Review on Liftmaster 41C4220A Chamberlain Craftsman LiftMaster by Wayne Seba

I wasn't sure why I bothered to write a review as I noticed there were hundreds of them already. I read most of them before purchasing this item to make sure I'm doing it right. After reading and researching so many reviews, I came across a few issues that were not addressed in the reviews I read, although they did appear in other reviews that I could not verify. I mean who will have time to read all 1700 reviews. I decided to write a review to consolidate and list all the issues I had, in case it helps anyone else to complete this project and be able to anticipate potential issues. Part of the recommended removal process. I tried skipping a few steps but ran into a couple of issues that didn't seem to affect other users. I also read some of the more critical reviews and while I understand some people had issues, for the most part they didn't seem like a big deal to me. So I'm going to mention all of these things when I post my little adventure of how I had to rebuild my garage door opener. I didn't feel these issues deserved to be removed from review as things in general could be that bad and in my case they were easier than ever to fix. It all started with a broken spring on the garage door. I noticed that the opener is a bit tight and it took me a while to see the problem. As a DIYer, I decided to see if I could replace the springs. Let's be honest; Hiring someone to do it would have cost more than I was willing to pay. I was able to replace the springs cheaply and adjust them correctly so that the door opens and closes at the perfect height by hand. Finished? no My old man came with me and he's one of those cranky old guys who, when something doesn't work, keeps trying to make it work by shoving or hitting him a few times. Needless to say he kept trying to open the garage door with just one spring and along with the spring change I also got a broken gear. The opener originally looked home, almost 19 years old. I was surprised it still works but they don't do that anymore. Replacing the entire opener and then having someone install it would cost at least a few hundred. It's time to explore a little and get spare parts from Revain. It only took a few days for me to receive the part. I see comments in the review about some bad vendors or defective parts, but they all seem to relate to different parts. I am specifically referring to the Liftmaster 41c4220a Gear Replacement Kit only. Not sure why there are reviews for door remotes and other stuff here, but oh well. I thought it would take me 30 minutes max to read the reviews. I was wrong. Took me over an hour. However, I took my sweet old time and checked out all four. Make sure you have some small wrenches, pliers, and screwdrivers ready. And a lot of patience. Small screws slip out of your hands and go everywhere. As for the actual installation, I could try to write a dissertation on it, but your best bet is to search "garage door opener replacement" on youtube and watch 2 videos. I didn't want to link them here in case video owners get in trouble. Some of them are shorter and some last around 30 minutes. Some go into detail and some skip a few parts that need replacing. The videos explain it and show you much better than what I could describe here. The quickest way to do this is to watch the video, remove the cover and mechanism, and replace them. Lubricate it and put the lid back together and you're done. If you're lucky, you won't need to remove the engine. You don't need to replace any other parts if they look ok, but I went with it as it was a fairly old engine to begin with. If you do this and also decide to replace the bearing rings, you'll likely see some people saying that this part doesn't require removing the engine either, and other people saying it is necessary. I tried to get away without removing it but my bearing was damaged and couldn't be removed with the motor connected. I would break something or hit myself with a hammer to get it out. My engine had to come out. I replaced all the gears and bearings, lubricated everything and put everything back together. Once I did that, I re-tightened the chain and checked the device's operation to make sure it stopped at the correct distances, then locked the door. turned it back on and I was ready to go. It really worked again when I did everything. As I said, the videos are sent from God. Here are the key points to keep in mind. * Make sure the part fits your opener. Look up the model number on the opener and then go to the opener website, find the gear part number, find a comparable kit part number and buy a kit. The kit comes with everything you need.* Some have the door released from the chain in the down position, others in the up position. I personally did this with the door closed and I had no problem. * Correct tools. A small wrench is a must, and unless you plan on removing the motor and just replacing the main gear, a wrench extension is worth its weight in gold. *When in doubt, take a picture of everything before unscrewing or peeling it off. This makes it much easier to replace everything. Especially if you don't watch tutorial videos. * If you choose to remove the motor you can either disconnect the electrical wires or remove the connectors from the boards. Seems to be about the same number of wires anyway. I went with removing the wires and avoided the plugs, concerned that the plastic plugs might be brittle from being so old. All my research has shown that both methods work and I have seen no advantage of one over the other. Retake photos when you feel like you can't remember where it's all going. * After changing the rings and gear and lubricating everything, everything should move smoothly when you turn the motor by hand and be tight. If something wobbles before you reinstall the last gear, then something isn't tightened properly. I see people giving lower ratings to this kit because of this one item. Trust me, after everything I did wrong with the install, the unthreaded holes don't bother me. I just drilled the bolts into the holes before attaching the main gear and everything worked fine. The video won't show it to the end afterwards, so be sure to watch it to the end to avoid any surprises. If you take the quick route and just replace the main gear, most of these reviews and videos are going to be a waste of time. Just plug it in and out and you're done in no time. If you find that other parts are worn and want to replace them, it may take longer. It depends on you. I would definitely do it again now that I'm more familiar with the process. If you're a pleasant person it won't take that long, and if you've never done it (like me) you'll be fine as long as you calm down and are ready. Once I added up the money I saved from all of this and the springs instead of paying someone else or buying a new opener, it was a no-brainer. Much luck! I've added some photos showing the broken spring that started the process. I have also attached pictures of the broken gear inside the case as well as the new one. I've also added a picture of what you need to remove for the quickest way to just swap gear and my unfortunate "remove everything" to make it work. Hope you don't have to go that far.