What is this short threaded tube I found in my garage?

April 6, 2019 10:20 AM

While cleaning up my garage today, I found a short white plastic threaded tube hiding in a pile of leaves. Here's a photo. It's about 2 inches long and has a slot at the top that looks like it's intended to receive a rod that could be used to adjust the screw. It has a little bit of white grease on it and a few black smudges. Any idea what it is?
posted by brianogilvie to Grab Bag (2 answers total)

Best answer: Looks like a worm gear for a garage door opener
posted by tinker at 10:26 AM on April 6, 2019

Response by poster: Bingo! My garage door opener broke over the winter—one of the springs on the door failed, and the weight of the door caused one of the gears to strip. The repairmen must have dropped the old gear when they were fixing it. Thanks!
posted by brianogilvie at 10:29 AM on April 6, 2019