Garage door torsion spring problem

1,295 Views | 8 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by sts7049
FDXAg
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I'm not versed in garage doors, but I'm concerned I might have a problem with my door and I don't want to risk injury or damage to door if the problem is serious. It opens and closes fine, however, lately it has occasionally been making almost like a popping or cracking sound when it's opening or closing. Sounds a little bit like it's coming from the overhead spring area, but I'm not positive.

Also, if I try to close it partially (a foot or two from the ground), it won't stay open and gradually slides down. I've used garage door lubricant on the hinges and sprayed some on the spring in the past and it definitely reduced a bunch of the squeaking noise my door would have, but this new problem is concerning me.

If the spring fails, does the door slam down and break or risk injury to someone?? House is 13 years old and this is probably the original door and garage opener mechanism, and so I'm uncertain if they have a life expectancy or not.

And lastly, any idea how much it costs roughly to have the spring replaced if it's bad?
CapCity12thMan
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I think I had mine replaced and everything tuned up for $250ish
87IE
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Quote:

If the spring fails, does the door slam down and break or risk injury to someone?? House is 13 years old and this is probably the original door and garage opener mechanism, and so I'm uncertain if they have a life expectancy or not.

And lastly, any idea how much it costs roughly to have the spring replaced if it's bad?
Damage from the spring breaking varies as to where the door is when it breaks. Have you ever seen a cockeyed garage door (one side 2-4 ft higher than the other)?

I'm assuming its a 18 or 19 ft garage door and have seen the torsion spring break halfway up and when it was almost all the way down. Your door opener, if equipped, and the cables on the end of the door tend to slow it down. I wouldn't want to be standing directly under the door when it breaks.

I think mine was cheaper than CapCity12thMan's ($160 or so) but it depends on the weight of the door and therefore the strength of the spring.

I'd find a local individually owned garage door company to come check it out. The spring may have slipped and just need to be readjusted and tightened down.
Marvin_Zindler
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Whatever you do, I would recommend not trying to do your own spring work.
rbcs_2
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hodgesco said:

Whatever you do, I would recommend not trying to do your own spring work.
People say this every time these threads go up. But it's one of the simplest DIY projects you can do. If you follow the detailed instructions, everything will be fine. Now, you probably won't save a ton of money. It's not like redoing your pipes where you will save thousands. I think my kit cost $75. So $200ish vs $75 isn't that big of a deal, but still it's not this incredibly dangerous task that people make it out to be.
sts7049
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it still is dangerous, it's just a matter of how comfortable you are with that.
The Fife
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Those are the kind of springs I generally don't mess with.

Anyway, they aren't life limited in terms of age, more in terms of cycles at least according to the guy that replaced one at our place when it broke. It was from 1979 and the garage never had openers so I can't imagine they were cycled that much, so I'm inclined to agree with him.
Mathguy64
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Changing or re-tensioning a garage door spring is not hard, but it is dangerous. They are not mutually exclusive. If you arent prepared for the amount of torque you will have to apply (both on holding it static with one pry bar and moving it with a second) you are in for a rude awakening.
rbcs_2
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sts7049 said:

it still is dangerous, it's just a matter of how comfortable you are with that.
I agree with this, but it's true for just about every project you take on around the house.

I know a guy that won't cut his own grass because he had surgery as a kid to remove grass that got lodged in his eye doing yard work (so he claims).
sts7049
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yep, but my post still applies. most of us get comfortable with the risks associated with cutting the grass especially since we do it so often, you get a little desensitized to how easy it could be to fling a rock up in your eye or something worse.
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