How to adjust the chain on a garage door opener?

Sometimes you may hear a strange clunking sound when the garage door moves. This indicates that the door’s chain has gone loose. The weakened chain begins to sag and slams against the rail when you open or close the door.

Because of the slack chain, the load on the garage door opener increases. As a result, the opener works less efficiently. In some cases, the garage door may jump off the track.

Follow these steps to tighten the chain:

Step 1

Prepare your garage door:

• Close the garage door.
• Cut the power.
• Disconnect your garage door from the opener.

Step 2

Climb up a ladder and find a bolt on the trolley assembly. A divider separates two nuts on the threaded fastener. One of them is used for locking and the other one for adjusting. The locking nut is the one closer to the opener.

Step 3

Use a half-inch wrench to loosen the locking nut slightly. Then, tighten the adjusting nut. This way, you increase the tension of the chain. Now tighten the locking nut.

After completing all the steps, turn the power back on and connect the garage door to the opener. Open and close the garage door several times, to test the adjustments. And if you still hear clunking, try adjusting the chain again.