Garage door rant!!!

Retired LTC USAR

Retired LTC USAR

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In 2001 got a new garage door with a new opener. We choose a Wayne Dalton door opener since it fit above the door and not on the ceiling.

Last week it would not open the door. Called on Monday and it was Thursday before they could get there. They told us what was wrong with it over the phone. $80 service fee for the guy to show up, and then not be able to fix the door. Said a spring was broken. May have one at the store, or may have to order one.

Called yesterday. They have to order a spring and electric eye. WILL NOT BE IN TILL 1 APRIL!!!!!!

Why is it I can ship something across the country overnight, but a company takes a week to get things????

To top it all off, there is going to be an additional $80 service fee when they come back on the 2nd to fix it, along with the costs of the parts which is another $103.

I am not a happy camper right now.
 
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In 2001 got a new garage door with a new opener. We choose a Wayne Dalton door opener since it fit above the door and not on the ceiling.

Last week it would not open the door. Called on Monday and it was Thursday before they could get there. They told us what was wrong with it over the phone. $80 service fee for the guy to show up, and then not be able to fix the door. Said a spring was broken. May have one at the store, or may have to order one.

Called yesterday. They have to order a spring and electric eye. WILL NOT BE IN TILL 1 APRIL!!!!!!

Why is it I can ship something across the country overnight, but a company takes a week to get things????

To top it all off, there is going to be an additional $80 service fee when they come back on the 2nd to fix it, along with the costs of the parts which is another $103.

I am not a happy camper right now.
 
Take your broken spring to ace or home club, maybe they can fix you up with similar. Mine was doing funny things, got on the computer and entire system was explained, found a simple loose or broken wire and I was good.
As a aside, one day the wife was on a 6 ft ladder getting stuff on a large shelf over the door, waay up in the air. I came out absently minded and hit the opener! It swept her off the ladder on her back! I did run over and tried to break her fall just slightly. Wife is a big woman and almost 6 ft tall, heavey too.
It did hurt her but she was laughing and crying at the same time. I was hateing myself for a long time!
 
Squeaky wheels get the grease. I would call back and complain to no less than the owner of the Company. If you get no satisfaction fire them and call other garage door repair services. You have nothing to lose if they are going to charge you a second service call fee.
 
Yeah, either fix it yourself or go with another brand. Someone locally may have a spring that can fit, or else you may possibly be able to handcraft one.

That's highway robbery. Don't help keep 'em in business by giving them $263 to replace a spring!

T.
 
* Is the company you called for repairs the same company who installed the opener?

* Is the opener and/or repair parts obsolete? (Quite possible after 8 years)

The company I work for installs and services water supply systems. In most cases, if we installed the system and the repair components are still readily available, you would not pay for an additional service call simply because we did not have the part in stock!

"Squeaky wheels get the grease. I would call back and complain to no less than the owner of the Company."

I would suggest taking this recommendation a step further:

Make it a point to go see the business owner in person. Be there in the middle of their sales floor (not in his private office) with a handshake extended, smile on your face and not taking "no" for an acceptable answer!
 
One of my two Wayne-Daltons went belly up after less than two years. They are junk, IMHO.

Went to Sears and bought two new openers with screw drives. Nary a problem and the new ones were bought and installed for about 1/3 more than it would cost to repair the one W-D.

Be safe.
 
Originally posted by tom turner:
Yeah, either fix it yourself or go with another brand. Someone locally may have a spring that can fit, or else you may possibly be able to handcraft one.
Click to expand...

I'd advise against attempting to replace it yourself. The tension springs on garage doors are under a LOT of torque, and can easily injure, and in some instances severly injure, an inexperienced installer. I watched one launch a solid steel bar that the installer was using to put tension on the spring through the garage wall at my old house. Sucker punched a hole completely through a 2X4 stud.
 
You are positively right on the tension spring issue. Do not attempt that unless you have experience and know what you are doing. However, unless I'm misunderstanding the repair I believe he is referring to a spring in the opener itself.
 
