How-To Align Garage Door Cable | Torsion Cable | DIY Garage Door Repair
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- This video will show you how to repair a mis-aligned garage door cable. DIY garage door repair and save money!
If your garage door cable is at an angle, or loading improperly in the cable drum, then your door may be crooked, jammed, or operating very rough. Adjusting a torsion cable is something a DIY'er can do, IF the proper tools and techniques are followed. Visit Parts4GarageDoors in Houston, or Channelview to purchase a set of cables for just $15. Need other parts? We have it all!
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Parts 4 Garage Doors
16023 East Freeway #56
Channelview, TX 77530
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HOUSTON STORE:
Parts 4 Garage Doors
11020 Katy Freeway #116
Houston, TX 77043
832-834-3477
www.parts4gara...
WE HOPE TO BE SERVING YOU SOON!
Other Keywords: garage door repair, garage door service, garage door company, garage door wholesaler, same day garage door repair, free estimates, DIY garage door repair
Don't have the time to change out your torsion cables yourself? We suggest calling Houston garage door repair company Spectrum Overhead Door LLC. Award-winning garage door services since 2006. Call 281-748-9542 or go to spectrumoverhe... to schedule an appointment today!
![Garage Door Torsion Spring Replacement: How to by [Professional Tech]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5k9qrgZ9rPs/mqdefault.jpg)
![Garage Door Torsion Spring Replacement: How to by [Professional Tech]](/img/tr.png)
I'm from California, I called for a service repair and the guy gave me an estimate of 600$ hundred dollars. So I said no thank you, and decided to fix it myself. I'm 4 month pregnant and I rather to spend 600$ hundred on my baby. Thanks to your video I did it and can't believe I just did that. Thank you very much Sir for sharing what you know.
Wow. Great mom! Congrats!
❤❤
I'm in Central Idaho where there are no shops within 180 miles. I lost a cable last week and there is no directions on which way the cable winds on the hub. After watching your video I have the new cables installed. I have issues with the cable going slack when I raise the door like the spring is not tight
You know I am a 21yr garage door vet. I subscribed not for the knowledge, but because you do a great job on your videos. Good info but most importantly promoting safety, well done. One thing I would add, is when you open your door look and make sure both cables are tight.
Yes- a loose cable when the door is in the opened position is going to eventually cause an issue, or may become tangled. Aside from tightening the drum on one side, sometimes the door itself is askew from the track. This is usually a result of the back hangers being installed slightly out of square from the vertical track.
I tried to redo my cable a couple weeks ago and left the vice grip on when I put the new cable on 🤦 I'll be ordering two new cables to install. My only question is can I put new cables just as shown in this video (garage door down and only winding on first groove)? I've seen other that show garage door in up position stating to wind the whole drum with the cable...
Excellent, you’re definitely a pro, other channels are holding the tension by securing the torsion springs. No need for that. Just visegrip the tube, and tighten or loosen cable drum as needed. Having the Demo tube/springs/drums etc. proves you do it for a living. 👌
Your instruction and letting us know why you should or shouldn't do something is fantastic. Your to the point informative ,clear and concise and give great advise for the continued maintenence of the garage door .
I agree
Dean
Seattle
Thank you from Vaughan, ON, Canada! 15 mins fix and my lady is proud of me + I've saved 100+ CAD. Cheers
and stay safe!
Making women proud of their guys since 2008. LOL.
I've watched 10 vids and this was the best of all! Clear and concise!
I just wanted to add if you have the door open it releases all the tension in the spring, it makes it a little bit more difficult to work on the door but alot safer. I appreciate this video, mostly all the others where not helpful this was clear to the point an told what needed to be done thanks!
Worked, I think I got mine fixed! Thanks so much. You'd be surprised how many wrong ways I tried, before I went to UA-cam and found you. Thanks so much!
Thank you. Short and sweet, you've saved me time, effort and frustration. Cheers
+1 for the 'you saved me' bro. Thank you.
Love how clear, straight to the point, no hype this helpful video and the gentleman explaining it is! Thank you much!
Thank you so much for the video! Took me literally 5 minutes and my door was working normal again. Saved a lot of money and the fix was so simple.
Glad it helped!
BIG THANKS - It worked on my Garage Door - Phew - a lot of tension in these wires. This is a Safe method!
You're welcome!
Thanks for the simple procedure! The door on this house was up about 1/2" on one side that always drove me nuts, finally after 4 years living here I just recently noticed the cable on one side was off the track as you show here flipped over the ridge. So I followed your procedure only I had to let cable drum turn until door settled on the concrete floor for it to release enough tension to flip the cable back into place. I then needed to use a pry bar to hold some tension on the cable as I tightened the set screws - all worked out well and cable is back in place and door bottom is now even. The key was using the vice grips to hold the spring tension on the shaft.
