How to Repair Garage Door Springs and Cables

Supersede springs and cables—safely.

Time

A full day

Complexity

Avant-garde

Price

$101–250

Introduction

Learn how to repair overhead garage door springs and cables—without winding up in the emergency room. Follow forth every bit a pro explains how it's done.

Tools Required

Materials Required

  • Bottom brackets
  • Double-life torsion springs
  • Elevator cables

Earlier y'all do this garage door spring repair yourself…

Lots of things tin can get incorrect with a garage door, and most are easy to prepare. But problems involving the garage door tension bound are more serious.

What does a garage door tension spring practise?

The garage door tension springs provide lifting force for the heavy door and are nether tremendous tension—become careless, and they can hurt you.

Can you repair a garage door tension bound yourself?

If y'all utilise the correct tools and follow our instructions, you tin rebuild the unabridged torsion spring organization in just a few hours, without any side trips to the ER. We won't comprehend how to replace garage door extension bound systems in this story. But we'll prove y'all garage door spring replacement on the more than mutual torsion springs, the kind that mount on a bar above the garage door.

Depending on where you live, doing this garage door spring replacement job yourself might save you $200 or more. Then once more, information technology might save y'all less than $l. So before you spend several hours fixing your garage door, it'southward a practiced idea to gather a few professional estimates for garage door jump replacement.

Start your garage door jump replacement project by getting a rough measurement of your springs (length and diameter). Then measure the width and top of your door. Make sure the quote includes the trip charge, parts and labor. So ask for a cost based on vii×nineteen elevator cables and double-life springs. Those items will give you more years of service and should only add $65 to the toll.

Figure A: Garage Door Lift System

garage door lift system diagram Family unit Handyman

To help lift a heavy garage door, the springs employ twisting strength to the torsion tube. Drums at the ends of the tube act every bit reels, winding upwardly the cables connected to the door. The most mutual issues with this system are broken springs or cables. Smaller doors often have but i bound.

Project step-by-step (15)

Step ane

Lock down the door

Clench the door to the runway

Clamp garage door to the track

Clamp a locking pliers or a C-clamp to the rails just above one of the rollers. This will prevent the door from shooting up and breaking your nose when you wind the new springs during an overhead garage door repair. Also yank the cord and unplug the garage door opener before you start any garage door jump repair.

Play it Super Condom When Doing Garage Door Jump Repair!

garage door repair safety attire

  • NEVER use screwdrivers, pivot punches or pliers handles to wind or unwind a torsion spring. Trust the states: This is the best manner to air current up in the hospital. Don't even think well-nigh doing this job without a proper set of winding bars. You can buy a set of professional hardened-steel winding bars for about $25 from online suppliers. (Garagedoorpartsusa.com and stardoorparts.com are ii online sources that sell winding confined, springs and other parts.) Professional winding bars work with 1/ii-in. and 7/xvi-in. winding cones. If your winding cones accept ane/2-in. openings, you can make your own winding bars by cut a 36-in. length of 1/2-in.-diameter round bar stock in one-half (buy round bar stock from any hardware or domicile middle). Simply file a smooth bevel on each end and so it slides into the winding cone holes easier.
  • Position your ladder to the side of the leap ends and then you're never directly in front of the jump cones when they're winding or unwinding.
  • Continue the garage door opener disconnected from power at all times, and lock the door in the lowered position, especially when y'all're winding the springs.
  • Wear eye protection and leather gloves throughout the garage door spring replacement project.
  • Stride off the ladder and move it off to the side before unclamping the door and testing the residue. Never exam a door while you're standing on the ladder.

Stride 2

Loosen the unbroken spring

Use the winding bar

how to place a winding bar

Shove a winding bar into a bottom pigsty of the winding cone of the good spring. Hold the bar in place while you lot loosen the ii setscrews. Hang on tight; the spring will push with powerful torque as the screws release.

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Step 3

Unwind the unbroken spring

Utilise two winding bars

inserting two winding bars

Insert the second winding bar into the hole at the 9:00 position. Remove the bottom bar and unwind the spring a quarter turn at a time, leapfrogging the winding confined with each plough.

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Footstep 4

Disconnect the springs from the center subclass

Remove the nuts and bolts

Removing nuts and bolts that fasten the stationary spring

Remove the two basics and bolts that spike the stationary bound cones to the eye subclass. Then slide the springs toward the terminate brackets.

If Your Automobile is Trapped

If a spring or cable breaks while your cars are parked inside, the garage door won't open and you'll be stranded. Getting emergency evening or weekend service from a garage door professional person can easily toll $400. Even so, if yous can become your vehicles out of the garage, you can postpone the repair to become normal weekday repair rates.

If yous want to do the repair yourself, become several phone estimates offset, because rates vary widely among service companies. Most garage doors are heavy (200 to 300 lbs.), so phone call in three strong friends to help you elevator the door and hold it open up while you lock information technology in the full raised position with a locking pliers. And so movement your vehicles and have your friends help you lower the door.

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Step 5

Secure the torsion tube

Employ locking pliers

Using locking pliers on garage door

Snap a locking pliers or a C-clamp onto the center bracket to hold the torsion tube in the bracket. Then loosen the setscrews on the left and right elevator cable drums and disconnect the elevator cables.

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Step half dozen

Remove the old spring

Slide the torsion tube over

Sliding the torsion tube

Starting on the left side of the door, slide the torsion tube to the correct then yous can remove the cable pulsate. Then slide the quondam spring off the tube.

