garage door spring

[Chuck52]

The spring on one of my garage doors broke. About 2" broke off from the adjustable end of the spring. I thought there might be enough of the spring left to do the job, so I cut off the broken end and tried tightening what was left. No go. If it has any spring left with the door up, it is way too tight with the door down. So....can I buy a replacement spring? Looks like the rod can be removed from the end bearings, so I could slide a new spring on?

Chuck

 

[Travelover]

Garage door springs for do-it-yourself garage door repairs

Most local places won't sell you the parts due to the dangers involved with working with large springs.

 

[Nissan197]

I bought one at Orscheln's last year. I believe ACE Hardware also has them in stock.

 

[ultrarunner]

I just started seeing them at one of the local home improvement stores... in the past, I had to order the roll up door springs on the net.

 

[k0ua]

I got mine from Overhead Door, you will need the 2 rods (make em or buy em) to "cock" or "windup" the spring. just keep your body parts as much out of the path of the rods if you should slip as you can. It is very dangerous, I have done it a couple of times through the years, but never enjoyed doing it. Kinda like handling a rattlesnake, it's gotta be done, but don't get comfortable doing it.

James K0UA

 

[Chuck52]

Thanks, guys. I think one of the garage door places in town may sell me a spring. I kind of remember buying some parts from them for one of the doors in my old house. "Kind of remember" means it was a few years ago and therefor no longer well represented in my apparently increasingly volatile memory. However, I do have the impression that they were pretty helpful.

I got the old spring off, so I can drag it around to get a perfect fit. Only about two inches broke off, and I bet if I messed with it a while I could make the remaining part work, but it doesn't make much sense to spend the time on a part that has already broken once.

There's a pretty good U-Tube of a guy changing a spring and it says for a seven foot door you need about seven turns of the spring for lift, plus an extra turn to keep tension on the cable drums when the door is up. Also seems like you can add a turn or two to make the lift easier.

Should be fun.

Chuck

 

[Mousefield]

Had one of ours break earlier this year. Had a professional come in and replace both. Figure if one breaks the other might not be far behind and as well keeps the same tension on the double garage door. It can be dangerous work to do. I was surprised at the reasonable cost for changing out both springs. At the same time he changed out a couple of the panel rollers as well and lubed the rest.
Operates much quieter now. :thumbsup:

 

[BleedingOrange]

One of mine broke as well. Went in and had a chat with our local garage door guys, and they were very helpfully. Basically they said that for residential, the springs are good for approximately 10,000 cycles, and that to keep everything in balance, they should be changed in pairs. They determine the size of springs required based on the weight of the door. About 100 bucks for all the parts up this way. Definately NOT a job for the clutsy types amoung us. Its not just the spring assemblies that have to be rewound, the cables on each side of the door have to be positioned correctly as well, so mark those with a marker before disassembly. Mark the distance from the end of the rod, and the relative position of the wheel position on the rod as well. It will save you some grief as your trying to put it all back together. Oh, by the way, I changed those cables as well at the same time because they were only about 6 bucks each. If your doing it yourself, be very careful. And make sure you remove your vehicles from the garage before you start, if you can get the door up to get them out. I lubed up all the rollers and track with fluid film, and it rolls much quieter. Good luck, and again, be very careful.

 

[kenmac]

Just had both of mine replaced by garage door company. $210.00. Couldn't find any place that would sell me the springs. They say something about the weight of the door determinds the spring size. I have a 20ft. metal door but have no idea about the weight. Good luck & be careful if you replace yourself

 

[KennyG]

I've bought replacements at Lowes with no problem. They can be bought on line with no problem. Easy to replace. I also suggest replacing both at the same time for balance.