Garage door slams shut after a very loud noise...

[Elixer]

After pulling the car into the garage a few mins ago, all of the sudden, there is a loud snapping sound, and the door comes crashing down.

So, yeah, the torsion spring snapped.

Since the car is in the garage, obviously, need to get it out again, and a quick check on the door, and that is one heavy wood door.

After checking http://www.ontrackgaragedoorservice...oor-repair-replacement-cost-2015-pictures.htm they claim it costs $1,060 on average for a replacement.

Not wanting to pay that much for a spring repair, looking at the lone spring that snapped, I don't see any #'s on it at all, and I have no idea how to tell what the wire size is, nor if it is left or right wound.

Obviously, I don't have to worry about the torque on the broken spring, but I would need to get torsion
spring bars & the spring itself (which don't seem to be sold at lowes or HD, but is available at menards).

Anyone got any tips here? Does it really cost $1060 on average for a repair for a 1 car roll-up door?

 

[C1]

That actually happened to me once but with a metal 2 1/2 car Clopay garage door. (Your lucky the door didnt fall on the car.)

I think the repair cost was about $400 to have the work done (including the part).

The repair guy said that springs typically last 7 to 10 years.

A thing you might want to consider (especially for that price) is to go with duel springs as when one spring breaks the door still has some assistance from the remaining spring (ie, not nearly as bad guillotine effect and the door still is able to be manually moved).

If you decide to attempt the work yourself, then download the manual for your door from the manufacturer and read up about the installation and adjustment first. Door springs have dangerous torques and you need to be careful. To tighten one, as I recall, requires around 70 ft/lb.

 

[Elixer]

I have been looking all around the door jams to find any identifying mark anyplace, and there is nothing.
Can't tell who made the door, or who made the spring.
There is only 1 mark on the wheel, and that says "F1".

(not my pic, but, the F1 is written in marker on that.)

Yeah, glad it didn't come down on the car, that would have been a double whammy of a repair bill.

 

[boomerang]

You are looking at a website that is giving you a ballpark estimate for replacing a garage door and interpreting it to be the cost for spring replacement. Call a local garage door company and have them come out to fix it. They have the experience to know what spring(s) the door needs. The questions you are asking tell me that you should hire this job out. If you feel that's a harsh statement, then I guess you do.

If one spring broke on a two spring installation, replace both springs. It will save you the cost of a service call to come out to replace that other spring. They both have been fatigued over time and the other one will fail soon.

My wife managed a garage door company for over twenty years. She tried and tried to convince customers to replace both springs when one failed. Most understood the logic behind replacing both on a service call and had it done. The ones that didn't had to pay for a second service call.

 

[Elixer]

The image shows "average spring replacement cost", not total door replacement.

It is only one long spring, but, fair enough, I'll see if I can get some estimates in.

I am now thinking to removed the 5 panels one by one, (there are only 2 bolts on each roller, and 1 bolt on the hinges) then take car out, then put panels back the way they were, unless that will screw something else up?

 

[NutBucket]

There's no need to disassemble the door unless it's to get stuff out of the way to make room for the guy to work.

 

[Elixer]

I got 1 guy that just left, and he basically had a laundry list of issues.
Need new rollers, drums, header brackets, spring, cable, locks, hinges & rails.

I said, just want the spring fixed, and he goes, "Can't do it, safety issue." I go, what issue would that be?, he goes "If I put a new spring in, the whole thing will come down if I don't replace everything." $3300 for everything, but will knock off $300 if he does it today.
I passed.

 

[Elixer]

Here was the spring... (red paint part was on the right side, looking at the spring.)

Here is some writing on one side (red):

Now, the other end of the spring:

and

So, 175 means 1 3/4" inside diameter.
The other #'s, unsure so far.

 

[boomerang]

I got 1 guy that just left, and he basically had a laundry list of issues.
Need new rollers, drums, header brackets, spring, cable, locks, hinges & rails.

I said, just want the spring fixed, and he goes, "Can't do it, safety issue." I go, what issue would that be?, he goes "If I put a new spring in, the whole thing will come down if I don't replace everything." $3300 for everything, but will knock off $300 if he does it today.
I passed.

Where in the hell do you live that people can command those kinds of prices? One spring here would be $130 and two springs would be $185. That's parts and labor.

