Replacing garage door springs

[AZjeff]

Pushed the button on the opener Wednesday morning, the door went up a foot then back down. Hmm. Tried again same thing. Took a closer look and saw the problem. Crap.

Checked around town and couldn't find the right springs so Amazon it was. They came Friday evening, this morning wife helped me get the door up and the truck out and the door back down. 1 hour later got a properly adjusted working door again . Here's the new vs old, the old springs had lost 1 revolution of tension in 6 years, I adjusted had them one time. Lots of guys won't touch replacing them but it's just a matter of paying attention and being deliberate while winding them up and staying out of the projectile zone. Had to add 3/4 revolution more wind than what was noted for the 8x16 foot door. Plenty of videos on YouTube. I've replaced extension and torsion springs before so this wasn't new ground. Cheated death once again.

 

[dishdude]

Had the same thing happen a few months ago, I was sitting at my desk and heard a loud and odd noise. Looked around and then it hit me...opened the door to the garage and immediately saw the problem.

Ended up calling a company whose trucks I had seen previously in the neighborhood. They just happened to be down the street, they were over in 10 mins and done in less than an hour.

I felt lazy not DIY, but it just happened at a moment that I didn't feel like dealing with it. Worst part is, I had planned to replace them (bought a set of winding rods and all) but just never got around to it.

As long as you use winding rods and don't try to use a couple of screwdrivers, it's perfectly safe.

 

[AZjeff]

The springs came with winding rods and gloves to keep your hands clean!

 

[George7941]

While I am not in the garage door business, I will replace springs if my customers ask me to. I have replaced many over the years.

Most garage door companies will not sell springs to people not in the business, a couple of companies in Toronto do. They are also considerably less expensive than Amazon

 

[dishdude]

While I am not in the garage door business, I will replace springs if my customers ask me to. I have replaced many over the years.

Most garage door companies will not sell springs to people not in the business, a couple of companies in Toronto do. They are also considerably less expensive than Amazon

Well of course, they want the labor revenue!

 

[johnmyster]

When I did mine, I learned that the trick is to accomplish both:

1) Sufficient turns of preload that the cables still have tension on them when the door is fully opened. Else, the cables jump off the pully and you have a big mess.
2) Not so much preload that the door is out of balance.

It all presumes that the correct spring to accomplish this was installed the first time and that you can find an exact replacement.

 

[AZjeff]

Recommended to always replace both springs. I picked the first YT video by a garage door company to refresh how to do it and it was dead simple to do and pretty hard to be unbalanced with 2 new springs.

 

[JTK]

I just sprayed mine down with some fluid film the other day. Not sure if this helps the lifespan, but I'm going on a good 8-9yrs on the pair on my old 8x16 wooden door. Last time one snapped, I had both replaced. Some time later, I had a cable snap and pretty much had all the hardware replaced at that time as it was 40+ years old. Both visits IIRC, were about $500 combined.

 

[Donald]

Pushed the button on the opener Wednesday morning, the door went up a foot then back down. Hmm. Tried again same thing. Took a closer look and saw the problem. Crap.
View attachment 243896
Checked around town and couldn't find the right springs so Amazon it was. They came Friday evening, this morning wife helped me get the door up and the truck out and the door back down. 1 hour later got a properly adjusted working door again . Here's the new vs old, the old springs had lost 1 revolution of tension in 6 years, I adjusted had them one time. Lots of guys won't touch replacing them but it's just a matter of paying attention and being deliberate while winding them up and staying out of the projectile zone. Had to add 3/4 revolution more wind than what was noted for the 8x16 foot door. Plenty of videos on YouTube. I've replaced extension and torsion springs before so this wasn't new ground. Cheated death once again.
View attachment 243897

Take a chip paint brush and paint oil onto the springs.

 

[Urshurak776]

I'll be honest. I don't have the gonads to do that job.

Nope..........

 

[KrisZ]

Nice! This reminds me that I should probably treat my springs with some oil to prevent rust.

 

[SHOZ]

I originally had a wooden sectional door. Replaced it with an aluminum one. A lot lighter. But I kept the old springs. That was a mistake as it tore up the hanging rail alignment and when one broke, busted the 2x4 that it was hanging from.

Tore it all apart and couple years go and shored it all up. And got the correct springs. They say the door should sit half way up with the springs loaded and free to ride the rail.

 

[shortyb]

I learned how to replace and preload door springs correctly some years back from a professional door technician. He also taught me some of the tricks for winding cable drums to keep the door in balance correctly. Once I did a couple (including my own again), I serviced about a dozen doors in the neighborhood when the springs broke. Once you get past the fear of causing yourself serious harm if you rush, or don't pay attention, you can earn lots of payment in beer or bourbon .