Garage door torsion springs

Lachlan

Lachlan

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Lachlan
One of our garage door torsion springs gave up yesterday. I figured I’d buy a new left and right to replace them both. Should be easy to spend money. Springs are .283 gauge, 1.75” inside diameter, 37” long. Apparently that’s old school, as even Dura-Lift said they don’t make em any bigger than .273 x 2” id any longer.

Engineers of PoA, help a brother out. Concert me to an appropriate spring with a 2” id at .273 wire gauge. Beer’s in the kegerator. Help yer self soon as we’re done here. :D
 
Don't have an answer, but a word of caution: make sure to put a safety cable through the spring. I know of at least one person who was seriously injured when said spring broke......
 
wsuffa said:
Don't have an answer, but a word of caution: make sure to put a safety cable through the spring. I know of at least one person who was seriously injured when said spring broke......
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How is a cable going to be better than the big ass torsion bar that goes through the center of the spring? In such designs, when the spring fails, it simply spins around the torsion bar.

I replaced mine, though everyone I told that, acted like it was an impossible DIY project and I’d kill myself. I wore my motorcycle helmet and jacket and figured that was plenty of safety. No issues and simple job.
 
jesse said:
How is a cable going to be better than the big ass torsion bar that goes through the center of the spring? In such designs, when the spring fails, it simply spins around the torsion bar.

I replaced mine, though everyone I told that, acted like it was an impossible DIY project and I’d kill myself. I wore my motorcycle helmet and jacket and figured that was plenty of safety. No issues and simple job.
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You're right. I was thinking extension spring, not torsion spring.
 
There are two kinds of garage door part suppliers. Those that look up in a catalog and can't find what you need, and those that actually know what they are doing. The second type can start with the size of your door and then calculate what kind of spring will work and how many cycles it will be good for. You want to find someone who does commercial doors and custom cuts springs.
 
I work 2 doors down from a garage door company. I just have them fix my overhead garage doors - 6 in total.

I can ask them and see if they will ship out what you need. Send pics.
 
EdFred said:
I work 2 doors down from a garage door company. I just have them fix my overhead garage doors - 6 in total.

I can ask them and see if they will ship out what you need. Send pics.
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Will do- it’s got to work an hour ago (1500 EDT) so won’t d home til midnight. They look like any other torsion spring with the beating block on one end, winding vibe on the other. Need .283x1.75x37 or equivalent 2” inside diameter. Thanks!

The local place (40 miles away) will cut springs to length @ $106/each. I can buy similar sized to what I need (but .273 wire gauge) for $90/pair all over the interweb. Gotta love local biz...
 
Used to do this for a living as a "youngster" 20 y ago lol. If DIY, be careful and get a good set of winding bars.Heck I've done so many of them, I just call the shop out to do it now. Any good door shop should be able to cross ref door size/insulated or un metal/wood and get you the correct springs. Or take your measurements and supply a spring close to those. Also, verify how many rounds of tension to put on spring for door size. Glad I don't do that anymore. Winding springs all day is hard on the rotator cuff.
 
James331 said:
I’d just pay someone for that job, I’m all for DIY for many reasons, but for garage doors just pay someone to do it.
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I'm not going to disagree with this. Can get hairy quickly. Lots of tension on this springs.
 
James331 said:
I’d just pay someone for that job, I’m all for DIY for many reasons, but for garage doors just pay someone to do it.
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Yawn...why? It took me less time to replace the springs on my garage door then it takes to change the oil on an airplane. Make a mistake with either and you may be injured. It's really not hard to wind a spring up, just make sure your bars fit and take your time. Think before you do.
 
jesse said:
Yawn...why? It took me less time to replace the springs on my garage door then it takes to change the oil on an airplane. Make a mistake with either and you may be injured. It's really not hard to wind a spring up, just make sure your bars fit and take your time. Think before you do.
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Because

This
Jr Hampton said:
I'm not going to disagree with this. Can get hairy quickly. Lots of tension on this springs.
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And the guy who installed my entire door in a new construction frame charged me less than $200 and had it done quickly and it works flawless.
That said I built the entire structure with myself with some friends, turned out great, very happy I did it vs getting a contractor, but certain things I outsource, especially inexpensive things involving massive springs.
Also been around doors that were installed per the instructions just fine, but still weren’t feather light and smooth, where as my door installed by a guy who does nothing but install garage doors is like a feather to open or close, and all for under $200 bucks for a complete install.

