Grease

[John O]

This is OT, but it concerns the garage where my Subaru OBW sleeps. Close
enough?

I have an old garage door opener which uses a long screw. The thing had been
caked up with a mixture of greases when I moved in 16 years ago. In the
winter it tends to open very slowly, and spraying the screw with WD-40 kept
it going for a few weeks. That gets old. Yesterday I pulled apart the screw
assembly and removed all (most of) that old grease. WD-40 and gun cleaner
work great!

What type of grease should I use on this screw so I don't have to mess with
this thing for a couple years?

The thing the screw turns (has a name, don't know what it is) is made of
white plastic or nylon. Here in my part of Michigan we get cold, but -20 is
an all-time low. Typically, we don't see subzero very often. Any other
criteria needed?

Thanks...

-John O

 

[Jim Stewart]

This is OT, but it concerns the garage where my Subaru OBW sleeps. Close
enough?

I have an old garage door opener which uses a long screw. The thing had been
caked up with a mixture of greases when I moved in 16 years ago. In the
winter it tends to open very slowly, and spraying the screw with WD-40 kept
it going for a few weeks. That gets old. Yesterday I pulled apart the screw
assembly and removed all (most of) that old grease. WD-40 and gun cleaner
work great!

What type of grease should I use on this screw so I don't have to mess with
this thing for a couple years?

The thing the screw turns (has a name, don't know what it is) is made of
white plastic or nylon. Here in my part of Michigan we get cold, but -20 is
an all-time low. Typically, we don't see subzero very often. Any other
criteria needed?

Get a can of Valvoline automotive grease at
your local parts store. About $3.00 and will
work fine. It's in a dark blue can.

Next time, don't use WD-40. Something like
Tri-Flow is a much better spray-on lubricant,
though this isn't a particularly good application
for spray-on.

 

[John O]

Next time, don't use WD-40. Something like

Tri-Flow is a much better spray-on lubricant,
though this isn't a particularly good application
for spray-on.

Yeah, the WD-40 was a band-aid and easy to apply when I had to get the door
open in the winter. About the spray-on, do you mean stuff that can be
sprayed isn't so good for this application?

-John O

 

[Jim Stewart]

Yeah, the WD-40 was a band-aid and easy to apply when I had to get the door
open in the winter. About the spray-on, do you mean stuff that can be
sprayed isn't so good for this application?

Pretty much.

If you clean it and grease it well, it should go for
6-8 years, after which you should regrease it.

Spray-on lubricants don't have the body for this
kind of application, and in the case of WD-40,
the solvent action of the kerosene will wash
away the grease, making things worse in the long
run. At least Tri-Flow doesn't seem to have a
kerosene base, and lasts a lot longer.

I have a power garage door with the folding metal
panels and I've had good luck lubing the panel
pivet points with Tri-Flow. Haven't had to touch
the chain drive yet, but probably would use motor-
cycle chain lub on it.

 

[Rick Courtright]

I have an old garage door opener which uses a long screw. The thing had been
caked up with a mixture of greases when I moved in 16 years ago. In the

I'm too late, since you've got it cleaned now, so I'd just do as Jim
suggested and get a can of grease at the parts store and go for it. If
you're hesitant to use just "any" grease, your local garage door
specialist can probably tell you if one kind's better than others,
particularly if plastic parts are involved.

But if you run into something like this in the future and can't or don't
want to play with taking apart and cleaning, just remember grease is a
mixture of soap and oil. The soap isn't like what you wash with, it's
basically a sponge that holds the oil (lots more to it, but that's
enough for here.) So when it "dries" out it means the oil's gone. Get a
little oil can with some motor oil (not important what kind or grade)
and put a few drops of oil on the dried greased areas. The grease will
rejuvenate itself to a degree as the oil is soaked in (might take a
coupla apps if it's really dry.) This is kinda what was happening with
the WD-40, except the stuff evaporates out so fast it's worthless for
this app. This fix isn't perfect, but beats the heck out of
disassembling some things!

Also, you asked about spray products: the big problem I've seen with
them is they're usually not up to the high contact pressures of things
like your screw mechanism even while they're wet, and then evaporate too
quickly to last, as you've seen. They're great for convenient "quick
fixes" and cleaning, but after that, they kinda lose out IME.

Good luck,

Rick

 

[John O]

This is kinda what was happening with

the WD-40, except the stuff evaporates out so fast it's worthless for
this app. This fix isn't perfect, but beats the heck out of
disassembling some things!

Absolutely! The other problem with the WD-40 was it caused the stuff to
loosen up too much and drip on the garage floor. Seems to be
graphite-based, and on the bottom of shoes it makes a mess that's hard to
clean.

Anyway, thanks for the tips, guys. I appreciate it.

-John O

 

[Doordoc]

Absolutely! The other problem with the WD-40 was it caused the stuff to
loosen up too much and drip on the garage floor. Seems to be
graphite-based, and on the bottom of shoes it makes a mess that's hard to
clean.

Anyway, thanks for the tips, guys. I appreciate it.

-John O

Lubriplate Low Temp grease is what's recommended to use. Most other
greases will thicken up too much in cold weather & not allow the screw
to turn inside the rail. Most mfg's suggest you grease it once a year.

Doordoc
www.DoorsAndOpeners.com