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How to Replace a Garage Door Roller

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When the roller for your garage door breaks, the door will no longer work correctly. To repair the door so you can use your garage again, you will need to replace the roller. Here is a step by step guide you can follow to help you carry out this repair.

1. Secure the Door

A broken door roller can cause the mechanism that usually holds the garage door open to fail. Before you start any repair work on the door, you must brace the door so that it is possible to safely work on it without risking it falling down and causing an injury. Use scraps of wood to hold the door in place and be sure it is secure before you move on.

2. Loosen the Nuts and Bolts

Once the door is secure, you need to unscrew the nuts that hold the garage door bolts. If your garage door is very old, these nuts might be stiff or rusty, in which case you will need to apply a lubricant to allow them to shift. When the nuts are loose, you can slide the bolts out of their holes.

3. Remove and Discard the Roller

You can now lift the roller mechanism from its bracket and set it aside. If you are replacing the roller with another roller of the same type, you can leave the bracket in place as long as it is undamaged. However, if the roller bracket is damaged, you will need to remove it as well as the roller mechanism.

The most environmentally responsible way to get rid of a broken garage door roller is to contact a recycling service that accepts scrap metal.

4. Fit a New Bracket

If you removed the roller bracket in the last step, you now need to fit a few brackets to house the new roller mechanism. If the new roller bracket is identical to the one that is broken, you can use the bolt holes that are already present to house the bolts that hold the new roller bracket in place. If you are fitting a different roller bracket, use a drill to create new holes to house the bolts.

5. Reassemble the Garage Door

Once the roller bracket is in place, you need to engage the wheels of the garage door with the roller mechanism. Slide the roller mechanism into position, so the wheels move smoothly along their track. Once you are confident that the new roller is in the correct position, you can tighten the nuts around the bolts to secure the new roller in place. Be sure to secure both ends of the door.

For more information, contact your local garage door repair service today.


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