How To Repair a Broken Garage Door Spring? Cost and Repairing Guide

One of the main reasons your garage door might be malfunctioning is more often than not the garage door spring. The purpose of a spring is to make the door stay in the air while you open it yourself or using a garage door opener.

The door is usually heavy and it acts against gravity and that is why there is huge pressure on the spring which may cause it to break down. The garage door springs are of two types.

1. Torsion Springs

2. Extension Springs

The main difference between these two springs is that torsion springs use rotation while lifting the door up while the extension springs elongate or compress for the door to function.

The torsion springs rotate as the door opens or closes to provide the counterbalance while the extension spring expands while opening to provide the necessary balance to the door and for closing the spring compresses.

How Much Does It Cost to Repair a Broken Garage Door Spring?

It mainly depends upon the kind of garage door you have and the springs you are using. The simple rule of thumb for repairing costs is that for extension springs the springs cost about $20 to $50 and the total average cost including replacement work is about $120 to $200.

Torsion springs cost you about $30 to $100 and the average total repair costs about $140 to $350. So, you can say that on average you can repair or replace your garage door springs for $100 to $350.

How to Repair a Broken Garage Door Spring?

Repairing a garage door spring is not an easy task but if you use the right tools and employ the right methods you can do it all by yourself. Here are a few essential tools that you need for this purpose.

• Rags

• Cordless Drill

• Socket/Ratchet Set

• Winding Bars

• Wrench Set

• Hammer

• Clamps

• Pliers

• Safety Glasses and Gloves

Now that you’ve got all the necessary tools. Let’s discuss how to repair a garage door spring by yourself.

How to Repair a Garage Door Torsion Spring?

• First of all, use the pliers to clamp the door on the track to stop it from moving up. Use a set of winding bars instead of the pliers or screwdrivers for winding since it is quicker and safer. Make sure you are not on the front side of the springs instead position yourself on the side of the springs.

• Use the Winding bar to keep the spring in its place while unwinding. Use the other winding bar and insert it in the side of the spring to have a better grip while unwinding.

• Once the spring has loosened up, use a wrench to remove nuts and bolts which will make it able for you to slide the springs to the end brackets.

• Now you need to give some room to the torsion tube on the bracket. Use pliers to clamp on the center bracket and loosen the screws to disconnect the lift cables. Now you can easily remove the broken spring from the torsion tube by sliding it.

• Now slide the new spring on the tube with a stationary cone facing the center bracket. Now reinsert the torsion bar into its last position. Now go to the right side and insert the respective spring and push the bearing into the stationary cone.

• Now it is time to replace bottom brackets, lift cables, and rollers. After you are done with that run the lift cable straight up to the rollers and doorjamb.

• To tighten the drum, use the pliers to hold the torsion tube in its place. Keep rotating the drum and keep the cables tight. Do the same on the other side while keeping the bracket clamped with pliers.

• To wind the torsion springs, insert the winding bar and turn it upside quarter at a time. The number of turns you need to give should be based on the recommendations from the manufacturer.

• In this last step, you need to stretch the spring from the center. You can do this by tapping the winding bar. After that tighten the setscrews in half to three-quarters turns.

• Finally use some garage door lubricant keeping paper or cardboard between the spring and the back wall to keep the wall safe. Using a lube spray makes your garage door run smoother and extends the lifespan of the spring.

Final Words

We hope with the help of this article, you are able to handle your garage door repair by yourself. However, we suggest that if you don’t possess the right tools and lack practice, ask for help from some professional garage door service people.

But if you know what you are doing and you have got the right equipment then by all means go ahead and use this quick guide to carry out your garage door repair. Stay safe and we wish you the very best in completing your next garage door springs repairing project.