Great job!
Nice video. I use lithium wheel bearing grease on the new cables, light coating will extend the life of the cables,
silicone spray on the torsion springs will keep them quiet.
Thank you for posting this. Just saved me some money!!!
My trade is millwright since 35 years. I instaled my new garage door recently. Leveled everything with my laser level. One simple problem with it. The two cables have the same tension on both side when the door is close but at 3/4 open, they are well seated on the pulleys. The left cable is getting loose and the right one is very tight. It takes all the load. Took my caliper and measured the pulleys. The right one is 0.015'' shorter than the left. Since the pulley is grooved on it's width to make the cable running, couldn't put shim stock over it to make it bigger. Decided to put some electrical tape layer instead until equal tension on both side and voilà ! When tape will be worn, I will just put new one. No more problem. Different mold for casting and it doesn't take much difference on circonference to cause that problem. Call the manufacturer door installer. Told me 1 out of 3 doors have that same problem and they never found any solution. Told the guy mine and was very happy to ear it.
Great solution. Thanks for sharing!
He probably didn’t care and was happy to get you off the phone
I don't think so ! When you talk to a man, an aged one for about 20 min, a very nice man asking questions and you can feel the appreciation in is voice and attitude and if it's so... hope he has learned something that day ! Happy new year from Montréal, Québec !
Have been installing garage doors for 27 yrs, still can't figure it out???
@@MegaJohnnyrock About the difference between cables? Beleve me, I scratched my head for a couples of hours trying to figure it out ! And nothing else but the circumference must be in involve here. As I said previously, took my caliper and yess, it was 0.015 smaller. Mould difference from China !
Nice I found this video after I took it all apart now I’m fixing it for the third time
Hope the video helps!
My door springs are broken and door is closed. Can I run the cable to the bottom of the door since I am unable to lift the door at this point. Great video.
I would need more information. Thanks.
Nailed my issue, thanks for explaining how to do it safely!
Glad it helped!
Very simple detail to confirm. Great advice.
I tried to redo my cable a couple weeks ago and left the vice grip on when I put the new cable on 🤦 I'll be ordering two new cables to install. My only question is can I put new cables just as shown in this video (garage door down and only winding on first groove)? I've seen other that show garage door in up position stating to wind the whole drum with the cable...
good one! - quick and to the point! - Much appreciated!
Glad it helped!
Thank you sir , for the valuable information.
Great video
So I did exactly what you said don't do. I loosened the set bolts without the vice grip. So I sent the tension to the other side. How can I now fix this??
thanks for your time and help
Hi. Both of my cables came off of the drum. Can I still use this same method, or do I have to take tension off of the tension spring directly?
Nice video!
Thank you. Just what I was looking for!! So should I put the garage door up to hook the cable to the side of the garage door. I tried it closed, but it didn’t go up. Thanks
The cable should have stayed attached if following the video. I don't have enough info to safely advise you. This was a few days ago so I hope you have it worked out!
@danielwake2430:
I had a similar thought, and you're right about getting fingers caught...
I used something with a better bite than vice-grips would be preferable: a pipe-wrench. I grabbed the tube just inboard of the sheave to avoid deforming the end outside the bearing, and rolled it back that 1/8 to 1/4-turn I needed to get the wire back in the right groove.
I had to do this just recently, because the door made a noise when opening jumping the grooves on the drum
Your video is very helpful but my cables keep coming off on one side even after I've aligned it.
Just a little confused on why the locking pliers were used, I would of thought they should be on the other side of the wheel not outside the wheel. what was the point of using the locking pliers? Did it stop something from turning?
The channel locks hold the tension of the spring. The cable on the other side holds half of the tension.
Great clip
Thank you 🙏 !!! I love the way you explained everything right to the point and very clear !!! My husband and I just fixed our garage door 💕
Thank you. I did mines differently, but your video helped understand the mechanics and safety issues that come with. Thank you 🙏
Thanks
My pleasure !
My cable starts rubbing the track on one side when door is about halfway closed, and then pops over the track by about 3/8” when fully closed. Can I move the drum over, or will this not help? Is the drum what locates the torsion tube so if I move the drum the whole tube will just slide over?
Thank you for the clear video. I have a question about my garage door, my door is 7 feet 4 inch height, can I use the 8 ft door cable for replacement?
Sorry for the late response. A cut cable would be ideal. Cut 8 inches off the 8 ft cable and crimp on a new end. If the cable is too long it will fill up the drum and possibly come loose and get tangled.
Thanks for posting......
Your welcome!
Very clear and understandable explanation.
Glad it was helpful!
My problem as pet your video, my cable has slack when the door is in the up position, it is tight when in the down position, should I raise the door and repeat as your instructions on in the up position ?
