A crooked or sagging garage door usually means one side is lifting more than the other. The usual causes are a stretched, frayed or slipped cable, a slipping drum, a bent or loose track, a worn roller or a weak spring. Stop using the opener and look from a distance. Cable, drum and spring work must be done by a technician.
What makes a garage door crooked or uneven?
A door sits level when both sides rise and fall together. Two cables, one on each side, lift it, and the springs above the door balance its weight. If anything makes one side move differently from the other, the bottom edge tilts.
A1 Garage Door Service lists the usual culprits: cables that are frayed or stretched, a drum that slips or is not seated, worn bearings, worn rollers, and bent or misaligned tracks, often after a vehicle or object strike. Uneven spring tension can contribute, but the same source says a crooked door is more often a misalignment problem than a spring problem.
The common causes, side by side
- Cable. A cable that stretches or frays becomes longer than its partner, so that side rides higher. A cable that jumps its drum can also wrap unevenly.
- Drum. If a drum slips on the shaft or sits wrong, it winds its cable differently from the other side.
- Track. A bent or loose track adds friction on one side and can pull that side up or hold it back.
- Rollers and hinges. A worn roller or a bent hinge can keep a section from moving evenly.
- Spring. A weak or broken spring changes how much of the door's weight each cable carries.
Because several parts can cause the same symptom, a technician looks at all of them rather than guessing.
Is it a balance problem or an alignment problem?
A1 Garage Door Service gives a simple rule of thumb: a door that sits crooked but feels light to lift is misaligned, not unbalanced. Balance is about how well the springs carry the weight. Alignment is about how evenly the door travels in the tracks.
DASMA, the door industry association, says a door that does not move smoothly may have an unbalanced spring system and should be repaired by a professional. You do not need to lift the door to learn this. Watch the bottom edge as the door moves and see whether it stays parallel to the floor. If it tilts, that is enough information to pass on.
What you can safely look at
Look from the side, not from under the door. Compare the two cables: are both tight, and do both sit on their drums? Check the tracks for gaps, bends or loose bolts, and look for a roller that has left its track. Note whether the opener strains or stops partway.
Cables, springs and the bottom brackets that hold the cables are under constant tension. Do not loosen the bottom bracket, reattach a cable or touch a spring. Stop using the opener and call a technician.
Why you should not keep using it
A crooked door puts uneven load on the cables, the tracks and the opener. Each cycle can bend the tracks, fray the cable further or pull a roller out, and a door that was only slightly off can become one that is off track. If the door has come out of the track already, read what to do when a garage door is off track.
Common signs that the problem is getting worse: sideways shifting, grinding or popping, a door that drops quickly when stopped partway, or a cable that looks slack.
How a technician fixes it
The technician first finds the cause. A slipped cable may be reset on its drum, a frayed one is replaced, and the cables are usually replaced as a matched pair. A bent track is straightened or replaced, worn rollers are swapped, and the springs and balance are checked in the same visit. Afterward the door is tested for balance and the opener's safety reversal.
Our cable repair and spring repair pages list our typical prices, and the final price is confirmed after we see the door.
Get your door levelled
Emil Garage Doors repairs garage doors, cables, tracks and springs in Southern California, and our city pages cover California, for example Citrus Heights, Brea and Carlsbad. Call (213) 340-4232 or send the estimate form with a photo of the tilted door.
Questions people ask
Why is my garage door crooked?
One side is lifting more than the other. The usual causes are a stretched or slipped cable, a slipping drum, a bent or loose track, a worn roller or a weak spring.
What causes an uneven or crooked garage door?
Cables that are frayed or stretched, a drum that slips, bent tracks after an impact, worn rollers and uneven spring tension can all do it. A technician checks each one.
Can I fix a sagging garage door myself?
We do not recommend it. Cables, drums, springs and bottom brackets are under tension, and DASMA says these jobs are for a trained technician.
Is it safe to keep using a crooked garage door?
No. Stop using the opener. A crooked door can bend the tracks, fray a cable or come off track.
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