Garage Door Grinding Noise: What Causes It and What to Do

A grinding sound is easy to ignore, because the door still opens and closes. But grinding is metal or plastic wearing against something it shouldn't, and that wear speeds up over time. The cause is often simple, and you can narrow it down in a few minutes.

First, find where the sound comes from

Stand inside the garage, well clear of the door's path, and run the door through one full cycle. Pay attention to where the noise starts.

• Along the sides of the door. The sound moves with the door and seems to come from the tracks. That points to rollers, hinges or the tracks themselves.
• From the motor unit on the ceiling. The sound stays in one place, near the opener. That points to the opener's gears, chain or drive.
• At the top or bottom of travel only. A grind that happens only in one spot often means a dented or bent section of track, or debris sitting in it.

Don't stand under the door while it moves.

Common causes on the door side

• Dry roller bearings. Steel rollers and many nylon rollers ride on small bearings. When those dry out, the roller drags and grinds. A light spray of garage door lubricant on the bearings often quiets it right down.
• Worn or damaged rollers. A roller that wobbles, has a flat spot, or slides instead of spinning will scrape the track. Our guide to garage door rollers shows what worn ones look like.
• Dirt in the tracks. Grit, leaves and old grease build up in the tracks and grind under the rollers. Wipe the inside of each track with a dry cloth.
• A bent or misaligned track. A dent, a twisted section or a track that has pulled away from its brackets makes rollers bind and scrape. This one needs a pro.
• Loose hinges. A hinge that has worked loose lets panels shift and rub. Snug up the hinge screws with a hand tool.

Common causes on the opener side

• Worn drive gears. Many openers use a gear inside the motor unit that wears over the years. A grinding or growling sound from the motor, especially if the door moves slowly or not at all, often means a worn gear.
• A dry or sagging chain. On chain drive openers, a chain that drags on the rail or slaps around can grind and rattle. Some opener manuals call for a light lubricant on the chain. Follow yours.
• A dry screw drive. Screw drive openers need the threaded rod lubricated per the manual, and they can grind when it dries out.

If the motor hums or grinds and the door does not move, stop pressing the button. Unplug the opener and have it looked at. Running it again can make a small repair bigger.

What you can safely do yourself

Unplug the opener before you work near the door or the rail, and keep kids and pets out of the garage.

• Clean the tracks. Wipe them out with a dry cloth. Don't grease the tracks, since grease collects grit and makes rollers slide.
• Lubricate the right spots. Use a lubricant made for garage doors on the hinges and roller bearings. Skip the nylon wheel surface. Our post on how to lubricate a garage door walks through where to spray.
• Tighten hinge and track bracket screws. A door shakes a little every time it moves, and screws loosen. Leave the bottom brackets alone.
• Clear the path. Look for anything leaning against the tracks or stuck in them.

Then plug the opener back in and run the door. If it is quieter but still grinding, a part is likely worn.

What not to touch

Some parts near the noise are dangerous to handle. Springs, lift cables and the bottom brackets at the lower corners of the door are under high tension. Don't loosen, pry or adjust them, even if the sound seems to come from there.

Don't try to bend a track back into shape, and don't remove rollers. The bottom rollers sit in the bottom brackets, which hold the cables. Don't adjust the opener's settings to push through a grind, either. If the door is binding, the fix is the binding, not more force from the opener.

When to call a professional

• The grind keeps coming back after cleaning and lubricating
• A roller is cracked, wobbling or out of the track
• A track is bent, dented or loose
• The opener grinds and the door moves slowly or not at all
• The door shakes, hangs crooked or stops partway

If you hear grinding along with a loud bang, or the door suddenly feels heavy, stop using it and keep clear. That can be a spring. Our list of spring warning signs explains what to look for. For other sounds, see what each garage door noise means.

A yearly tune-up catches most of this early: rollers and hinges get inspected, moving parts get lubricated and balance gets checked.