Garage Door Torsion Spring Replacement

Do you have a broken torsion spring on your garage door? Are you wondering if you should attempt your own garage door torsion spring replacement? Absolutely! This repair on a residential garage door, or pole barn door, is actually pretty straightforward and easy to do. It requires just a few basic hand tools, that most homeowners already have, and you can easily save yourself between $100 - $150!

Garage door springs really do have a lifespan. The average life of the typical torsion spring is approximately 10,000 cycles and the average door cycles per day are about 4. Using those numbers the average door spring should last approximately 7 years. Obviously, the number of cycles per day plays a significant role in the life of the springs but so does keeping your door well maintained.

The message here is that it is not unheard of to have a spring break. The good news is you can safely replace a broken spring and save some money in the process. In this article, you’ll find all the tools you’ll need for the job and the necessary steps to follow to complete the job safely.

Things To Consider Before Starting Your Torsion Spring Replacement

Before jumping right in lets take the time to look at a few items that will help keep you safe and that could potentially save you time and money right now, and in the future.

Safety First

When working on any DIY project there are always safety-related items you need to consider. The first three items can be applied to many home projects. We’ve written articles about each of them and encourage you to check them out for additional information. The fourth safety item here is specific to working with garage door torsion springs. Please take the time to read them.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Be sure to wear a pair of safety glasses and good snug fitting work gloves. Some of the garage door components may have sharp edges or a frayed cable can give you a painful puncture wound. Always protect yourself. For more safety-related ideas when doing DIY projects, please consider reading our article on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Ladder Safety

Completing this repair requires working from a ladder. The ladder will need to be on solid, level ground and secured. If possible, it is always a good idea to have someone hold the ladder steady. This is especially important when working with taller doors. They can help with a dropped tools or get something you have forgotten. Check out our article on ladder safety. It has tips and safe work practices when using ladders.

Lock-out/Tag-out (LOTO)

For anyone who doesn’t know lock-out/tag-out involves securing all potential energy sources before beginning to work on a job or project. This certainly involves working on garage doors.

Be sure to turn the electrical power off to the automatic garage door opener. You definitely don’t want it to unexpectedly move during this repair.

In some cases, it involves identifying the potential energy sources and managing them. Like the energy stored in a torsion spring or the weight of an open, unsupported garage door (both items mentioned immediately below).

Please consider reading our article on Lock-out/Tag-out. It looks at many of the potential hazards you may face when working on home projects.

Safe Use Of Winding Bars

Using the winding bars is the most dangerous part of the job. If you take your time and fully engage you winding bars in the winding cones, you shouldn’t have any issues while releasing or adding tension to the springs. Under no circumstances should you ever try using screwdrivers or tapered pry bars on the winding cones! It’s to easy for them to slip out of the holes causing pinched finger and flying tools!

Before starting it is a good idea to insert the winding bars into one of the holes on the winding cone. With the winding bar fully inserted put a mark on it right next to the hub. A couple wraps of light colored tape works well. This gives you a quick visual reference that the winding bars are fully inserted. If you take your time and make sure you fully insert the winding bars, you should be fine.

Do You Have An Automatic Garage Door Opener?

If you have an automatic garage door opener and have a broken spring, you should stop using your door opener immediately! Garage door springs are used to offset the weight of the garage door, so they are easy to open. By continuing to use your garage door opener you run the risk of damaging the internal gears and parts of the opener.

Until the repairs can be made I suggest releasing the garage door from the opener and holding the door open with a pair of C clamps. Attach the C clamps to the garage door track under the fully opened door. You will most likely need a helper for this. Depending on the size and material of your garage door they can easily weigh in excess of 100 pounds.

Good Time To Replace Other Components

Obviously, if your door only has one spring on it, and it breaks, the tension should be released. However, many garage door installations have two springs on them. In this case, you will need to release the tension on the spring that is not broken before disassembly. It is also recommended to replace both springs at the same time.

Torsion springs have a life expectancy of 10,000 cycles, so when one of them breaks the other may not be too far behind. Plus you will already have the tension released and many of the parts disassembled. It would be very easy at this point to replace the second spring.

What Tools Are Required To Remove A Torsion Spring?

Safety glasses
Leather gloves
Winding bars (Very important for safely handling torsion spring tension!!)
3/8” wrench (Loosen set screws on cable drum and winding cones)
9/16” wrench (Remove stationary cone. Size may vary with installation)
9/16”socket/ratchet (Remove stationary cone. Size may vary with installation)
A large pair of locking pliers (Vise Grips)
“C” clamps
Fine file
Emery cloth
2′ level

How Do You Release The Tension On A Torsion Spring?

If you have a two spring system, then you’ll need to release the tension on the second spring before proceeding. With your PPE on and your LOTO in place, it’s time to begin.

ollow these steps to release the torsion spring tension on your garage door. Start with the door in the closed position. This allows easy access to the garage door spring. Unfortunately, that puts the maximum tension on the spring, so take your time and work slowly.

