Short answer: Close the door, pull the manual release to take it off the opener, then lift it by hand to about waist height and lower it again. If the noise is gone, the opener is the likely source. If it's still there, it's coming from the door's rollers, hinges or tracks. Only do this with the door fully closed, and skip it if a spring looks broken, a cable looks loose or the door hangs crooked.
When a garage door gets louder, the first useful question isn't which part is broken. It's which machine is making the sound. The door and the opener work together, but they're separate, and a noise from one can easily sound like it's coming from the other.
Listening narrows it down. Our guide to a grinding garage door explains how to tell by where the sound comes from. But sound bounces around a garage, and some noises are hard to place. The hand test settles it by taking the opener out of the picture.
Once the door is off the opener, the opener isn't moving anything. Any noise you still hear has to come from the door itself: the rollers, hinges, tracks or sections. If the noise disappears, the door is quiet on its own and the sound was coming from the opener. The test also lets you feel how the door moves, which listening alone can't tell you.
The hand test is fine on a healthy door. It is not safe on a door with a spring or cable problem, because the springs are what keep the door from being too heavy to hold. Skip the test and call a professional if you see any of these:
Make sure the door is fully closed before you start. Never pull the release on a door that's open or partly open. Keep kids and pets out of the garage while you work.
Not sure how your door is doing? Answer 7 quick questions and get a 0 to 100 score with an A to F grade in about 60 seconds. No email needed. Take the free checkup.
The noise is gone. The door is quiet on its own, so the opener is the likely source. Grinding or growling from the motor unit often points to worn gears. A slap or rattle along the rail can be a loose or dry chain. Our guide to the signs an opener is wearing out covers what to look at next.
The noise is still there. It's coming from the door. Squeaks that travel with the door usually come from dry hinges or roller bearings. Scraping along the sides points to worn rollers, dirt in the tracks or a bent track. Rattling usually means loose hinge or bracket screws.
The door is quiet by hand but loud with the opener. Sometimes each one is fine alone and the noise comes from where they connect. A loose arm where the opener attaches to the top section, a worn trolley on the rail or loose brackets holding the opener to the ceiling can rattle only when the opener is pulling. Those are worth a professional look.
The test also tells you how the door moves. Pay attention to:
If the noise came from the door, the safe steps are cleaning and lubricating. With the opener unplugged, wipe out the tracks with a dry cloth and use a lubricant made for garage doors on the hinges and roller bearings, as shown in our lubrication guide. Snug up loose hinge screws, but leave the bottom brackets alone.
If it came from the opener, follow your manual for any care it calls for and leave the inside of the motor unit to a professional. Don't change the opener's force or travel settings to quiet it. For a quick rundown of what each kind of sound tends to mean, see our guide to garage door noises.
Call a professional if the noise comes back after cleaning and lubricating, a track is bent, a roller is cracked, the door feels heavy or you hear a bang. A yearly tune-up checks the door and the opener together, which is often the easiest way to catch both.
DoorGuard membership starts at $19 a month. Every plan includes a yearly tune-up and safety inspection, priority scheduling if something goes wrong, and member savings on repair labor, with the price shown before any work begins. No contract, cancel anytime. See membership plans.
Join today for your annual tune-up, priority service, and member repair savings.
The door is quiet on its own, so the opener is the likely source. Worn gears, a loose or dry chain or loose mounting hardware are common causes. Have a professional look inside the motor unit.
Then the sound is coming from the door, usually the rollers, hinges or tracks. Wipe the tracks clean and lubricate the hinges and roller bearings. If that doesn't help, have a professional check for worn rollers or a bent track.
Only with the door fully closed, and only if the springs and cables look intact and the door doesn't hang crooked. A door with a broken spring can be too heavy to hold once it's off the opener.
The noise may come from where the two connect, such as the arm on the top section, the trolley on the rail or the brackets holding the opener to the ceiling. A professional can track it down.