After being in our house 14 yrs this coming June, it seems as if the rollers on SGD have failed.
From scrolling thru a number of posts it would seem that it's a relatively easy fix to replace them. So my question is, are there "universal" replacement rollers or what? I have no earthly idea what company made the door so hope it doesn't require parts specific to the mfgr.
I also am wondering if I was partly responsible for the demise of the rollers in that I'm a little obsessive/compulsive when it comes to cleaning the tracks and all the crud & grunge that gets trapped in the slot where the slider sits on the metal track. I go after it w/a vengence (after vacuuming of course) but I use anything from Fantastik to window cleaner sprayed on the tracks & into all crevices, using an assortment of brushes to poke, prod & tease any nastiness out (it's a woman thing). Did I unwittingly cause something to rust or deteriorate by my over-exuberance? Oh - and for the record, yes I do rinse thoroughly ; ~ ) Thanx so much for your input.
Steve, there is no doubt the rollers are completely shot!! The door is almost impossible to get closed - 2 hands, grab tightly and pull, tug, groan & grunt!! Our cat thinks its great cause it gives her plenty of time to make her escape while our attention is diverted trying to man handle this )^%%@#$& door!!!
If these adjustments do not work the next step is to inspect the wheels. This will require the door to be removed. Some lift up and in from the track while others may require a wood trim piece to be removed from the top of the track to allow the door to tip inside from the top then lifted out.
once the door is out the wheel assembly can be removed. Most replacement wheels can then be "matched" base on what you now have in your hand.
I have seen where some wheels were seized at the bushing in the center...this caused the wheel to NOT roll and a flat spot was ground into the metal wheel, others had crack bearing, broken wheels (plastic), bent axles and supports etc. In one case ( in a log home) the door had been compressed to a point where the door frame itself needed to be trimmed to keep from binding. In all of these repairs I have done the final result was a one finger push to slide the door back and forth. Some were simple adjustments others full on door surgery.
BTW...oil and grease on the track collect more dirt which leads to premature failures. The wheels need to ROLL...not slide, lubricants tend to make them slide. Rocks and sand in the track can kill a door quickly...so vacuuming is good.
What I didn't say was that I have also noticed some kind of very fine metal looking dust in the tracks kind of like graphite. To me that sounds like something might be actually scraping the track when attempting to move the door back & forth. There is definitely significant resistence when trying to close it - sure gives the abs a work out! Sadly I think from your description we're probably dealing w/seizing, a flat spot and who knows what else??
Your graphite type observation has be deducing metal wheels...aluminum track
See picture.