How much do automatic garage door openers cost?

[jeff47]

5. First guess would be lack of lubrication

(I'm assuming a roll-up door here. If the door is a single, solid panel the mechanism is slightly different)

First, confirm it's the opener and not the door sticking. Close the door, then pull the release handle on the opener to disconnect the opener from the door. Then open the door manually. Does it stick when you open it by hand? It should move smoothly.

If it sticks, then it's not the opener. Try to figure out what, exactly, the door is sticking on. A common problem is the pieces of the track are no longer aligned, so the rollers have to go over a large bump in the track. Another common problem is the rollers themselves have worn out or otherwise failed.

If the door opens fine by hand, make sure the opener's chain and the door's track are well-lubricated. In addition, the chain may have collected a whole lot of gunk over the years. If it seems really, really dirty, you may want to clean it. If you do clean it, do not operate the opener while cleaning it. You don't want your rag to get stuck in the chain and get pulled into something important, or pull something important off you.

Beyond that, my usual response has been to replace the opener, because a repair guy costs about the same as a new opener.