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Footstep vii

Buying replacement parts

Calculate the wire bore

how to calculate the wire diameter

Take hold of a record mensurate and press the hook between two spring coils and notation the length of xx coils. And then measure out 40 coils. Catechumen the measurements to a decimal (four-ane/ii in. to iv.5 in., or 4-ane/eight to four.125, for instance). Divide the two measurements by xx and 40 to obtain the spring'south wire diameter. Hither's an example: 4.50 divided past 20 = .225-in. wire bore; 9.0 divided by 40 = .225-in. wire diameter. If the two results lucifer, you've measured correctly.

Determine the "hand" of the spring

left vs right hand wind of spring

View the end of each spring to make up one's mind its air current management, or "hand." If the end of the spring is pointing up on the right, it's a right-hand wind. If the end is pointing up on the left, it's a left-mitt current of air. Doors with two springs will always accept a left- and a correct-hand bound.

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Measure the inner diameter and length

how to measure the inner diameter of the broken spring

Measure the inner diameter of the cleaved jump equally shown. Loosen the setscrews on the broken bound and slide the broken portion over to meet the stationary section. Mensurate the overall length of the springs (non including the cones).

Virtually home centers don't carry all the replacement parts y'all'll need for garage door spring replacement, and most garage door service companies won't sell y'all springs. And so you may accept to society the parts online and wait for the shipment to arrive. Garagedoorpartsusa.com and stardoorparts.com are ii online sources . Start, inspect the status of your cables and brackets. If you see any frayed strands on the cables or rust on the bottom brackets, supercede them now before they fail. Lesser brackets cost almost $15 per set. Premium-quality cables (listed as "7x19") terminal much longer than economic system cables and price only virtually $iv more than. So it'due south smart to buy the better cables for well-nigh $12 per set.

Standard torsion springs (virtually $40 each) have a service life of 7,000 to x,000 open/shut cycles. However, you lot tin buy double-life (25,000 cycles) replacement springs for well-nigh $65 per leap. If you take a ii-bound setup and one spring breaks, the second jump will break shortly. So replace them both at the aforementioned time. To get the correct springs for your door, you'll have to provide the supplier some details. Here's how:

Stride viii

Install the left leap

Reassemble, then hang on the bearing bracket

Install the left spring

Slide the new torsion bound replacement onto the torsion tube with the stationary cone facing the center bracket. Then reinstall the cable pulsate with the garage door wire. Reinsert the torsion bar into the left-side bearing subclass.

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Pace 9

Install a new center begetting

Connect stationary cones to the bracket

Install a new center bearing

Shove the torsion bar to the left, and then slide on the middle bearing. Install the right spring and push the bearing into the stationary cone. Reinstall the drum every bit shown in Photo 7. Connect both stationary cones to the center subclass.

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Step 10

Supplant the bottom brackets, rollers and lift cables

Deal with rusted parts at present

how to replace the bottom brackets, rollers and lift cables

Snap the lift cable loop over the pin on the new bottom bracket. Insert the new roller. And then bandy in the new bottom brackets and cables.

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Step 11

Thread the cables

Ballast the cablevision in the slot

Thread the cables

Run the lift cables, or garage door wire, straight up between the rollers and the doorjamb. Slide the elevator cable finish through the slot on the drum.

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Step 12

Tighten the drums

Make the tension equal

Tighten the drums

Snap a locking pliers onto the torsion tube to lock it into place while you tighten the drums. Rotate the drum to current of air the cable into the winding grooves. Pull the cable as tight as possible before tightening the setscrews. Leave the locking pliers in place and repeat the tightening procedure on the other side. You want equal tension on both sides. Otherwise, the door volition open up unevenly.

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Step thirteen

Wind the garage door tension springs

Follow the spring suppliers recommendations

Wind the garage door tension springs

Slide a winding bar into the cone and wind toward the ceiling. Plow the spring a quarter plough at a time, leapfrogging the winding bars every bit you become. Follow the leap supplier's recommendations for the total number of turns. If yous didn't go a recommendation, perform 30 quarter turns for a 7-ft.-tall door and 36 quarter turns for an 8-ft.-tall door.

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Stride 14

Stretch the springs

Tap the winding bar

Stretch the springs

With the spring fully wound, tap the winding bar to stretch the spring out from the center about 1/4 in. before tightening the setscrews. Rotate the setscrews until they contact the torsion tube. And then tighten the screws a ane-half to three-quarters turn. Tightening the screws beyond that point tin can puncture or distort the torsion tube.

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Pace fifteen

Lubricate the spring

Utilise a garage door lubricant

Lubricate the garage door spring

Slide a piece of cardboard or paper grocery bag between the spring and the wall. Then saturate the spring with garage door lube spray. Wipe off the excess.

Stop With a Exam of the Garage Door Tension Spring

Remove the clamps and pliers from the torsion tube and track, and lift the door about 3 ft. by hand. If the door springs are properly adjusted, the door should stay in place when you let become. If the door falls when you permit go, add a quarter turn to each spring. Repeat if necessary. If the door continues to open on its own, release spring tension in quarter-plow increments until the door stays in identify when yous let go. And so reconnect the opener.

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See the pro

Tim Sweeney

Tim Sweeney, owner of TB Sweeney Repair, has 22 years of experience installing and repairing residential and commercial garage doors.