Lessons learned installing a torsion spring in a typical residential garage

Danny D. · 2012-12-07T21:31:11+00:00

For most of you on a.h.r, these lessons will be old hat; but for those of you (like I was) who have never relocated a torsion spring, these lessons may come in handy in the future.WHAT DO MOST GARAGE DOOR COMPANIES DO:- Most charge around $150 to $200 and will do a great job.- Most promise same day and next-day service.- I could do the entire job in an hour - so I'm sure they can too.- Most will simply replace the old spring with the same size new spring.- Some will 'upgrade' the spring to a longer-life spring (others won't).- Some may charge for that longer-life upgrade; others won't.- Most will adjust and lubricate the door and GDO as a bonus to you.- Some may try to sell you useless extras, such as galvanized springs or warranties (the 800 numbers I called were the worst offenders).MAINTENANCE:- Snap a picture today of your torsion spring setup (I wish I had this).- Lubricate the garage door rollers, hinges, GDO mechanism, and torsion bar bearings (two to three of those bearings may be installed).- Check that the door is parallel when raised and vertical when lowered.- Operate the door by hand to check spring balance at multiple positions.- Close the door and check for tilt by looking for light at the bottom.RESEARCH:- I've watched EVERY torsion spring DIY on YouTube and none beat DDM Garage Doors - so all you need is the web site.- The Richard Kinch truetex web site is the second site you'll need.- No other web sites are needed although I've read EVERY thread that mentions garage doors that I can find in the archive and while there is 'some' really good information on a.h.r - most of the threads also contain contradictory garbage, and therefore you must take every thread with a grain of salt.REPLACEMENT:- Replacing a torsion spring is easy and requires basic tools.- The only special tool are two 18" long 1/2" diameter winding bars.- A few open end wrenches and a large vise grip is all else you'll need.- Basically, to remove a single broken torsion spring you...

Dec 07, 2012 43 Replies

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kevsetchfield 10 years ago

DD_BobK You suck balls!

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Fudge Packer 10 years ago

Is that an invitation? Admit it, I bet you like guys sucking your balls, don't you?

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coldspring21 10 years ago

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dc47823 8 years ago

HELLO Danny,

One question,

Does it matter changing the length of the spring? fro example I measured 27.5in and in the store available they have 29" same diameter same wire thickness.

I hope you can response soon since wife is getting mad about parking outside the garage.

Thanks Daniel C.

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