As a working pilot, who’s also been accused of being attractive a few times, taking a (no doubt chinese made) spring to the face, it would turn out poorly. Risk to reward

It’s just like buying insurance, what might make sense for me might not make sense for you, to each their own. I’m sure Jesse would be fine installing that massive chinese made spring, but I ain’t doing it.
 
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James331 said:
Because

This


And the guy who installed my entire door in a new construction frame charged me less than $200 and had it done quickly and it works flawless.
That said I built the entire structure with myself with some friends, turned out great, very happy I did it vs getting a contractor, but certain things I outsource, especially inexpensive things involving massive springs.
Also been around doors that were installed per the instructions just fine, but still weren’t feather light and smooth, where as my door installed by a guy who does nothing but install garage doors is like a feather to open or close, and all for under $200 bucks for a complete install.

As a working pilot, who’s also been accused of being attractive a few times, taking a (no doubt chinese made) spring to the face, it would turn out poorly. Risk to reward

It’s just like buying insurance, what might make sense for me might not make sense for you, to each their own. I’m sure Jesse would be fine installing that massive chinese made spring, but I ain’t doing it.
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Most springs are made here in the rotten ol' US of A. ;) Add to it the fact that we're not exactly in the middle of a major metro market with numerous options for services like this. It will be three weeks before anyone can get here to wind up a new spring for me, so, uh, I think I can beat that time frame. :) Second, the service call charge just to show up and leave (typically citing a need for specific parts that won't be on the truck, because stuff like this is always unique to each application) isn't worth the benefit of having a professional spring winder loosen up two pulleys to remove/replace two big Slinkys and then wrap them around a bar above the door. I'm not really a "call someone else to do it" kind of guy, so paying someone for such a trivial task tends to grate on me. Besides, we all know that if you want something done right you have to do it yourself. ;)

If I can't wind a couple of springs around a bar without supervision then I have no business doing my day job. Dangerous? Stepping off the bottom step of a flight of stairs can kill you if things go wrong. I'm the "make sure things go right every single time" guy with the disclaimer of "you cannot guarantee that anything will ever go right, so be careful every single time."
 
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I say the same thing about not buying insurance on every little thing. However I also have much more experience as a driver and pilot than a garage door installer. I’d wager my place is about as remote as yours and after a few calls I got a guy out in a couple days for a full door install, I’d wager it’s a good bit less work and less money for just the spring.

Not just the danger, as also a good install, ether way to each their own.
 
Reminds me of the time mine broke and I called my dad to see if he had any experience installing garage door springs. "Oh sure, I installed the one when we lived on Bates Road when you were a kid. I'll never forget it, the spring slipped and flung the tool through the back wall of the garage." I called a pro who came out and did it the next day for around $100. I asked him if he ever got hurt winding springs. "Nope, but I know it can happen. One guy who called me led me to his garage and when I went inside there was blood all over the place, which kind of explained why he was all bandaged up."
 
I thought I'd do it myself, I mean how hard could it be right? After the door fell apart and bent a couple of the panels I decided it was time for a new door, one of those nice ones with rust all over it. I called the company and they installed it.

<--- built a 1,000 sq ft addition to my house entirely by myself except for concrete, flat roof (I don't have the hot mops) and stucco. Those trades take crews.
 
It's not a big deal. However, use some common sense. Get the bars designed to crank the spring.
Above all, make sure you do not stand in line with the bars while you're cranking. If it decides to let go, and you're in line, you're not going to like it very much.


