Chamberlain Garage Door Opener Gear Kit - Part #41A2817
by LIFTMASTER
|
Our Price: $12.10 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Tools See more product details |
|---|
Tools and Hardware Reviews of Chamberlain Garage Door Opener Gear Kit - Part #41A2817
Customer Review: Works for me.
Summary: 4 Stars
This kit has enough parts to repair the common problems with door openers. Mine needed the large gear replaced but not the worm gear on the motor shaft. I'm sure some people take too much apart when fixing these things, why dismantle the motor if it isn't problematic. That's where the instructions get off base. You are given the impression that you need to take the motor out to change the drive gear. Not so. Just go to the second page, after disabling the opener of course, and remove the gear housing. One screw is a little tricky but all things considered not a problem.
I did have a concern with the reassembly. It doesn't mention how to reset the limit switch assembly. First,when taking this apart,you had to move the trolley to the "door closed" position. Then why don't you need to reset the limit switch to the "closed position"? Well, you DO have to reset it to closed before reinstalling it or the door will try to close, hit the floor and reverse to stop part way open. The "timing" is messed up unless you reset the limit switch. Look at the cover, figure which set of contacts is the down limit, turn the center shaft so the contacts close and reinstall. Works perfect. No, or very little adjustment needed.
One other item, when you have the gear housing out, turn the shaft. Mine was too tight the bushing had galled and scored the shaft. Fortunately, one of the bushings in the kit was the one needed for the gear housing. Remove the upper roll pin(I used the but end of a junk 3/32 drill bit), remove the housing retainer E-clip, pull the shaft out of the housing, press (or tap) the bushing out of the housing(a 5/16 socket worked for this), put a new one in(I used a 9/16 socket to push it in), and reinstall the parts, greasing the new bushing, and when reassembled grease the big gear, A LOT. I never moved the motor, and had this done in less than an hour. Spent more time finding the right tools than actually working on this problem.
This kit will have what you need, except for the instructions.
Customer Review: Just what the garage door opener needed...
Summary: 5 Stars
When the main nylon cog in the Craftsman garage door opener split in two, I expected the worst -- time to replace the opener. Had I known that the cog was made of nylon (like others realized), I would have been greasing it annually. Doing so is a matter of removing the cover with a screwdriver and squeezing some grease in the teeth of all the working nylon parts, simple. Worth it compared to the ~4-hour, two-person job of pulling the opener apart to get at innards you need to replace. That the cog would dry out and snap after at least 15 years of no maintenance...go figure!
If you're guilty of similar neglect, this is the perfect kit to save yourself a few hundred dollars and the perfect project to put your dad/close friend to work. Even better, you're left with extra grease (enough to grease your other opener and the one you're repairing this time and a couple more later).
There were some frustrating steps, though. Removing the pins wasn't too tough if you have a punch. The part that drove us crazy was how to get the (don't remember the part name) almost-round, metal part with the notch off the stem where the worm resides. In our case, it didn't simply slide off (probably tight from the metal-on-metal contact/oxidization of 15+ years). If you get the same, hair-brained idea to drive the stem out with a hammer/hammer-punch combo (hopefully your solution is more elegant), be prepared to lightly file down the edges on the end of the rod where you were making contact; otherwise, it won't come off.
Also, after you get it all back together and are making the lift adjustments with a lot of opening/closing, don't be surprised if the opener suddenly won't respond. Relax. It's likely not broken again, just overheated. Give it a few minutes (apply beer, take deep breaths, you don't have to start over), then finish your adjustments.
Lesson learned: Keep the working, nylon parts in the garage door opener well-greased!
Customer Review: Good Kit, but don't buy the whole kit if all you need is the main gear
Summary: 4 Stars
I just finished installing just the main gear. It took about 90 minutes, mostly because I was fixing it at a rental property and had to wait for my wife to go get some tools I forgot. The other time consumer was getting the pin out of the drive gear. I only replaced the main drive gear because the worm gear showed no wear and appeared it would work fine with the new main gear. Don't buy the whole kit if your worm gear looks ok. Just buy the main gear for around seven bucks and some grease at the hardware store.
