How to Tighten a Garage Door Chain

If you hear a lot of noise whenever you open or close your garage door it is more than likely the chain on the door has become loose. You can easily determine if the chain is the problem by examining it for any slack. There should not be any slack at all in the chain. This is something that should be fixed as soon as possible.

How to Tighten a Garage Door Chain

1. Remove the power cord for the garage door from the ceiling outlet.


2. Position a stepladder near the opener arm of the garage door. The opener arm is the piece that connects the garage door opener track to the top of the garage door.


3. Find the outer and inner adjustment nuts on the top of the carriage, which is where the opener arm connects to the rail. You will notice that one end of the opener chain connects to a threaded rod. The inner nut is between the carriage and the opener motor head. The outer nut is between the carriage and the front of the garage.


4. Use a 7/16-inch wrench to loosen the inner nut. You will need to unthread it approximately 1-inch from the carriage.


5. Use a 7/16-inch wrench to turn the outer nut clockwise. You will need to hold the chain between the opener motor and the carriage to prevent the chain from twisting while turning the nut.


6. Stop tightening the nut when the chain is 1/2-inch above the base of the track.


7. Retighten the inner nut back to the carriage to lock the chain in place.


8. Plug the power cord back into the ceiling outlet.