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Mark the bars with tape so that you can verify that they are fully seated in the hole, and take advantage of the leverage available. I see guys grab mid-bar and waste half of the mechanical advantage that the bar offers. Those guys work too hard and/or get hurt.

I'm not a pro, but I have re-sprung six hangar doors that have four springs each. That's the equivalent of 12 garage doors.
 
Stevel said:
Mark the bars with tape so that you can verify that they are fully seated in the hole...
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That sounds like real good advice. Thinking about it, since I never actually did it, you'd also need to be careful when you push up past level that you don't start to accidentally pull the tool out of the hole as you go.
 
jesse said:
Yawn...why? It took me less time to replace the springs on my garage door then it takes to change the oil on an airplane. Make a mistake with either and you may be injured. It's really not hard to wind a spring up, just make sure your bars fit and take your time. Think before you do.
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Meh... I prefer to DIY, but I also look at what I'll need to get the job done in terms of tools, time, and potential frustration.

If it's a job that gives me an excuse to buy a cool new tool, I lean even harder in the DIY direction. ;) If it's a job that is likely to take a lot of time and **** me off at some point, and it's easy for me to find and pay an expert, maybe I'll lean in that direction.

Replacing a garage door spring, especially since it was something that needed to be done very quickly (it was during the week, and, y'know, life and stuff), and I had just seen a recommendation on our neighborhood's Facebook group of an expert, I called an expert. I was damn glad I did. They replaced two springs, aligned, re-tensioned, and lubed everything... In twenty minutes. The doors operate much more smoothly and quietly than they did before.

It was money very well spent, and I won't hesitate to call those guys again next time my doors need work.
 
My experience with new springs and cables is they need to be retensioned after a while as everything stretches and gets seated. If you get a pro to do it, ask about the warranty. Then, before it expires, make sure to operate the doors manually, by disconnecting the operator. You might be surprised how heavy they are again. Then get the pro back out for one last warranty adjustment. My extension springs eventually got to the point where they had stretched too much for me to do anything more with them (I don't mind working on extension springs) and the old wood door was showing rot problems. I got the local garage door pros to get me a new set of everything and went with torsions. They gave me no grief at all when I called back for a tune-up adjustment just prior to the end of the 1 yr warranty.
 
Lachlan said:
One of our garage door torsion springs gave up yesterday. I figured I’d buy a new left and right to replace them both. Should be easy to spend money. Springs are .283 gauge, 1.75” inside diameter, 37” long. Apparently that’s old school, as even Dura-Lift said they don’t make em any bigger than .273 x 2” id any longer.

Engineers of PoA, help a brother out. Concert me to an appropriate spring with a 2” id at .273 wire gauge. Beer’s in the kegerator. Help yer self soon as we’re done here. :D
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when a spring breaks, our 300# door falls like a guillotine! It's broken twice at the 7 year mark... so we replace every 5 now... it's on the calendar...
 
I recall the first time I installed a spring.
Why does the bar let go when it is almost fully wound?
I can tell you, if there is anything in the way of the collar when it decides to unwind, the effect is as close to a buzzsaw as anything I've seen.
 
I recall thinking a 3/8" socket extension was "close enough" to the size of the spring-winding hole to work; got about halfway through the first stage of wind and it popped right out. Lucky for me it did so early.

Went to hardware emporium and secured two exactly-sized rods to use instead, and it was very easy. Took my time. Still decided that, next time, I'd just call a pro. And, I did. Cash well-spent.
 
Lachlan said:
Add to it the fact that we're not exactly in the middle of a major metro market with numerous options for services like this. It will be three weeks before anyone can get here to wind up a new spring for me, so, uh, I think I can beat that time frame. :) Second, the service call charge just to show up and leave (typically citing a need for specific parts that won't be on the truck, because stuff like this is always unique to each application)
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The gentleman who did mine came out the next day. He asked me to take pictures of the existing springs for the color code and a measurement of the door width before he came out. One trip, far cheaper than my hourly rate and it was done right .
 
