Found a trick for fixing sticky car doors on old Otis units

I had a 1980s Otis that kept getting stuck on the landing zone at a 6 story building in Portland. Tried cleaning the rails, swapped out the rollers, even replaced the door operator belt. Nothing worked for more than a week. Then I remembered an old timer talking about the track alignment shims getting loose over time. I went back, checked every bracket on the header, and found three were barely finger tight. Tightened them up with some blue loctite, and it's been smooth for 3 months now. Has anyone else dealt with those shims shifting on older hydro setups?

2 comments

2 Comments

saraho484d ago

Honestly, I used to think those alignment shims were basically set it and forget it. Like, I figured once they were torqued down from the factory, they weren't going anywhere. But reading your story about the loose brackets on the header... that actually makes a ton of sense. I had a similar issue on an old Montgomery hydro a few years back, door kept dragging on the landing sill. I chased hydraulic issues for weeks. Now I'm wondering if the same thing was happening to mine and I just missed it. The way you described the shims shifting over time, especially on older setups where the bolts might have been rattling loose for years, really clicked for me. Three months smooth after something that simple is pretty convincing.

ruby_murphy4d ago

You ever notice how in life, the big stuff is usually caused by the little stuff we ignore? I see it in my own work all the time, like a squeaky hinge that turns into a broken door if you put it off. It's funny how one loose bolt can mess up a whole system until you finally check it.