 

[C1]

Man o man where are these costs coming from ?

Replacing a whole door used to be like $700 & that included hauling off the old door.

Replacing a spring in an existing installation is not a big deal for a qualified tech & takes 30 min.

For that kind of money Id just do it myself.

There are all kinds of tutorials.

If you decide to try it yourself, then take the spring to a door repair shop & and have them identify it and sell you the replacement equivalent.

Better yet, buy a whole torsion repair kit - comes with all necessary replacement cables, brackets, bolts, springs, etc. I see that these things sell for well under $200.

Just be careful when winding the main spring up & locking it down (uses a set screw/nut). Pay attention to the recommended torques.

 

[mxnerd]

Just replace 2 panels of aluminum garage doors a few months ago.

$450 IIRC, labor included. Have to check invoice.

 

[Elixer]

Well, took apart the garage to get the car out... that was a huge PITA.

I think I measured everything correctly now...
The spring in the above pic, the red sided one (which is on the right of the broken pic) looks like this

That is left wind, but, it has red paint (not black) on it which is confusing.
[source of that is

The wire size is 20 coils = 5" so, that comes out to .250
The total length of the spring looks to be around 34.5" (though, there are slight gaps made by the ends, unsure how much of a difference that makes.)
.250 x 1 3/4 (1.75) x 34.5" LW

 

[Elixer]

Finally had a chance to complete this project, and it went pretty smoothly.
New spring came, and it had the correct colored cone (black for left wound).
After turn 20, you could stat to feel the tension on the spring, but at no time did I feel that it was going to get away from me.
Always had a firm grip on the winding bars, and made sure they made full contact to the cone.
Wound it up to 30 turns.
The biggest issue I had wasn't with the torsion spring, it was with the tension on the cables.
One side kept getting a bit more looser than the other side.
Tried many things to get them to be the same tension, but that one side just didn't want to cooperate.
I ended up removing one of the bolts on the wheel, put in a long lag bolt I had around, and just applied more pressure to that one to get the cable nice and tight, then I tightened up the other bolt on the wheel, removed the lag bolt, and used the original bolt again, and now, it works really well.
Goes up smoothly, stays in the position you leave the garage door in, and shuts fine.

For me, personally, I have worked on things that are far more dangerous. Yeah, the spring holds a tremendous amount of energy as you are winding it, but, as long as you go steady & slow, and have some common sense, it isn't really that difficult at all.

 

[WilliamM2]

My door came with an E-Z set spring. No torsion bars needed, just a power drill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxJfHdSjbIo

 

[Elixer]

My door came with an E-Z set spring. No torsion bars needed, just a power drill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxJfHdSjbIo

I was actually looking into this, but the cost over redoing basically everything vs just buying a new spring was just too much.

The design does look much easier to take care of issues though.

 

[gorb]

I spent ~$200 replacing both springs on my garage door.

 

[Elixer]

For the size I needed IIRC, it was around $249 for the kit vs $54.
You also need a bit extra room on the side to wind up the spring as well, it would have been pretty tight clearance to do that in my case.

 

[TXHokie]

Wife lowered the door on the car, popped the door off the track and broke the spring cable last summer. It was $375 to fix and replace the old rusted spring and new seal or $1k for a new door with two new springs that's also storm rated. No brainer replacement there tho that was unplanned.
Three things around the house I don't mess with - high compressed springs, complicated electrical, and climbing more than my 8ft ladder high. Not worth money saved if it risks life or limbs.

 

[shortylickens]

If you wanna make life easier on your springs and door, use white lithium grease on the rails. Much smoother operation, less bounce in the moving parts.

 

[Elixer]

Three things around the house I don't mess with - high compressed springs, complicated electrical, and climbing more than my 8ft ladder high. Not worth money saved if it risks life or limbs.

While compressed springs can be dangerous, I don't think it is any more dangerous than lots of other dangerous things.

You just have to focus on what you are doing, and don't be an idiot and try to cut corners.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I spent ~$200 replacing both springs on my garage door.

This-ish. When we had a spring snap, we had a guy out to replace it in less than 24 hours, for $220. $1000 is nuts.

Even without the spring, I was able to He-Man the door open, though. (Our door is plastic with foam insulation.) A wood door, though... ugh. I could probably do it with one spring, but I'd hurt for days after.