A few suggestions:
- MOST IMPORTANT: You do not need to remove the motor to replace the main gear. Just make sure you have the a socket set with a small socket wrench. The small socket wrench will fit between the motor and the case and allow you to remove the screw above the motor. The other two are easy to get to with a socket driver and a 2.5" extension.
- Really loosen the chain.
- Make sure you have a 5/32" punch. It will likely save you some heartache. I used a 5/32" drill bit and my hands are sore.
- There is a hole in the shaft of the main gear. Turn a 2X4 on it's side and use a drywall or wood screw to attach the shaft to the 2" side of the 2X4. This will secure it and make is easier to drive out the pin.
- If you have trouble removing the pin, you can drill or saw the plastic gear you are removing to provide better access to it. We drilled it, but in hindsight it would have been nice to have my Dremel and just cut the damaged gear off.
- Put all pieces you remove well out of the way of where you will be walking or placing the ladder. I stepped on the three sided cover and tweaked it. I had to bend it back into place and it still is not quite right.
- There is a great video on the web that helped me quite a bit. Search "Chamberlain Garage Door Opener Gear Replacement" and you will find it.
Customer Review: Opener calibration after part replacement
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't recall reading this in earlier reviews. If it's a repeat..my apologies.
After your garage door opener repair you will likely have to tweak the 'open/close' travel settings in the opener. That's the limit switch assy you unclipped to remove the motor/sprocket shaft. Between loosening/removing/re-installing the drive chain AND the drive gear for the limit assy your door probably won't be exactly where it WAS when fully opened and closed.
Before you operate the door, I suggest unlatching the trolley from the door, cycle the door opener a few times while making note of where the trolley ends up and making the required adjustments BEFORE the door is moved by the opener.
Consider: Your door was adjusted to be closed to a very snug position. The opener repair results in a 'closed' position that is a couple inches TIGHTER than it was. If you immediately attach the door (latch the trolley to the door arm) without checking the 'closed' limit, when it DOES close you may well break something. Again.
If you choose to replace the drive gear on the motor shaft, do exercise caution when removing the interrupter! It's plastic and held on with a spring clip that isn't easily UNsprung. Loosen the setscrew in the collar, using a chisel, tap between the collar and washer cup to move the interrupter off the shaft. You could also support the back of the motor (shaft clear to move) and with the collar setscrew loosened, use a punch/drift to tap the motor shaft out of the interrupter wheel (there is a hole in the interrupter to get to the motor shaft). No POUNDING required...just a tap or two.
The parts work. You may not use all the parts included, and some parts you DO remove will need to be re-used. Not a five-minute job..but well worth your time.
Customer Review: With this kit and a little time, you can repair your garage door opener.
Summary: 5 Stars
I was faced with the decision to purchase a new garage door opener for about $230 or repair the existing opener from 1992 which lacks some of today's safety features. Since I don't use this garage door often and I don't have children, I opted to save some cash and do the repair myself. I have no previous experience of doing these types of garage door opener repairs, but as a do-it-yourselfer I figured it was worth the attempt.
The kit came with detailed instructions which broke the process down into 5 main steps each with multiple individual tasks. The instructions were not exact for my opener, but were close enough to get the point. The steps start with removing the motor with the worm, removing the chain stem with the gear, replacing the worm, replacing the gear, and finally reassembling everything. Once the first two steps were completed I brought the parts inside to work on. I had the most trouble removing the tightly set pin to replace the gear. About two hours later, everything was reassembled and the garage door was working like a charm.
For those that want to save time, there is another kit with a complete gear stem for about $11 more. If time is an issue for you, consider the more expensive kit option. However for me, this kit worked well and is at the right price. Ultimately I need to replace my aging Craftsman garage door opener; however I can wait for the right time for me financially speaking.
PROS:
Inexpensive way to extend the life of your garage door opener
Simple enough instructions
CONS:
Using the kit may delay replacing the garage door opener for safety reasons
Time consuming to replace parts