Which garage door torsion spring

[blupupher]

I paid like $120 to have mine replaced by a pro, and he checked the rest of the door hardware while there.
The cost was more than reasonable compared to the risk, and while I do most home maintenance stuff myself, this was one I left to the pros.

 

[stockrex]

$200 approx. to replace both springs, I will go with a pro this time, too many distractions.

I am not afraid to tackle this but I rather not given the timeline.

I follow real simple rules, never rush, never be over confident and no when to quit.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: bradepb
I don't have an answer but my son has the same problem, 1 broken torsion spring. I have always heard it's best left to a pro to torque that spring up correctly without braining yourself. I will be interested to see the reply's you get. You-tube has videos on how to do it but....


My dad got a big hit on the head years ago and end up with 2 stitches in ER when he tried to do it himself. He was only using a screw driver, instead of 2 sticks approach that the pro uses (and don't stand right in front of the stick).

 

[AdRock]

I had a spring break on mine and thought about doing it myself. But when I weighed the cost of having someone do it against the possible cost if I got hurt.... well I paid someone to do it.

It's a solid wood door that's 18ft wide. It still had the setup with a spring on each end rather than together in the center. Found a guy here locally that did a great job. He changed them to both being in the center.

I paid around $300. For that he changed the setup, put on 2 new springs (the door was so heavy he had to order heavier than normal springs), and replaced all the wheels on both sides with some heavy duty nylon coated wheels. That monstrosity of a door now goes up and down very easily and quiet as a whisper. Money well spent in my opinion.

 

[Number_35]

I've changed several pairs of these. Mine are the double torsion springs over the door.

I put a grease pencil line across both new springs before they're tensioned. Then, as the spring is tightened, the straight line turns into a series of diagonal lines.

By counting the diagonals, you can determine whether you've turned both springs equally. (This only works on two identical springs of course, which is why I replace them both.)

There is the potential for injury when dealing with so much potential energy - be safe!

 

[spasm3]

I have done this with the 2 metal bar method on an 18ft garage door, but it is very dangerous, the stored energy is tremendous. Think it all out ahead of time, and if you are not sure at all, get someone to do it for you.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: stockrex
$200 approx. to replace both springs, I will go with a pro this time, too many distractions.

I am not afraid to tackle this but I rather not given the timeline.

I follow real simple rules, never rush, never be over confident and no when to quit.


Sounds about right.

When I had mine done, I had intended to have just the two springs replaced. I didn't realize my cables were in bad shape as was pretty much everything else associated with it. The pro replaced everything but the tracks and rollers with the door closed. Had to I suppose, given the weight of this door. My roller wheels aren't in great shape, but they're doing their job for now. This door is from 1972 or so.

 

[xfactor9]

Replacing torsion springs isn't difficult. You have to use winding bars (ahem not a screwdriver). There are some good DIY videos out there. If you know how to do an oil change or rotate your tires, then you can replace a torsion spring. It's no more dangerous or difficult

The warnings you hear about potential death are overblown. Driving a car can get you killed, too..

 

[xfactor9]

Originally Posted By: slug_bug
I personally know someone who seems to have reasonable mechanical skills that almost died doing this job. On ladder, slipped, tension tool gashed arm, fell off ladder. If a neighbor hadn't randomly stopped by and found him unconscious he might have bled to death. He made a full recovery with no long term side effects. Might be worth having a pro do the job if you aren't real confident.


How did the neighbor randomly walk into his house/garage? Torsion springs must be replaced with the garage door closed

 

[spasm3]

I also know someone who had no clue what he was doing, he loosened a cable that was under tenstion from the spring, it tore the rest of the way loose and tore a line across his face. He almost lost an eye.