A garage door that squeaks, jerks, or sticks is usually dry, not broken. The rollers, hinges, and springs are bare metal moving against bare metal, and a little lubricant twice a year keeps them quiet and smooth. The whole job takes about fifteen minutes and one can of the right spray. The wrong spray is worse than none — it gums up, attracts dust, or evaporates in a week — so the choice of lubricant matters as much as the job itself.
Use a silicone-based spray or white lithium grease made for garage doors: both stay put, resist water, and last months. Do not use WD-40 as the lubricant — it is a solvent and cleaner, not a lasting lubricant, and it evaporates quickly. The WD-40 vs silicone spray guide explains the difference and where each one belongs. Do not use regular motor oil or heavy grease either: they attract dust and turn into grinding paste. And never lubricate the tracks themselves — the rollers are supposed to roll in them, not slide on oil, and a greased track collects dirt that wears the rollers out.
Close the door and unplug the opener. The door should be fully closed, and the opener unplugged, before your hands go near the moving parts. Never work on a garage door with the opener powered — a remote in a pocket can start it.
Clean the tracks and rollers first. Wipe the inside of the tracks with a damp rag to remove dust and grit, and wipe the rollers. Check the tracks for dents or bends while you are there — a dented track is a problem lubrication will not fix. Do not put any lubricant in the tracks.
Lubricate the hinges. Put a drop of lubricant on each hinge pivot, top and bottom, and work the door up and down a little so it spreads. Hinges are the most common source of squeaking, and they are the easiest fix in the whole job — the same idea as a squeaky door hinge inside the house, covered in the door hinge squeak guide.
Lubricate the rollers. Spray a light coat on the metal roller bearings — the small wheels that run in the tracks. If your rollers are nylon, skip them: nylon rollers are self-lubricating and do not need it. Worn, wobbling, or cracked rollers should be replaced, not lubricated.
Give the springs a light coat. Spray a thin coat along the torsion springs above the door, or the extension springs along the sides, and wipe off the excess. Do not touch, adjust, or unwind the springs themselves — they are under extreme tension and can cause serious injury. Lubricating is safe; adjusting is pro work.
Test it and wipe the drips. Plug the opener back in and run the door up and down a few times. Listen: the squeaks should be gone and the movement smooth. Wipe any drips off the floor and the door — excess lubricant on the floor is a slip hazard and on the door it attracts dust.
A broken spring, a frayed cable, a bent track, or a door that hangs crooked will not be fixed by a can of spray. If the door is heavy to lift by hand, if a cable is frayed or loose, or if the spring has a visible gap where it snapped, stop and call a garage door pro — springs and cables are under enough tension to injure. The garage door won't close guide walks through the diagnosis when the door will not close at all, and it will tell you which problems are yours and which ones are a pro's.
Twice a year — spring and fall — is enough for most doors, plus once more after a wet season if the door starts talking again. A door that is used several times a day wears faster than one that opens weekly, so listen to it: the first squeak is the reminder, not the problem. Fifteen minutes, twice a year, is what keeps a garage door quiet for its full life.
As a cleaner, yes — it removes grime well. As a lubricant, no: it evaporates in days and leaves the metal drier than before. Use a silicone-based or white lithium garage door lubricant for the actual lubrication.
No. The rollers need to roll in clean, dry tracks. Lubricant in the track attracts dust and grit, which wears the rollers out faster. Clean the tracks; lubricate the moving parts.
The door feels very heavy to lift by hand, the opener strains or cannot lift it, or you can see a gap in the torsion spring above the door. Do not try to fix a broken spring yourself — call a pro.
Check the rollers for wear and the tracks for dents, and check that the door is level and the opener chain or belt is adjusted. If everything looks right and the noise stays, the opener itself may be wearing out.