Broken garage door spring
Springs do the heavy lifting on a garage door. The opener only guides it. When a spring breaks, the door suddenly feels like it weighs a few hundred pounds, because it does.
Signs a spring has broken
- A loud bang from the garage, often when nobody was using the door
- A visible gap in the coiled spring above the door
- The opener runs but the door only lifts a few inches, or not at all
- The door slams down fast or sits crooked
- Loose cables hanging beside the door
Torsion springs and extension springs
Torsion springs sit on a metal bar above the door opening and twist to store energy. Most newer Dayton-area homes have these.
Extension springs run along both sides above the horizontal tracks and stretch as the door closes. They should have a safety cable running through the middle so a broken spring can't fly across the garage.
Why springs wear out
Springs are rated for a number of open-and-close cycles. Many standard springs are rated around 10,000 cycles, so a door used several times a day can wear one out in a handful of years. Cold weather and rust can speed that up.
Never try to fix a torsion spring yourself
The spring above the door holds enough force to lift a door that can weigh 150 pounds or more. Winding bars slip, set screws let go, and people get badly hurt. If a spring is broken, leave the door closed if you can, keep people and cars away from it, and let a trained technician handle it.
What you can safely do
- Keep the door closed and don't run the opener
- If a car is stuck inside, wait for the technician rather than forcing the door
- Don't pull the red emergency release while the door is open: with a broken spring, the door can drop
What to ask the technician
- Will you replace both springs? Many technicians replace them as a pair, because the other one is usually close to failing too.
- What cycle rating are the new springs?
- What's the total price, including parts, labor and any trip fee?
- What warranty covers the springs and the labor?