• To begin, insert a winding bar into one of the holes on the winding cone. Ensure it is fully inserted into the marks made earlier.
• While maintaining a strong grip on the bar, loosen both set screws on the winding cone using the 3/8” wrench. You should feel the spring tension on the winding bar at this point. You are now in full control of the spring.
• Slowly ease off the pressure on the winding bar allowing the cone to rotate ¼ turn.
• Fully insert the second winding bar into the next hole on the winding hub. Apply pressure to the second bar, which will relieve the pressure on the first bar.
• While maintaining pressure on the second bar, remove the first bar from the winding hub. Now slowly ease off the pressure on the second bar allowing the winding cone to rotate another ¼ turn.
• Now insert the first bar into the next hole on the winding hub. Continue repeating this process until all the spring tension has been released.

Remember these springs have multiple turns and by releasing the tension ¼ turn at a time you will have to repeat these steps many times. Depending on the size and type of garage door you are looking at repeating the steps a minimum of 30 to 40 times. So, be patient!

Again, working with the springs is the most challenging part of this job, but if you take your time it can easily be done. Make sure the winding bars are fully engaged, keep a firm grip on the bars, and slowly repeat the above steps. Trying to rush this part of the job adds the potential for bad things to happen. Be patient!

How To Select The Correct Replacement Torsion Spring

By Spring Measurements

Spring selection can be done a couple different ways. The first is to take measurements of the existing spring and order the exact same spring. If you feel that your garage door spring truly died of old age than this is a fast easy way to replace it. Below are the measurements you’ll need. For example, I needed a spring that was approximately 28” long, 1 ¾” inside diameter, .218 wire size (as determined in the example below), and is LH wound. Using those measurements I was able to search for the exact spring I needed. It can be a good starting point for your search too.

1. Determine if the spring is “LH” or “RH” wound spring. The rule of thumb is if the spring is on the right-hand side of the center plate, it is LH wound. And you guessed it… if it’s on the left-hand side, it’s RH wound.
2. The overall length of the broken spring. (the 2 broken halves fit together will work fine)
3. Measure the length of 20 spring coils. Take that measurement and divide it by 20 and the result is the wire diameter. For example take the measurement of 4.375” / 20 = .21875. Round to the nearest standard size. (standard residential spring sizes: .177, .1875, .192, .200, .207, .2187, .2253, .234, .2375, .2437, .250, …)
4. Inside diameter (I.D.) of the spring. (typical residential sizes are 1-¾” and 2”)

By Door Size and Weight

The second method is to use the size and weight of the door to determine the spring size. If you have reason to believe your spring may not be the right size, then take the time to check it with this method.

I have two garage doors exactly alike. The torsion springs on both doors were the same, but there was a difference in their installations. One door was installed with 12” radius bends in the track.  On the one that broke 15” radius bends were installed. This was done to get the door track high enough to accommodate a “man door” into the garage. Not only has the spring broken on this door, but I’ve had to replace stripped gears in the garage door opener too.

In hindsight these two things made me wonder about the installation and balancing of the door. And yes, it made me a firm believer in keeping up with my garage door maintenance too. I don’t know if the 15” radius played a significant role in the life of the spring, but this method of spring sizing takes that radius into account, so I used it. And it did specify a slightly longer spring than the 12” radius door.

Note: I’ve seen adds for fishing rod holders that mount to garage doors. These storage units can add significant weight to your door. That impacts the door balance and could lead to premature failure of both the spring(s) and your automatic garage door opener.

Below is the information you’ll need to size your springs with this method.

1. Door weight. This is with all spring tension released. A set of “dial” bathroom scales will work for this. Get help lifting the door! Depending on what the door is made of even a 7′ door can easily exceed 100 pounds. Raise the door high enough to slide the scales under it and get a reading.
2. Door Height. Pretty straightforward here.
3. Track radius. Hold one end of a 2′ level where the verticle track meets the bottom of the level. At the other end measure the distance from the level to the horizontal track. This should give you the radius measurement.
4. Inside diameter (I.D.) of the spring.
5. The number of springs. All the examples in my pictures have just the one spring. Larger, heavier doors will have a second spring added.

Armed with the above information I’d recommend going to the DDM Garage Doors website. It has a good garage door spring database tool for finding the spring you need if you have doubts about your current spring.  Most garage door manufacturers can provide this information too on standard installations.

Ordering Parts

When ordering your new spring(s) I suggest purchasing them with the cones installed. It costs a few extra dollars, but it ensures everything is compatible and it will save you at least ½ hour (maybe more) of removing the old cones and re-installing them. Make sure your bearings are good and the drum and cables are in good shape. To replace any of these items later will require a total disassembly again. Now is the time to do it!! The bearings end brackets support the full weight of your door, so I replaced the two bearings when I did mine. For the cost, I thought it was a good investment. Oh yeah, if your single spring system failed and you don’t have a set of winding bars at this point, please consider ordering a set. They are the best way to ensure proper handling of the spring tension!

