Bent garage door shaft

[Randall Clark]

Came across a bent garage door shaft (using the torsion spring system.) Electric opener was in place. One side of the shaft oscillated up and down about 1" when the door was in operation. Door operated fine. Just wanted to see if there may be a hidden defect or other that would require repair as opposed to, "yes, the shaft is bent, but its doing its job".

[Jerry Peck]

Sounds to me that the end of the shaft which wobbled up and down is not in its bearing retainer, possibly the bearing failed, the rod slipped out, the bearing bracket came loose, or other issues - beware of that door - IT COULD FALL from its mounts and seriously injure, or worse, someone.

[Garry Sorrells]

I will cast my lot with Jerry.
If the shaft is actually bent it has to be replaced.
If it is the bushing/retainer on the end of the shaft, it has to be repaired/replaced.
A shaft can not oscillate without consequences.
Saying "yes, the shaft is bent, but its doing its job" would be a bad idea in many respects.

The problem may be as simple as a missing retaining screw, $ 0.15 material cost and 10 min to correct, or not.

[Scott Patterson]

Well it is not OK if you noticed it.. It could be several things as noted in the other post but as a home inspector we do not need to design the repair. Call it out and report exactly what you are viewing and say that it needs to be properly repaired or replaced by a quality overhead door contractor or specialist.

[Mike Borchardt]

You didn't give much information about the door. Is this a two car door (16' or 18') or a single car door (8' or 9') door? Based on the comment the bent shaft was on the right side I will assume it's a two car wide door (16' or 18') with two springs and a center bearing. The spring shaft having a noticable bend while opperating the door is not common and should be checked by a qualified door specialist. On the other hand, a one inch movement in eight or nine feet (half the door width) is most likely putting undue stress on the bearings and may cause premature failure of the bearing or bearing plate. The end bearings are pressed into the bearing plate and may cause them to become loose and eventually fail.