How To Repair Garage Door Spring Cable

How to Repair Garage Door Springs and Cables

Supersede springs and cables—safely.

Fourth dimension

A full day

Complexity

Advanced

Toll

$101–250

Introduction

Learn how to repair overhead garage door springs and cables—without winding up in the emergency room. Follow along as a pro explains how information technology'southward washed.

Tools Required

Materials Required

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

Earlier you practise this garage door spring repair yourself…

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

What does a garage door tension bound practise?

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

Tin can you repair a garage door tension bound yourself?

If you utilise the correct tools and follow our instructions, yous can rebuild the entire torsion spring system in merely a few hours, without any side trips to the ER. Nosotros won't cover how to replace garage door extension spring systems in this story. Simply we'll prove yous garage door bound replacement on the more common torsion springs, the kind that mount on a bar above the garage door.

Depending on where you lot live, doing this garage door bound replacement job yourself might relieve you $200 or more than. And so again, it might salve y'all less than $fifty. Then earlier y'all spend several hours fixing your garage door, it'south a good idea to gather a few professional person estimates for garage door spring replacement.

First your garage door jump replacement project by getting a crude measurement of your springs (length and bore). Then measure the width and height of your door. Make sure the quote includes the trip accuse, parts and labor. Then enquire for a price based on seven×nineteen elevator cables and double-life springs. Those items will requite you more years of service and should but add $65 to the toll.

Figure A: Garage Door Elevator System

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To help elevator a heavy garage door, the springs apply twisting strength to the torsion tube. Drums at the ends of the tube act as reels, winding upwards the cables connected to the door. The near common problems with this arrangement are broken springs or cables. Smaller doors often have just ane jump.

Project step-by-step (15)

Step one

Lock down the door

Clamp the door to the track

Clench a locking pliers or a C-clamp to the runway just above i of the rollers. This volition prevent the door from shooting up and breaking your olfactory organ when you wind the new springs during an overhead garage door repair. Also yank the cord and unplug the garage door opener before you lot start whatever garage door spring repair.

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• NEVER utilize screwdrivers, pin punches or pliers handles to wind or unwind a torsion leap. Trust us: This is the all-time style to wind upwardly in the infirmary. Don't even retrieve about doing this task without a proper set of winding bars. Yous can buy a set of professional hardened-steel winding bars for about $25 from online suppliers. (Garagedoorpartsusa.com and stardoorparts.com are two online sources that sell winding bars, springs and other parts.) Professional winding confined work with i/2-in. and 7/16-in. winding cones. If your winding cones have ane/two-in. openings, you can make your own winding bars past cutting a 36-in. length of ane/two-in.-diameter round bar stock in half (buy round bar stock from whatever hardware or abode center). Only file a smooth bevel on each end so information technology slides into the winding cone holes easier.
• Position your ladder to the side of the spring ends then you lot're never directly in front end of the spring cones when they're winding or unwinding.
• Go on the garage door opener asunder from power at all times, and lock the door in the lowered position, especially when you're winding the springs.
• Article of clothing eye protection and leather gloves throughout the garage door spring replacement project.
• Step off the ladder and motion it off to the side before unclamping the door and testing the balance. Never test a door while you lot're standing on the ladder.

Stride 2

Loosen the unbroken spring

Apply the winding bar

Shove a winding bar into a bottom pigsty of the winding cone of the expert leap. Hold the bar in place while you loosen the two setscrews. Hang on tight; the spring will button with powerful torque as the screws release.

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Step 3

Unwind the unbroken spring

Utilize two winding confined

Insert the second winding bar into the pigsty at the nine:00 position. Remove the lesser bar and unwind the spring a quarter turn at a time, leapfrogging the winding bars with each turn.

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Step four

Disconnect the springs from the center subclass

Remove the basics and bolts

Remove the two nuts and bolts that fasten the stationary spring cones to the center bracket. Then slide the springs toward the end brackets.

If Your Car is Trapped

If a spring or cable breaks while your cars are parked within, the garage door won't open and you'll exist stranded. Getting emergency evening or weekend service from a garage door professional person tin can easily cost $400. All the same, if you can get your vehicles out of the garage, y'all can postpone the repair to get normal weekday repair rates.

If you desire to exercise the repair yourself, go several phone estimates start, because rates vary widely among service companies. Most garage doors are heavy (200 to 300 lbs.), so call in iii potent friends to assist you elevator the door and agree information technology open up while you lock it in the full raised position with a locking pliers. Then move your vehicles and accept your friends help you lower the door.

