Do it Yourself Garage Door Repair: Replacing the Broken Torsion Spring
If you choose to do it yourself this article will hopefully provide some insight into what is involved. Older larger garage doors operate under this torsion spring system. If you decide to leave this repair job to the professional it’s probably a good idea. Doing this repair yourself can result in major headaches, additional costs as well as be a major safety concern.
My decision to do my own repairs was made more by my location and the inability to find a local repair company or individual…
A Typical Situation
My own issue was a 16 ft wide by 7 ft high heavy wooden door. The left spring on the garage door broke suddenly. This caused a major problem immediately as the cables jumped their pulleys and the door partial jumped its rail. The door jammed up and bent the rails.
Ordering the New Spring(s)
The first thing you need to do is find a replacement spring. The recommendation is to replace both springs at the same time. The life cycle of the unbroken one is probably past its prime unless you just built the garage.
After checking a few local hardware stores it was obvious the springs in stock were too small and built for smaller and lighter doors. The next thing I did was check the Internet and still had little luck finding advertised prices. Finally I sent an e-mail to a company that had worked on our doors at work but with a different setup.
They asked me to take the following measurements to help them with sizing: the total length of both pieces of broken spring (not the unbroken one still under torsion), inside diameter of a spring and the length of 20 coils of the broken spring. An important note here is you may also want the weight of your door if you think the original springs were improper in the first place.
Checking for Other Problems.
Check the current conditions of the cables and pulleys. I recommend changing the cables if they are beginning to look worn or frayed. In addition check the support bar over, check for indentations and burrs. Removing these problems now will assist in putting everything back together properly later.
Ensure the door is level and repair any areas of the actual door that look stressed. My own wooden door required a little extra bracing where some wood appeared to have cracked or was coming apart. In addition the spacing of the rails should be checked. The screws should also be tightened and the rollers checked over.
Installing the Springs and Door
Ensure you place the springs back on properly and tighten down to the middle support. Remember there is a left and right side to a pair of springs. If you’re existing door was working properly before check which way the spring coil turned before removal. Replace with the new spring coil in the identical position.
The door should now be leveled and straightened again if required .Cables should be placed around the pulleys and tightened in the taut position. You may require a second person to assist at this point.
Warning: Proceed with Caution
The next step is where you enter the danger zone. Proper tools are very important at this point. Ensure you have 2 properly sized metal bars that fit in the openings used to put tension on the spring. These bars should be made of solid steel or rebar and cut at an easy to work with length that avoids hitting obstructions near the ceiling. Screwdrivers are not recommended as an alternative.
Ensure you have all the equipment and tools at hand and they are easily accessible at this point. This includes 2 bars, and your proper sized wrenching for tightening the screws down.
The bars in the springs should now be turned away from you a specific number of turns. Having two bars allows you to brace a bar against the door to alternate turning the spring. I recommend taking turns on each spring with 3 full turns at a time each. Check the door now by lifting it and test for the uplift force it takes to get the door opening. The door should lift to approximately the middle of the garage door opening and stay in that position to be properly adjusted. My own personal garage door took 7 turns each.
Now slowly push the door up to its maximum height and once again feel if the cables are taut. They should be at this point. If not try tightening the springs another �½ to a whole turn and test again.
Very Important to Test and Recheck
This is where difficulty can happen thinking the job is complete. I know this is where I ran into more problems. After putting the door up the cables became loose again and jumped the pulley because my assistant did not tighten the right pulley enough. This caused the door to bind and really bend the rails. The door once again became jammed and was very dangerous when getting it back down. The pulleys must be loosened again leaving you at the mercy of the weight of the door. Lower the door and begin the whole set up again.
Final Words of Advice
I may feel comfortable doing this again but I would really check the price a professional estimates. There are many pinch points and abilities for spring loaded action. Be very cautious. Remember this article was not written by a professional repairman. I am only relaying my experience so you can make informed decision on your home garage door repairs. Good Luck.