My door works very well, and I fixed it myself. It took an hour of extremely easy labor and I ended up ahead in the $$$ wallet, I’m happy with my work, and I learned a new skill.
 
On jobs like this, I figure I'm not paying the guy to do the work. I'm paying the guy for the liability in case it goes wrong. If I hurt myself or damage the door I've got no one to blame.
 
I have one of those heavy sectional garage doors with 2 overhead coil springs. one of the springs broke. I replaced both of the springs and had the garage door working good as new in just about as much time as it took to find the right replacement springs. Home Depot and Lowe's had a limited selection and the sales person seem horrified that I was going to do it myself.

I found a garage door business locally who said on the phone he had the springs I needed and would sell them for me at a reasonable price. The guy seemed to be impressed that I knew exactly what springs I needed. But, all the information was actually painted right on the springs themselves.

I think it would probably be dangerous if you tried doing it without a helper to make sure you didn't fall (or at least selflessly throw themselves under you to break your fall). There's plenty of videos on the internet that show how to do it correctly.
 
It’s about as hard as, oh, I don’t know... winding up a spring. ;) It May require a little more skill and strength than, say, knocking over a glass of milk. But not much more. :) Maybe if I was a guy whose wallet spoke more loudly than his head I would be willing to pay people to do menial things for me, but alas, it’s just not in the cards. Or my bank account. Actually, it *is* in my bank account, because I save a TON of ducats by doing things myself. ;)
 
For the one time I need it done every few years, I'll get my local pro to do it. And he'll rebalance, inspect, and lube everthing while he's at it.

I used to do it all when I had extension springs, but with the torsion springs I'm happy to sit back and watch.
 
Matthew said:
For the one time I need it done every few years, I'll get my local pro to do it. And he'll rebalance, inspect, and lube everthing while he's at it.

I used to do it all when I had extension springs, but with the torsion springs I'm happy to sit back and watch.
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In life you be a passenger, or a pilot. I choose PIC. Cheers to those of you lounging in First Class, but I have to work for a living. Sure, I’d spend YOUR money, but I’m keeping mine.
 
Lachlan said:
In life you be a passenger, or a pilot. I choose PIC. Cheers to those of you lounging in First Class, but I have to work for a living. Sure, I’d spend YOUR money, but I’m keeping mine.
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“Lounging in First Class” sounds good. 3 years from now I’ll set up a chair and a pitcher of martinis and watch the freight dog go to work!
 
Lachlan said:
It’s about as hard as, oh, I don’t know... winding up a spring. ;) It May require a little more skill and strength than, say, knocking over a glass of milk. But not much more. :) Maybe if I was a guy whose wallet spoke more loudly than his head I would be willing to pay people to do menial things for me, but alas, it’s just not in the cards. Or my bank account. Actually, it *is* in my bank account, because I save a TON of ducats by doing things myself. ;)
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We are all proud of you.
 
Lachlan said:
In life you be a passenger, or a pilot. I choose PIC. Cheers to those of you lounging in First Class, but I have to work for a living. Sure, I’d spend YOUR money, but I’m keeping mine.
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Built your own computer, airplane, house, and car, didja?
 
Lol, all this talk of doing the garage door springs . . . I was flinching just trying to install the extension springs on an old attic access door/ladder in my shop, lol. Those things seem like they are a loaded gun waiting to go off! I even went to the local big box store and rigged some wire rope/cable through the middle of the springs as a "safety net" in case one of the springs were to let go. The attic access ladder in my attached garage on the house uses the gas arms instead of springs, which I MUCH prefer over the springs. I don't think McMaster-Carr makes gas extension rods big enough for the garage door though!
 
I didn't even break a sweat when my doors went up...









The guys doing the actual work looked pretty moist though in the summer heat.

I consider a garage door, a job that hiring a pro to do is a good idea.
 
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