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Step 5

Secure the torsion tube

Utilize locking pliers

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

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Step 6

Remove the old spring

Slide the torsion tube over

Starting on the left side of the door, slide the torsion tube to the right and so you can remove the cable drum. Then slide the old spring off the tube.

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Step 7

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Calculate the wire diameter

Grab a tape measure and printing the hook between ii spring coils and annotation the length of 20 coils. Then measure xl coils. Catechumen the measurements to a decimal (four-i/2 in. to 4.v in., or 4-1/8 to iv.125, for case). Divide the 2 measurements by xx and twoscore to obtain the spring's wire diameter. Hither'due south an example: four.l divided by twenty = .225-in. wire diameter; ix.0 divided by 40 = .225-in. wire diameter. If the two results friction match, you've measured correctly.

Determine the "hand" of the spring

View the end of each spring to determine its wind direction, or "paw." If the stop of the jump is pointing upward on the right, it's a right-paw current of air. If the end is pointing up on the left, it'southward a left-hand wind. Doors with ii springs volition ever have a left- and a right-paw bound.

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Measure out the inner diameter and length

Mensurate the inner diameter of the broken spring equally shown. Loosen the setscrews on the broken spring and slide the cleaved portion over to run into the stationary section. Measure the overall length of the springs (not including the cones).

Almost dwelling centers don't carry all the replacement parts you lot'll demand for garage door spring replacement, and nigh garage door service companies won't sell y'all springs. So yous may have to order the parts online and wait for the shipment to arrive. Garagedoorpartsusa.com and stardoorparts.com are two online sources . First, inspect the status of your cables and brackets. If you run across whatsoever frayed strands on the cables or rust on the bottom brackets, replace them now before they fail. Bottom brackets cost well-nigh $fifteen per set. Premium-quality cables (listed as "7x19") last much longer than economy cables and cost merely about $four more. So information technology'southward smart to purchase the better cables for almost $12 per set.

Standard torsion springs (about $40 each) accept a service life of 7,000 to x,000 open/close cycles. However, you can purchase double-life (25,000 cycles) replacement springs for about $65 per spring. If you accept a two-leap setup and one spring breaks, the second spring will intermission soon. So supplant them both at the same time. To get the correct springs for your door, you'll take to provide the supplier some details. Here's how:

Step 8

Install the left spring

Reassemble, and so hang on the begetting bracket

Slide the new torsion spring replacement onto the torsion tube with the stationary cone facing the middle bracket. Then reinstall the cablevision drum with the garage door wire. Reinsert the torsion bar into the left-side bearing bracket.

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Step 9

Install a new center bearing

Connect stationary cones to the bracket

Shove the torsion bar to the left, then slide on the center bearing. Install the correct jump and button the begetting into the stationary cone. Reinstall the drum as shown in Photograph 7. Connect both stationary cones to the center subclass.

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Pace x

Replace the bottom brackets, rollers and lift cables

Bargain with rusted parts at present

Snap the elevator cablevision loop over the pivot on the new bottom bracket. Insert the new roller. And so swap in the new lesser brackets and cables.

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Stride 11

Thread the cables

Anchor the cable in the slot

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

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Step 12

Tighten the drums

Make the tension equal

Snap a locking pliers onto the torsion tube to lock it into identify while you tighten the drums. Rotate the drum to current of air the cable into the winding grooves. Pull the cable as tight every bit possible earlier 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 will open unevenly.

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Step 13

Current of air the garage door tension springs

Follow the spring suppliers recommendations

Slide a winding bar into the cone and wind toward the ceiling. Turn the spring a quarter turn at a time, leapfrogging the winding confined as you get. Follow the spring supplier's recommendations for the total number of turns. If you didn't get a recommendation, perform 30 quarter turns for a 7-ft.-alpine door and 36 quarter turns for an 8-ft.-alpine door.

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Step fourteen

Stretch the springs

Tap the winding bar

With the leap 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 one-one-half to three-quarters turn. Tightening the screws beyond that point tin puncture or distort the torsion tube.

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Step xv

Lubricate the bound

Use a garage door lubricant

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

Finish With a Test of the Garage Door Tension Spring

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

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Meet the pro

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

Originally Published: February 18, 2022

How To Repair Garage Door Spring Cable,

Source: https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/advanced-garage-overhead-door-repairs/

Posted by: hareouste1951.blogspot.com

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