We built our house in '96. The garage door opener was a Moore-O-Matic (made by Moore?) About ten years later, I clumsily caused a plastic gear in the garage door opener to shatter into a thousand pieces. Totally my dumb-ass fault.
icon_eek.gif


So I took the opener down to take the cover off and see if it was something simple I could handle myself. That's when I saw the shattered gear. It would have been easier to glue Humpty Dumpty back together again than glue up that gear.
icon_frown.gif


I took it to the shop that had installed it. They said the Moore Company had been bought by LiftMaster, but LM had no intention of running Moore, but to only wanted to run it out of business to eliminate the competion. So now there is now no place to buy parts!
icon_mad.gif


While I was discussing this with the counter guy, another guy in the back overheard us and came up to the front. He said there was an old guy who just might have the spare part on his truck since he saved all sorts of old obsolete parts. They said leave it and they would see if they could fix it. Sure enough, the old guy had the part and they repaired it. Total bill: about $25. Of course, I had to re-install it myself, but for once I lucked out.
icon_biggrin.gif
 
Originally posted by CelticSire:
Originally posted by tom turner:
Yeah, either fix it yourself or go with another brand. Someone locally may have a spring that can fit, or else you may possibly be able to handcraft one.
Click to expand...

I'd advise against attempting to replace it yourself. The tension springs on garage doors are under a LOT of torque, and can easily injure, and in some instances severly injure, an inexperienced installer. I watched one launch a solid steel bar that the installer was using to put tension on the spring through the garage wall at my old house. Sucker punched a hole completely through a 2X4 stud.
Click to expand...

Please don't attempt it yourself. I handled an injury claim years ago where the homeowner tried to increase the tension himself. He didn't use the proper size bars (you need two to make a full rotation). The bar slipped and ripped his arm off at the shoulder socket. NOT a Pretty sight!
 
This opener does not have the tension springs associated with most garage doors.

I did call the company in Ohio and am waiting for the return call.

I'll upate you when they do return my call.
 
It sounds like you have an I-drive unit mounted on your Torquemaster torsion bar. The Torquemaster allows you wind the spring with an electric drill, which sounds like a great idea, but the problem is when the spring goes it usually breaks the winding mechanism also. It's not a very durable design, you usually have to replace the whole Torquemaster assembly. If you're lucky your I-drive is OK, another not so great idea from the folks at Wayne-Dalton.
 
You will be waiting for that call for a long time.........Dalton is the WORST company that I have run across for support.
My idrive, which sounds like the one that you have, only lasted about 4 years, plus there were several trouble calls in the meantime. If I were you, I would junk that thing and by a better brand.
Too bad as Dalton has a really good idea, but they also really suck.
That's not my humble opinion, that's the truth!
 
We have a Sears. I'm guessing the prior owner of our house installed it in 1983. About 7 or 8 years ago one of the big tension springs failed. A local service guy came out and looked. He then went back to his shop and brought out a new one and installed it. He also asked if we just wanted him to install a new opener instead.

His reasoning was that with these openers, something inside usually fails within the next few months. Good prediction. A plastic drive gear ground all its teeth off. But I pride myself on being able to fix minor mechanical problems. We got out the instruction guide and parts list (the prior owner gave us a shopping bag, with every receipt and manual he'd put gotten.) We ordered it for about a dollar, all the while my wife had to park outside.

It took us about an hour to make the install. Less time than it took to order and then go pick up the part. After seeing the installer put the spring in and wind it up, I think if I ever have the problem again, I'll pay for that.
 
Dick, didn't you have to raise and lower the door manually for your wife while the opener was out of commission? That's what I had to do.

Just call me Stephen Fetchit.
icon_frown.gif
 
Originally posted by rburg:
all the while my wife had to park outside.
Click to expand...

That's why I had someone come out and fix ours for ~$90 instead of waiting two weeks for a $2 part to come in the mail.
icon_biggrin.gif


Honestly, though, that Genie looked old when we bought the house 15 years ago. That's the first time anything has been done to it since we've owned the house. The service call also included a "clean, oil and adjust", which made it quite a bit quieter. Well worth the money, IMO.
 
I would replace it. Most consumer items are disposible. New name brand openers are about
$200 - $250 at your local Lowes.
 
Every Wayne Dalton door in our development (a total of 4) has failed in the six or seven years the homes have been in existence. I don't mean only the door openers, but the door panels themselves have peeled and/or rusted. Wayne Dalton sent a vendor out to inspect mine and the vendor told me what a piece of crap the product and manufacturer are. They agreed to warantee my two doors but would not deliver or install them. Had to drive two hours to get the doors and still have them sitting in my basement waiting for warm weather to install them.
 
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