Linear Gate Motor Replacement Nationwide

Linear Gate Motor Replacement: The Dallas Owner’s Guide

We replace Linear gate motors across Dallas, TX, typically for $950 to $1,850 installed depending on the model, arm type, and whether we’re swapping just the motor or the motor plus the control board. Most Dallas jobs are done same week, and we stock Linear-compatible motors and boards on the truck so we’re not running back and forth to a supply house.

Call (940) 531-9746

The way homeowners usually find us is predictable: the gate worked fine for years, then one morning it won’t open, or it opens halfway and stops, or the motor hums but nothing moves. The operator power light is on, the remote still clicks, but the arm just sits there. That’s almost always the motor or the board, and on a Linear system that’s been through a few Texas summers, the motor is usually the first thing to quit.

Before we touch anything, we figure out whether the motor is actually dead or whether the problem is downstream, like a bad limit switch or a power supply issue. Lonnie Burke, who owns Carver Gate Repair Dallas, puts it this way: “If I can’t tell you exactly what’s wrong before I touch it, I haven’t looked closely enough.” That’s how we price the job before we start it.

Which Linear Models This Applies To

Linear has built gate operators under a few different nameplates over the years, and the parts don’t always interchange even when the housings look identical. The most common units we replace in Dallas are the Linear LRA linear arm operator, the Linear LA400, LA500, and LS series swing operators, and the older Linear APeX and MegaCode lines that are now discontinued but still operating in a lot of North Dallas and Park Cities neighborhoods.

Here’s the compatibility gotcha that matters: a Linear LA400 arm assembly will not simply drop into an LA500 chassis, even though the mounting pattern is close. The bolt spacing differs by a little under a quarter inch, and the gear ratio is different enough that forced installation will strip the drive gear inside six weeks. We measure before we order. There’s no guessing.

On the OEM versus aftermarket question: for older Linear models that are discontinued, we use new-old-stock OEM parts when we can get them, and quality aftermarket equivalents when OEM inventory is gone. The honest truth is that some aftermarket Linear-compatible boards are actually built better than the originals from the late 2000s, especially in the surge protection circuit. But the arm and gear assemblies, we strongly prefer OEM. That’s where cheap substitutes fail in Texas heat.

Carver Gate Repair Dallas is an independent service provider, not affiliated with Linear or Nortek. We work on Linear equipment every week and keep parts on hand for the LRA, LA400, LA500, and MegaCode lines.

Signs Your Linear Gate Motor Replacement Is Failing

• The gate hums but won’t move. With a swing arm operator, this is usually the internal gear or the motor capacitor. The motor is trying to turn, but the gear itself has stripped or the capacitor has lost its kick. This is the most common thing we see in Dallas after a hot summer, because gear grease breaks down and the motor has to work harder through stiffer internal parts.
• The gate opens partway and stops, then reverses. On a Linear LRA, the internal limit switch is tied to the arm travel, and when the switch fails or slips, the board thinks the gate hit an obstruction. It’s not your safety edges misbehaving most of the time. It’s a bad limit assembly inside the motor housing.
• The control board shows a fault code but nothing actually moves. Linear boards flash codes for different problems, and a code that points at an obstruction or a short can actually mean the motor winding has gone dead. The board reads the resistance and interprets it as a blockage. We test the motor leads with a meter to separate board problems from motor problems before we replace anything.
• Intermittent operation that gets worse in the afternoon. Dallas heat expands the arm and the motor housing. A weak motor will fail when it’s 102 outside and work fine at 8 a.m. That pattern is the motor fighting thermal overload, and it’s going to quit permanently at the worst time.
• You can hear the motor spinning but the swing arm doesn’t follow. That’s the spline coupler or drive gear stripped inside the operator. It means the motor itself may still be fine, but the mechanical link between the motor and the arm is broken. We replace the coupler when we can, and the whole operator when the shaft is worn too.

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

Here’s what a Linear gate motor replacement costs in Dallas:

Every one of these numbers includes the part, the labor, the removal of the old unit, and the setup of travel limits and safety functions. We hand you a written price before any work begins, and that price doesn’t move. No add-ons after the job is open. No “we found something else” conversation. The number we write down is the number you pay.

What drives the range is the model and the condition of the surrounding hardware. If the mounting post has shifted or the arm brackets are worn, we address that as part of the same written quote. The motor swap itself is usually two to three hours on site.

Every repair carries our 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If the motor or our work fails within a year, we return and fix it at no charge. That’s not a marketing line. It’s the Garrison Standard, and it’s been the way we work since 2008.

DIY or Call Us?

If your Linear system is dead, there are two things worth checking before you call: the breaker on the gate circuit, and the condition of the battery in the remote. Those are homeowner-level checks, and they rule out the simplest causes.

The motor itself is not a DIY replacement for most people. Linear operators run on 115V or 230V, and the arm assembly holds tension that releases when you unbolt it. If you don’t back off the tension properly, that arm can swing with enough force to break fingers. The motor swap also requires setting travel limits and testing the entrapment protection, and if the limit is set wrong, the gate can close on a car or a person. We do this work on Dallas gates every week, and we still treat every single one like it could bite us.

If you’d rather not find out the hard way, call us at (940) 531-9746. A real person answers, day or night, and we’ll schedule a time that works.

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