Garage torsion spring

Get a professional. Those things can kill you.

Reply to
Jack
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One of the springs is unwound but not broken. Looks like a the set screws came loose. I Googled for info & only found lots of stuff on how to replace the springs. Can I simply wind this spring back up? Should I unwind the other first to make sure both springs are equal?

Thanks!

Reply to
Buck

Yes, it can be done by yourself, BUT, you need proper tools and you'll need to know how many turns to wind it. If you've never done it before, it's best to get someone who has and watch and learn.

Reply to
Steve Barker

Buck-

First a few questions.......

are you reasonably handy / mechanically inclined?

can you / have you worked successfully & safely with powerful tools (table saw, chainsaw, firearms, etc) that if used incorrectly can hurt or kill you (or others)?

check out this site

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After reading it & you understand it & feel competent to rewind the springs.....go for it.

Like others have posted, these things are powerful & can hurt you (maybe even kill you)

Doing it yourself (alone) for the first time is not without risk.

cheers Bob

Reply to
BobK207

Do'nt try it alone,,have a Friend with a phone..The one that's still in place *should* be tensioned correctly,,the spiral lines on the one that did'nt come loose *should be* the amount of spirals(painted lines) for the other one too..That's how new ones are installed anyway,,if for some reason the door needs different tension on one side there could be some other problem.. Tensioning springs for a tall door for a Semi-tractor storage unit from atop a 12' stepladder was a REAL adventure,,,then had to do it again on the other end so the driver would'nt need to back out! The Forman was telling stories of when He let a smaller one loose and had to cut His long sleeve loose from the spring so He did'nt loose His arm as I was winding! I'm glad I'm not the "Grunt" anymore!! Use the proper extensins for the winding pegs and never release pressure on the 1st while positioning the 2nd..Have the wrench to tighten the set screw right there handy too,,inspect everything for possible replacement.. One slip and Yer a hurtin unit fer sure!! I agree with Whoever said to call an overhead door guy,,it's good advice.. Dean

Reply to
Dean

Oh no, not the dreaded garage door torsion spring question...

YOU"LL DIE !!!! Run from the house and don't go back until a highly trained board certified vehicle entrance portal technician performs the necessary repairs. Even then not until a thorough inspection has been performed by local, county, state and federal inspectors.

Reply to
RayV

I pretty much agree with the other posters on getting skilled labor, I've done it twice, perhaps more out of ignorance and bravado than knowledge and skill. My method is: 2 pieces of 1/2" rod 1 1/2 - 3' long, (rebar will work but not ideal). As you wind, the upper bar is inserted as soon as the hole is available, and serves as the next pull / safety. They have to be way tighter than you imagine, and it is indeed dangerous should you; lose your grip, have a rod slip out, or have the spring or any part of the assembly let go while you are working on it. I have usually tightened it as much as I imagined it to need, tightened the set screws, put down the tools and done a run through. That gave me an idea just how much additional tension was needed.

Reply to
Eric in North TX

Hi, Safety first! Let pros handle it. Once I almost lost a finger, never again!

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Ok, ok. Looks like it's unanimous. I saw the info at

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and being quite mechanically inclined I thought I might give it a go. I called around - looks like it's cost me $200 - 300. Strange though how the spring did not break, it just popped off the holder at the middle of the rod...

Reply to
Buck

It's not that big of a deal if you have some common sense. Go to

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and start at step 5

Rich

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Reply to
Rich

I did the same repairs. Simple safety precautions should get your there. You do not need to unwind the other spring to wind up the "sprung" one. You need two half inch diameter steel rods to fit into the holes on the spring's boss and use those as levers to rewind the spring. You can buy the rod from HD or Lowes. It is 30" or 36" long, cut into two and they will provide a lot of leverage to wind the spring with. The safety precaution is stand aside, away from the arc of the rods, but in a comfortable and efficient (to crank the levers) position. Should you somehow slip or let go of the rod the backlash won't hit you. Also wear work gloves so that if you have to take a rest while winding the spring you can ease the rods to a rest position without getting your fingers pinched. Its a good idea to have a friend to watch you in case you need temporary help hold the rods while you catch your breath for example. Paint a straight line across the spring before you start. As you wind the spring it will develop a spiral and give you a good idea of how many turns you made. The paint spiral should roughly match the other spring's. Make one or two test runs, by doing a few turns without getting to any significant tension, to get a good feel of how to manipulate the rods, tightening the set screws and the cable, etc., Finally wind the spring as tight as you can. Then tighten the set screws, run the cable, etc. and test the door. Any unevenness in the spring tension will be obvious. Increase or decrease the spring tension as necessary.

Reply to
PaPaPeng

You're going to get this guy hurt. You don't know what you're talking about, and it is glaringly obvious.

Don't "wind as tight as you can"!!! He can break the spring easily that way, or worse increase the chance of a winding bar coming out and hurting him.

There are 28 quarter winds (4 complete spring revolutions) on a 7' high door, you multiply door height by four to calculate the quarter winds.

Also, don't paint the spring! The paint will cause the individual coils to stick together, resulting in bunching and rough operation. Besides, you can not judge tension just by looking at it.

Reply to
Coal Miner

WIND the spring as tight as you can?!?! are you insane?

Reply to
Steve Barker

This is wrong also! The number of quarter turns is dictated by the weight of the door AND the caliber / length of the spring. There are several different calibers of springs, and the lengths are infinite.

Reply to
Steve Barker

You're both wrong. Full turns equal the height of the door travel, divided by the drum circumference, plus about a half a turn. Opening the door with insufficient winding will lead to slack cables hopping off the drums, and then disaster, so the extra half turn is important.

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

I am of average height and strength. I am already 65 and still have all my body parts in good shape.The first try got me within two quarter turns of the right tension to fix my door. Those springs were not designed for supermen with super skills to install, just average guys like me and most people. Those technicians would need at most a high school education and a few on the job practices to learn how to install garage doors. If they can do it so can you. Just exercise some common sense regarding safety. You would know by feel if you are over tensioning the spring and it would take Hercules to break one. Its more of a problem to get enough tension than to over tension. There was a time when a curious kid would take apart everything he could put a screwdriver to and then put it back together. Later on one learned to rebuild one's car, fix the appliances around the house, etc. Many of you guys seem to need to call a specialist to change your flashlight batteries these days.

Reply to
PaPaPeng

The number of turns = door height / (drum diameter * pi). Should be about 5 for most doors.

If you start with the door in the full up position, you can get everything connected without tensioning the springs. Then lower the door and increase the tension to fit and suit. You should be able to readily lift the door with one hand when it's adjusted correctly.

Tensioning the springs as much as possible may allow launching the door into low Earth orbit.

Reply to
Everett M. Greene

WRONG.

WRONG AND HAZARDOUS.

At:

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See the section on "Why Can't You Install the Springs Unwound, with the Door in the Up Position?".

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

And what's wrong with it?

Everything is hazardous to life. I'll be you don't have the blade guard installed on your table saw.

Having done it, I wonder why I couldn't.

Reply to
Everett M. Greene

Everything. Method and results.

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

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