after I was done the door only moved up 6" then stopped clicked it again did the same thing in the down direction. Can you tell me why this is happening? Thank so much, Marc

[timetotravel]

@farstarfilm

I'm guessing the up/down stops got messed up. After replacing, my door did close all the way (about 10" off the floor)--not as bad as whay you have. They may have slipped out of place during the repair. Fix by adjusting the stops buy turning the adjustment screws on the opener, there should be some small images to show which way to turn. It could also be the pressure adjustments, same deal to fix but there are DIFFERENT screws for that. mined needed adjustment to both.

[kristier32]

Great job! Thanks a lot, been without my door opener for years til I seen this video and how simple it was to fix.

[dsimtrPRO]

Thank you, that was a great job and lots of help.

[jakefreimiller]

Good job!