Garage door opens 6 inches then stops

It is an older (9/99) 1/2 HP Craftman model. Been working fine since we got the house, but today it would only open about 6 inches then stop. The most o got it to open was about a foot. I have tried adjusting the limit screws and nothing! If i disconnect the opener from the door, i can open it by hand. The, when in the up position if i hit the button the traveler will open all the way until it reconnects. The door shuts fine, but then won't open again. Any ideas???

I have the same problem

I have the exact same problem and it is driving me crazy! I don't want to buy a new one if I do not have to. Disconnected from the opener, the door opens easily by hand. I checked the rails the rollers, and the springs have been replaced a couple years ago, so the problem is not the door. However. also when disconnected, the garage door opener works fine - it does not stop on the way up or way down! Is tehre a sensor or something inside the opener?

we had a similar problem with ours and the plastic gears were worn to a point where the tension was ok going down but too worn to pull the door up . this is typical on craftsman. a $12.00 fix. Pull the inspection cover and check for plastic shavings

You may have a stripped out gear but be careful because you may have a broken spring that caused the gear to strip out in the first place. First with the door in the closed position i would pull the disconnect cord from the opener. Then make sure that the door goes us and down manually without too much effort. If you can't open the door at all then the spring is probably broken. If you can lift the door but is seems to be binding then that's were you should start to address the problem. Feel free to shoot me an email or visit my site and contact me there at www.gdrepair.com

Yup, it was a spring. One had snapped, so we got both replaced and it works perfect now. Thank you for the help!

Good to hear. I hope you got a good deal.

Thanks everyone - it was the gear assemly - like a snow storm when I opened the back.