How do you fix a broken garage door spring?

Answer 1

You will probably get hurt. There are two kinds of springs for garage doors. They either are on the front wall of the garage or along the top side tracks. Either kind has it's own set of risks. For the stretch kind, raise the door and clamp a pair of vice grip type pliers on the track under the bottom rollor so the door cannot come down. Most spring will be hooked into an eye bolt or S hook at the back end where the track attaches to the ceiling. Simply unhook the spring and replace. You will need to switch the pully on the other end of the spring to the new one. Once this is done re attach to eye bolt or S hook. Make sure the cables are in place and not twisted. For the one's on the front of the door it is more complicated. If unfamilar with them I would advise having a professional do it. There is a very real risk of injury if not done correctly. There are enough variables in how these springs are installed and tightened that I do not think it should be attempted by the inexperenced. The wrong move will loose you a finger or worse

Answer 2

There are two major types of residential springs, extension and torsion. Torsion springs are above the door when the door is in the down position, and extension springs are on the sides of the door and stretch out.

Torsion Springs

On most standard residential torsion springs you will need to first fabricate a tool called a winding bar. Your local hardware store will carry 1/2" cold rolled steel bars in 36" lengths. Cut the 36" piece of steel to 18". You have just manufactured winding bars. With the door in the down position, place a set of vice grips around the 1" bar that runs through the spring, with the tightening nut above the spring on the wall. Insert the winding bar into the cone of the torsion spring, and remove the set screws while supporting the winding bar. *** There is generally 100-200 lbs of force that will be released from the door to the winding bar once you release the set screws, BE CAREFUL! Only add 1/2 to 3/4 complete revolutions to the spring, if you have to add more the spring is wrong, or bad. tighten the set screws 1 full revolution once you feel contact with the 1" bar that runs through the spring. If you over tighten the set screws, you can cause the spring to be stuck on the torsion bar preventing future spring replacement. Extract the winding bars and test the door.

Extension Springs

Place the door in the up position and secure the door in the up position by applying 2 vice grips to the tracks on the lower side of the rollers (both sides of the door). Follow the cable that runs from the pulley that is attached to the spring and is tied into a knot on the horizontal tracks. Release the knot, and pull 3-4" and retie the same knot that was removed. Repeat for the other side. Release the vice grips and stand in the middle of the door, and lower manually. If you did not tie the exact knot that was removed the springs will shoot off and likely damage the door, your car, or punch a hole in the sheet rock near the spring.

Do not attempt the above repairs unless you are a professional!

Answer 3

If you have stretch springs on each side of the track, they are fairly easy to replace. Raise the door all the way up and clamp a vice grip on the track below the bottom roller. Clamping it on one side is enough to hold the door up. Take the spring loose at the back end where it attaches to the support bracket. You will have to switch the pulley on the front of the spring to the new one. Reattach the spring to the support and do the other side. Make sure the cable in not twisted when you put it back up.

When the spring is extended when the door is down, if the spaces between the coils of the spring are not even, it is getting weak in those areas and will break in the near future.

If the spring is on a rod above the door opening at the front of the garage, this type is a little more dangerous and should probably be done by someone who has done it before. If you slip when winding the spring, you can lose a finger or some other part of your body.

Answer 4

When installing a garage door torsion spring, certain questions need to be asked. Do you have the required skills to do the job or would you rather hire a professional to do the job properly.

Answer 5

Buy a new one and get it replaced.