How To Replace Garage Door Torsion Spring Tutorial

Very common garage door failure problem is broken overhead spring. Although a garage door opening system is a well engineered multiple component system, where torsion spring force compensates most weight of moving garage door. This, well thought out, setup is also combined of many separate parts, that can be replaced and repaired individually. This guide is for overhead garage doors with single torsion tube.

Safety And Tools
Just like in most home repair project a safety glasses is a must. They will keep your eyes protected in case of tool slipping and falling from your hand while working above garage door. Do not attempt this repair without proper spring winding bars. It is very important to get proper winding bars that fit your springs well, to safely unwind and wind springs. A set of vice grips is needed to secure and lock a torsion shaft in place when setting garage door cables. To loosen and tighten springs and drums you will need wrenches. A standard 9/16” wrench and 7/16” wrench should be sufficient for a door with most common torsion springs. And finally a good sturdy ladder is need to complete spring replacement. If you can not reach the ceiling of your garage when standing on stepladder , then you will need taller ladder. You want to make sure you are standing high enough to work on upper parts safely.
Before grab any tools , unplug the garage door opener and release opener by pulling a rope.

Determine The failure and the cause
Inspect your garage door springs. Check how many springs there are in your system. In some cases the torsion spring breaks often because it handles too much load and there is only one spring installed where there really should be two springs. Any door that is size 16 by 7 or larger always should have two springs installed. You may find some doors operating with just one torsion spring. We recommend to upgrade and install two springs for safety and longer life of your garage door opener.
A broken spring is a very obvious problem. In some cases when you don’t have a broken spring, but your door is not working properly, there could be a weak spring or a spring that has gotten loose and has to be winded properly. To check this, you will have to manually lift your door about 3 feet and pay attention to what happens. Properly balanced door should stay at the point where it was released, it does not raise up or fall down.
A falling down door means there is a problem with your spring or other hardware. Lifting door up should not be hard, if it is hard to you to lift door, that means your door opener is also working harder than it should and will wear out quicker.

Maintain safe working distance
A ladder should be placed at the spot where there is no spring above, just empty torsion tube. Never align yourself next to the spring when unwinding or winding springs. The best and safest spot is to stand on the ladder where you are looking the end of the spring. The torsion shaft should be at your eye level and the end of the spring should be 12-15 inches away from your face. You should comfortably reach hardware and insert torsion bars with your hands.

Unwind old springs
Insert a winding bar in to the end hole of the spring and hold it with one hand while using other hand to loosen spring bolts. You will feel pressure in your winding bar as soon as you release the 7/16” bolts.
Slowly unwind the spring with quarter turns. Do it slowly by inserting winding bars ¼ turn at the time. Most spring are wand about 30 times, that means 30 quarter turns. After spring has been completely unwound, the cables should become completely loose.

Inspect and mark torsion shaft
It is a good idea and practice to make some marking on the torsion tube before you start loosening the parts. With a permanent marker you may want to mark the spots where the cable drums are placed. This will help you install cable ends correctly. Inspect the torsion tube for any grinding marks or cuts.
Remove cables drums and spring from shaft
To remove springs from torsion tube you will need to remove cable drums first. In the middle of the shaft there is a center brace/ bracket that support torsion shaft and where ends of springs are attached. Unscrew the spring and loosen drum bolts to allow springs to slide of the shaft. When all loose you should be able to slide torsion tube to one side and pull it out of the end bearing plate. Remove broken torsion spring and place it away from your work area to prevent injury.

Compare old and new springs
Even if you are very sure you ordered correct parts and ready to install them, measuring and close comparing old springs to new springs is always a good idea. Measure the length and loop count on each spring and make sure they are identical.

Correct spring and drum markings
Torsion springs come with painted ends in different color. The spring with red end goes on the left side and spring with black paint goes on the right side.
To be on the same page we need to identify which side is which. When inside your garage and looking in to outside left hand side is left and your right is right. Slide new springs on to the shaft. Also do not forget to install spring bearing in between springs at the center bracket. The end drums are usually market with color paint just like the springs. On the right side there is cable drum marked with black paint and right side has a drum market with red.

Install new springs and torsion hardware parts
After you slide new springs, center bearing and drums back on to the torsion shaft, you can install shaft back in to end bearing plate. If at any point if you don’t feel confident or not sure what is the next step, don’t hesitate to call us at Fixit Garage door repair San Diego for service or advice 858-848-1181. Start by securing torsion springs to the center bracket with bolts. Before tightening springs to the center bracket make sure the tube is not bent and it is sitting straight evenly spaced from the wall.
Connect the door cables back to the drums and start wrapping the cable around the drum. Wrap it up to the point where there is no more loose cable and the cable is not caught in any hinges or rollers of the door. Apply slight pressure to the drum with your hand until cable is straight and under tension, then tighten drum bolts.

Wind up new springs
For your reference: the springs are usually takes one full revolution (4 winds or 4 quarter turns) for every 1 foot of the door height. For most 7 feet height residential garage doors it takes about 7 full revolutions or 28 – 30 winds / quarter turns. At the end of winding one spring, secure it with bolts to the torsion shaft and continue to the next one.

Inspect, adjust other parts
By now you should have your garage door moving up and down smoothly. Still there are a few small steps to inspect before you will connect your door opener. When door is fully open , take a look at the cables on the side of your door. The cables should be under tension and not loose when garage door is fully open. Loose cable will jump of the drum cause door to fall and come of the track. To fix loose cables you will have to put more winds on the springs or perhaps you are using springs of incorrect size.
Garage door lubrication is very important. A properly lubricated garage door will last longer and makes less noise. Use WD-40 and petroleum grease to lube bearings and rollers.

Reconnect opener trolley
After you inspected the cables and the springs you can plug in the door opener and connect trolley to the door by pushing the button. Test and wash your door in automatic mode for any abnormal behavior.