Bent or kinked garage door track?

The vertical track on each side is a narrow channel, a little wider than the roller wheel. It is made from fairly thin steel, so a bumper, a mower deck or a ladder end leaning against it can fold the lip over or push the whole track toward the middle of the opening. Even a bend you can barely see with your eye can close that channel enough to grab a roller.

Where the bend sits matters. A kink low on the vertical track gets hit by the bottom roller every cycle. A bend up where the vertical meets the curve is worse, because the track radius has to hold the exact shape the rollers expect. A track pushed in at the top can also change how the door sits against the weatherstrip and how far the door can swing into the curve.

The reason a bent track is a stop-now problem is what is behind it. The door is held up by springs and cables, and a roller that jams in a pinched spot can pull the door crooked, pop out, or load one side of the door with the full weight. That is how a bumped track turns into an off-track door or a cable that jumps its drum. Many people keep using the door for weeks and then have a bigger repair.

A shallow bend with no crease can sometimes be corrected on site. A sharp kink, a split in the metal or a track that has been twisted usually does better replaced, because straightened steel that was creased tends to bend again.

If the hit also dented or folded a section of the door, look at panel replacement too. We will show you what is damaged and what is not before anything is ordered.