Broken garage door torsion springs make it nearly impossible to use your garage door. If you want to replace the torsion spring on your door, read this first. It may save you a lot of time, money and potential injury. If your garage door uses a torsion spring, you will see a long, cylindrical spring attached to the metal shaft that runs across the front wall above your garage door. If yours is broken, you will likely see the spring separated into two pieces where the break occurred.

One end of the torsion spring is attached to a fixed mounting plate usually located above the center of the garage door frame, although some are mounted on the right or left side of the door see photo below. The other end of the spring is fitted with an adjustment collar that attaches to the shaft with one or more large set screws. If your garage door spring is broken, your garage door becomes very difficult to lift.

At each end of the shaft above the door there are round cable drums see photo to the right. Lift cables are attached to those drums and wrap or unwrap from around the drum as the garage door goes up or down. The lift cables run from the cable drums along the side of the garage door to the bottom of the door where they attach to the lift bracket.

The twisting force of the garage door spring turns the shaft and the cable drum, puts tension on the cables and helps lift the garage door. Depending on the size and type of your garage door, you may have one torsion spring or two mounted to the shaft above your door. Some are mounted in the center and some are mounted on the side, but they all do the same thing. They twist and help lift the door. Consequently, if the spring breaks, your garage door becomes very hard to lift.

Anything wound up that tight just bothers me. Plus, I would rather pay someone to do this job for me and spend my time rebuilding my barn. If you want to see how it is done, take a look at these instructions. I would rather get a referral to a reputable garage door repair company and let them do the job. Be certain you call around for price comparisons before making a hiring decision. Getting a referral from your friend, neighbor, or even your trusted real estate agent is a great way to go.

Some unscrupulous companies may charge several hundred dollars for this job, which takes about an hour for them to complete. Some companies believe their one hour of repair work is worth about the same as that of a surgeon. Depending on the size and weight of your door, a torsion spring may last from 3 or 4 years to 20 years or more. If a company tells you their springs have a lifetime warranty, you may end up paying a lot more for their service. Companies offering a lifetime warranty are banking on your not staying in the same home forever, and they charge extra for their work just to be certain they are covered if you do.

Some garage door torsion springs are easier than others to replace. At the end of the torsion spring there is a part called the winding cone. This is when injuries occur. Here is an example of a side-mounted garage torsion spring. According to Clopay, specialty tools are not needed and this alternative system makes a difficult and dangerous job easier and safer for do-it-yourselfers.

The Home Depot carries Clopay doors and might be a great place to ask a few more questions and learn about this alternative spring system. Think carefully before you subject yourself to the time commitment and potential injury of replacing a garage door torsion spring. For the money, I am all for hiring a professional to do the job for me. Visit the Garage Door Extension Springs page. Return to Garage How To home page.

These guys often charge extra because they are earning a commission from ABC on the work they do.