Linear Gate Motor Replacement Nationwide

Linear Gate Motor Replacement: The McKinney Owner’s Guide

Linear gate motor replacement in McKinney typically runs $750 to $1,450 installed, depending on the swing or slide configuration and whether we’re swapping the operator only or the full motor-and-arm assembly. Most Linear replacements are completed in a single visit, and we keep common Linear swing and slide motors stocked on the truck for the residential models we see most across Collin County. You’ll usually know it’s the motor when the gate hums but won’t move, trips its breaker repeatedly, or moves in jerks while the arm stays solid.

Call (430) 226-4507

The giveaway is almost never subtle. A homeowner hits the remote and gets a low grunt from the motor housing, or the gate starts and stalls at the same spot every time, or the unit simply sits silent while the keypad still beeps. Linear builds solid boards into their operators, so when the motor itself goes, the control board often still works fine, which tricks people into replacing the wrong part first. Before you order anything online, let’s make sure we’ve matched the right motor to your exact Linear model, because the gotchas are real and the part numbers are not interchangeable across series.

Which Linear Models This Applies To

We handle Linear motor replacement across the residential lineup: the LRA and LR series linear actuators, the APeX swing gate operators, the old LDO series, and the slide-gate motors like the SL and GSL lines. If your gate has a Linear badge and a motor that has died, we can match it. The trick with Linear is the actuator stroke length. LRA models came in 10-inch, 12-inch, and 16-inch strokes, and a 12-inch actuator will not do the job of a 16-inch unit on a long gate leaf, no matter how well it bolts up. Measure the silver cylinder from end cap to end cap while the gate is closed and note the label color; early LRA models had silver labels, later revisions went to a white sticker with the stroke printed in millimeters.

On the OEM versus aftermarket question for Linear specifically: we prefer genuine Linear motors or the direct Linear-blessed replacements because the limit switch cams and the control board are tuned to the original motor’s RPM and draw. A generic actuator that fits the bracket but draws half an amp more than the board expects will cook the relay over a Texas summer. We stock both OEM Linear motors and a short list of aftermarket equivalents we have tested across McKinney installs, and we’ll tell you plainly which makes sense for your gate’s age and how long you plan to keep the house.

One honest note: Ironworks Gate Co. is an independent gate service company. We are not affiliated with Linear or its parent company. We stock and install Linear parts because our customers own Linear gates, not because the factory sends us a check.

Signs Your Linear Gate Motor Replacement Is Failing

• The gate hums but does not move. The motor is getting power and trying to turn, but the internal gear train or the capacitor has failed. On Linear slide motors, this is often the capacitor; on LRA actuators, it’s usually the internal drive gear stripped or the clutch worn smooth.
• The gate moves in short, jerky lurches. The motor is binding internally, or the limit switch cams have drifted so the board keeps cutting power at the wrong moment. A failing Linear motor often jerks worse in cold weather, and McKinney owners notice it first on January mornings.
• The breaker trips when the gate runs. A dying motor pulls more amperage than the circuit allows, and the board’s overload protection will start tripping even on a gate that used to run fine. If the breaker only trips mid-swing and the gate resets after a cool-down, the motor windings are cooking themselves.
• The gate stops halfway and the remote won’t restart it for a minute or two. The thermal overload inside the Linear motor is kicking in. That’s the motor protecting itself from a load it can no longer handle. It will keep working like this, worse each week, until it stops entirely.
• There’s a burning or hot-metal smell after the gate runs. The motor windings are overheating, and on Linear units the motor housing will be noticeably hot to the touch within minutes. If you smell that smell, stop using the gate and call us; running it further can take out the control board too, and then the repair bill doubles.

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

For McKinney residential gates, most Linear motor replacements run between $750 and $1,450 fully installed. The range comes down to what we’re replacing: a Linear SL slide motor runs on the lower end, while a full LRA actuator assembly with the arm and mounting hardware sits higher. The price you’re quoted is the price on the invoice, and it’s settled before we turn a bolt.

Every Linear motor replacement includes the motor or actuator itself, mounting hardware and any coupling or chain work needed, a full limit-switch and force-setting recalibration, and a test cycle count of at least ten full open-and-close runs. We set the force low enough to stop on a child’s bicycle and high enough to close against a McKinney north wind. The work is covered by our printed 90-Day Done Right Promise: if it isn’t right, we come back and make it right, no paperwork, no arguing. Victor Salinas has stood behind that promise on every gate motor we have hung in Collin County.

DIY or Call Us?

There are a few things a homeowner can safely check before calling: confirm the breaker hasn’t tripped, verify the remote battery isn’t dead, and visually scan for an obstruction on the track or a disconnected power wire at the motor. That’s the honest DIY list for a Linear motor replacement. Everything past that is where the danger lives.

Linear actuators run on 24V but carry real amperage, and a gate leaf weighs several hundred pounds. The spring tension and pinch points around a swing gate arm will break fingers, and a slide gate motor that fires while your hands are inside the chain run can do worse. We have seen the injuries. If the motor has failed, the repair is not a YouTube project; it’s a job for a tech who has done it a hundred times and carries the right Linear motor on the truck. If your gate is dead in McKinney today, call us at (430) 226-4507 and we’ll get it moving again.

FAQs