Replacing a broken garage door torsion spring a DIY?

[jtvang125]

So the right side spring (black) snapped in half the other day. I know little to nothing about about servicing garage doors but looking at a few youtube videos it doesn't look that hard. I've done more complex jobs on my cars. But I'm just a little concern since there are warnings about serious injuries or even death plastered all around the springs and documentations.

So can this really be a diy? I think if I take it slow at unwinding and rewinding the springs I should be fine.

 

[skyking]

The forces are really that strong. I made two handles out of some steel I had here, and took my time. It was not a problem but there is no middle ground on this job. Either there is no problem, or there is a loud noise and probably a flying handle and possibly some flesh and blood.

 

[KMc]

When you refer to a "right" spring, I'm assuming you are talking about tension springs. They are pretty easy to replace, but it's easier to replace them in pairs, because they come in different spring rates and it isn't obvious which one will match the one you have. Plus, in my experience, if one is broken, the other isn't far behind.

Torsion spring openers are a bit more tricky, and the flesh and blood appearance factor is significantly higher.

 

[jtvang125]

When you refer to a "right" spring, I'm assuming you are talking about tension springs. They are pretty easy to replace, but it's easier to replace them in pairs, because they come in different spring rates and it isn't obvious which one will match the one you have. Plus, in my experience, if one is broken, the other isn't far behind.

Torsion spring openers are a bit more tricky, and the flesh and blood appearance factor is significantly higher.

These are torsion springs I'm referring to. They are above the garage door and not at the sides. My door has two spring, left and right and it's the right one that broke (looking inside out). I am looking to replace both since age of the left one is unknown and by replacing both I can be sure the door will be balanced.

I'll be buying the winding rods and follow the instructions to the book. I think I should be ok.

 

[Blanky]

I haven't replaced those, but have the cables on either end that the springs load. I wonder if this is easier because you don't need to worry about aligning the cables, although I am thinking that unless you find an exact replacement for the torsion springs perhaps you would have to reset the end cables anyway.

I found it to be a 10 minute job that takes 2-3 hours, like pretty much everything a person does for the first time.