Should be a track that the carriage rolls through on the real, the whole bottom of it, also the cover can get loose screws causing the plastic to vibrate

Where do you apply the grease? Thanks!

Yes they both look like that. The openers themselves are different though. Interestingly, the louder one looks to be a newer style opener - its casing is grey and the other one is maroon. I could get model #s but not at the moment. I’ve definitely seen the quiet ones before and they are great - it’s just a question of $$ with all the other many surprises we’ve had since moving here ugh.

This is the correct thing to do

I’ve heard one snap - it’s terrifying

WD-40 is actually a cleaner. It's commonly thought of as lubrication but it's a cleaner that leaves a bit of residue like a lubricant.

In the comments, a garage guy suggested a product so I would give that a lot of weight.

Personally, I've used a spray form of white lithium grease I got at Home Depot.

FYI: you're right and you're wrong.

WD-40 isn't a very good lubricant, so recommending other things is totally justified. But it is a lubricant. It's a mix of light oils, along with the water-displacing solvents and corrosion inhibitors. It was designed as a multi-purpose product. One of those purposes absolutely was lubrication.

That's incorrect. WD-40's website says that it is a lubricant and can be used as one. It was originally designed as a water displacer by combining several lubricants and adding volatiles to help penetration.

It has some downsides as a lubricant - the volatiles make it thin so it's not a very long-lasting lubricant. And the soil removers in it tend to create black streaks after some time. But it's still a fine short-term lubricant for many things. It's poor for garage doors because you want something long lasting, so I would agree with your recommendations, but wanted to correct the info on WD-40.

Silicone based lube

I'm going to incur some wrath here, but I'd say start with some WD-40 the first time (as a penetrating oil to loosen up the neglected parts) cycle the door a few times and actually jog it sideways a bit to get the roller stems free in their mounts, then follow with lubricant. After that just periodic lubricants will be fine.

Source: Experiments on a relative's nearly-rusted-solid garage door hardware in the northern midwest.

Newer openers are a lot quieter. It's quite possible that you could make your current one quieter with a relatively simple repair, but even in its best shape, it won't have the performance of newer models.

Given your home office situation, I think that would be well worth it.

You win.

If you look up from underneath your opener and there is a long threaded shaft that moves the trolley (the piece that the j-bar is attached to) it could very well be your opener. I really don't like the design of that opener.

You could try disconnecting your trolley by pulling the string and then move the door by hand by pulling the j-bar, if it doesn't make the sound when doing that it's likely your opener.

I recommend a belt drive opener for a quieter experience. Replacing the rollers with nylon rollers with ball bearings will also help.

If it is a genie screw drive opener then a low temp grease would be better on it to quiet it down

Ketchup

Nope, throws off the pH

"Garage Door Lube" from 3-in-One. It's available at most hardware stores.

I know it sounds obvious, but I only discovered it myself a few years ago. It is kind of messy so you might pull your car out first, even masking areas if you are really uptight about over spray.

Looking at your last picture I see those studs were put in after the flooring, which means this house was sealed up before this short wall was installed. Also looking at the first pic if this was structural you'd see 2x8's laminated. This is drywall framing to bring down the size of the door to normal indoor specs. Something held the wall up while the flooring was being installed...

If if were mine I would put temporary jack support in the doorway (threaded type) and apply light pressure. Knock that wall out. Gently lower the support and observe the above brickwork. It should not move at all. Then I'd reframe the door with fresh 2x8's to give myself a nice nailing surface for the trim when I'm done and adding more strength to the doorway.

Can I tack on a question here? We moved to an older House (1968) that has two single garage doors. Not sure how old the openers are but they are Genie. One of them is very loud when opening/closing and has a definite clunk when it’s done (not sure if when opening, closing or both). Could this just be an older opener causing it (wouldn’t want to spend the $ to replace and find out it wasn’t that) or something else? I believe my husband lubricated it (not sure what part) but still very loud. My office is above it and it goes right through my spine every time it’s operated. Thanks!!

For those saying to lube the springs - that only applies to the newer torsion springs.

If you have an older door with the "regular" springs located on each side of the door - lubing those does nothing but make a mess! lol

non grease lubricant

No good on the front, huh?

Used motor oil

Too afraid to get close to that monster

It's grandma living in the walls.