Having a working garage door is important for keeping the outside world out. Most garages work on a cable system that is wound up using springs to keep the tension. Common issues include tangled cables. Although dangerous, garage door spring repair can be carried out following expert instructions down to the letter.
Before you get started on the repair, you’re going to need a few things:
● 2 x cable
● 2 x cone
● Bottom brackets
● Cordless drill
● Hammer
● Wrench
● Winding bars
● Locking pliers
● Ratchet set
● Clamps
You need to make sure the door isn’t going to swing up and send you flying once the new springs are in place. To avoid this, take your clamps and clip them on the track just above the runners. Also, you may want to disconnect the opening cord by giving it a yank.
Take your winding bars, putting one of them through the hole in the bottom of the cone (start with the working side). Holding the bar in place, remove the screws on the cone. Brace yourself for impact as the spring will release powerful torque once they’re removed.
With the screws removed, place another winding bar in the hole at a 90-degree angle to the other. Remove the bottom winding bar and unwind the spring a quarter turn – and repeat until fully loosened.
In the center, there will be a bracket. You need to unscrew the bolts that attach the spring to the stationary cone. Once you’ve released these, slide the spring towards the end brackets.
You need to clamp the torsion tube to stop it slipping. Take your locking clamp and attach it to the central bracket to hold the tension. You can now proceed to remove the screws on the left and right cable drums and remove them.
Now, all you need to do before starting to replace the parts is slide the springs off the torsion cable. Start by removing one side, pushing the torsion cable in the opposite direction as you do.
Once you’ve got your new parts sorted out, it’s time to re-assemble. Start by sliding the new spring over the torsion bar (stationary cone facing the central bracket). Then, take the drum with the wire and attach it to the left-side bearing bracket.
For this stage, all you need to do is reinstall the stationary cones to the central bracket.
Take this opportunity to re-attach the bottom brackets and snap over the replacement cables. If you have any rusted parts at the bottom, replace them at this point.
Run the cable straight up between the rollers and doorjamb and slide the lift cable through the slot on the drum. Lock up the torsion tube and wind the cable up through the grooves – wind as tight as possible before replacing the screws.
Using the same method as step 3, but in the opposite direction, wind the tension springs as directed by the manufacturer.
Once the spring is fully wound up, take your hammer and stretch them out to about 1/4 inch. Then, replace the end cone screws around 1.5 turns.
Now that you’ve finished, take some quality lubricant and apply it to the tension springs and cables before testing the door (be sure to remove the ladder and yourself before you do).
Congratulations, you’ve successfully repaired your door and saved yourself a fortune in labor costs. Bear in mind that this project is dangerous and can cause severe injuries if not carried out correctly.