How To Remove And Install A Garage Door Torsion Springs

With the spring(s) in the relaxed position, it is time to begin the disassembly. After giving the cables a quick inspection to make sure there is no fraying and they are in good shape, I like to put several wraps of electrical tape, or duct tape, over the cable. This keeps the cable on the drum and makes the re-assembly process a little easier.

Spring Removal

• To begin I like to get a measurement from the bearing plate to the edge of the cable drum. This will help with aligning the cable drum during installation.
• Loosen the set screws on both of the cable drums using the 3/8” wrench. Next, remove the bolts that secure the stationary cone to the center bracket using the 9/16” wrench and socket. With all the set screws loosened and bolts removed the shaft should move from side to side. There may be some burrs under the cable drums and winding cone, caused by the set screws, which may prevent them from sliding freely. Hold the shaft with a pair of Vise-Grip and twist the cable drum or winding cones to free them up. Do yourself a favor and take the time to smooth all of those areas out using a fine tooth file and emery cloth. This will make removing and installing the cable drums and winding cones much easier.
• Slide the left-hand cable drum in toward the center, so the shaft can be slid to the left.
• Slide the shaft to the left far enough to get the old, or broken, spring off the right-hand side of the center bracket. This should allow enough room to be able to put the new one on. Usually, 1 or 2 feet is plenty. This is the perfect time to make sure the bearing is moving smoothly and freely before putting the new spring on the shaft. If it does not move freely, try spraying with a silicon-based lubricant made for garage doors to free it up. If this does not help, you should put the job on hold long enough to get replacement bearings.
• Remove the right-hand cable drum from the shaft.
• Slide the broken spring/hub assembly off the shaft.

Spring Installation

• Prior to installing the spring assemblies, verify both set screws are in the winding cones and rotate freely. If there are any issues, now is the time to find them! Install the new spring/hub assembly on the right-hand side of the shaft (“Black” color-coded cone). Although confusing, remember the spring on the right is the “left-hand wind” spring.
• Slide the shaft back to the right, into the bearing. Move it far enough to the right so you can inspect the left-hand bearing.
• Continue sliding the shaft to the right until the left-hand cable drum and spring can be removed on a two spring system.
• With the new spring(s) and cable drums installed, center the shaft in the bearings.
• Position the left-hand cable drum, using the measurement taken in the first step, and tighten the set screws.
• From the left-hand side, rotate the shaft clockwise, putting tension on the cable. Holding the pressure on the cable, clamp the vise grips on the shaft, holding the tension.
• Align the right-hand cable drum and rotate it to put tension on the cable. Tighten the set screws on cable drum.
• Bolt the stationary cone to the center plate. Some center plates come with an integral bear, while others have a plastic bearing/bushing that fits inside the stationary cone. Either one works fine just make sure they are in clean and in good condition before bolting up the stationary cone.

Torsion Spring Tensioning

• At this point, you are about ready to begin the tensioning of the spring. Before beginning, you’ll need to know the initial winding target. A good starting point is one full turn for each foot of garage door height. Adding the tension to the spring is done much in the same way as releasing the tension, except you’re going in the opposite direction. Because you’re increasing the tension ¼ turn at a time, using the winding bars, you’ll need to multiply the door height by 4. For example, a standard 7′ door will require approximately 28, ¼ turns. This will give you a good starting point.
• Before beginning, verify that the Vise grip is still in place on the shaft. This will help prevent the door from moving unexpectedly while increasing the tension. You can also place a C clamp on the track immediately over the door. If you lose count of the turns, this could easily happen. A good idea is to have someone help count the turns while holding the ladder for you.
• Once you’ve reached the desired tension tighten both set screws on the winding cone. If you have a two spring system, tighten both springs the equal number of turns. At this point, you’re ready to remove the vise grip and check the door balance. A “balanced door” is one that the spring tension offsets the weight of the door perfectly. The door will move easily throughout its travel and will stay in the last position when stopped in mid-travel. If the door moves up, that indicates that there’s to much spring tension. If the door moves down, there is not enough tension. To achieve the proper tension you may need to make a few minor adjustments.
• Before releasing the vise grip from the shaft leave one of the winding bars in the winding cone. That will give you the ability to prevent the door from moving quickly while working on the ladder. During the balancing process, be sure to secure the door with a C clamp and then increase or decrease the tension ¼ turn at a time. On two spring assemblies, you must make the equal number of changes on both springs.

Congratulations, your repair is complete! It is always a good idea to give the spring a light spray with a silicone-based lubricant.  then manually move the door from the fully closed position to the fully open position to make sure it moves smoothly. Then re-engage the automatic door opener release and enjoy years of operation.

opefully, you’ve seen just how easily this job can be done. It requires just a few simple hand tools and some patients. Working on your own garage door gives you a better understanding of how it operates.  It will better equip you to maintain them and keep them running smoothly for years.

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