This usually happens when the rear hangers (the angle iron coming down from the ceiling) are askew. In other words, they are slightly diagonal when compared to the straight vertical track that is on the sides of the door. Moving them over as needed (both in same direction) to the left or right even just one inch can make a big difference. Note- moving the hangers will also move the upper track which is what you are trying to do.
Your video was very helpful!
Thanks!
When garage door is up, how much tension is suppose to be on the coil of wire? My garag doors wires popped off when it hit something that I had stacked up next to the door guides and I cracked the nuts loose to try even the tension while the door was up but it isn't working properly, any help would be much appreciated 🙏🏼
Hitting an object is a common reason for the cables to come loose or tangled. When the door is nearly opened, there is not much tension left.
Really informative!
Thanks
Do you do the same thing on the other side?
Yes
I'm interested in this job ..it's good 👍🏼
Good luck!
Really help !!
Got same length torsion spring and followed the steps for replacement of springs; but issue I see is garage door only lift up till 1 foot , stay stuck and does not move up regardless how much manual lift force I put in (in manual mode). please guide. I tried going up to 33 quarter turns (16.5 half turns) as 31 or 30 turns was not helping, rotation was clock wise for 33 quarter turns.. my old part was 218 wire x 29 long spring and new one is 225 wire and 29 long spring.
Thanks for your sharing 👍
No problem 👍
What’s the torque on the set screws? I d rather not to guess the number of turns. Thanks
As the cable is going down to the bottom bracket, should it be at a slight angle? Or dead straight ?
I’m coming to your video after loosing the cable but I forgot to put the pliers on the underside and the door came up a little bit. Should I loosen the torsion springs and reset everything? And should I replace the torsion springs as well?
Unwinding the springs, then rewinding is going to be your best bet. Only replace the spring if it is older, rusty, or near the end of it's cycle life.
Excellent video. I had no idea what was causing my misaligned door, and your video explained it quickly and correctly. I had to buy some vise grips, but that's much cheaper than calling someone out would have been. Thank you!
Great to hear!
Here are my problems. I hope you can help me. My electric garage door opener had a short. I have been forced to manually open and close the door. This went well for a few months. One day after opening my door (21 ft. in length) it got stuck. A little higher on the right side. I tried for an hour to get it to move with no luck. The cable had come out of its wheel. In desperation I cut the cable on the right side. This did not solve anything. It would not move. I knew the middle part had these tightly wound cables and to stay clear of them. I hid behind some heavy boxes filled with other items (for protection) and used a long handled looper to cut the other cable. BANG it came off and put a hole in the drywall next to the garage door. Better it than me! Now I thought I could open the door. The door is shut like there are 500 pounds of bricks on it. Any SAFE suggestions besides calling a pro. Thanks to the government everything is so expensive I want to try to do as much as I can.
Hmm. So the bar and pulleys are supposed to turn? Mine aren't and while it's down the cable is loose and wrapped around the bar
If your cables are wrapped around the bar, then this quick fix would not apply. There are some UA-cam videos out there that show you how. Please be careful.
Hey thanks a lot buddy
Wonderful, sir. You just saved my door and my wallet 😄. Thank you very much.
Glad I could help!
Worked great !
Awesome!
Help! I used the pliers to hold the door at the highest point, loosened the set screws, and wound it up and reattached to the door (both sides), but when I finished the 2nd side, it completely unwound itself when I let go even though everything was back to normal. What am I missing?
If I'm following you correctly, you may have loosened both cable drums? This would unwind the spring. Only one drum can be loosened and rewound at a time.
@@parts4garagedoors278 I ended up calling a local company and they immediately identified my spring was snapped. Once they replaced it they were able to wind it up without issue.
What do I do if the cable keeps jumping off the drum every time I raise/lower the door?
My cable has quite a bit of tension on it when the door is in the down position. I am unable to turn the cable drum, by hand, enough to apply the same tension on the side I'm adjusting compared to the other side. I have tried several methods to apply additional tension, but nothing seems to work perfectly -- the tension is always different and the door seems to be just a little off. I can tell that the tension is different because when the cable is strummed, it vibrates and creates a pitch that i can hear. The pitch on both sides should be the same if the tensions are the same. But one pitch is always a lower tone.
Great video.Should I buy brand specific cables my door is a Clopay. Thanks.
Only need the same length and diameter.
Hi, I was wondering if someone could help me I replaced both of my cables yesterday and I have double springs the one on the left side. I adjusted it to 30/4 turns the one on the right side I didn’t touch because it seems like it has tension in it, but now my door doesn’t go up. It goes up about an inch and then it stops. I don’t know if I should maybe unwind the right side Both of the cables that I replaced seem OK
Awesome video, thank you.
Worked like a charm. Thank you.
You're welcome!
I don’t really understand what is the function of connecting the vice grip to the torsion bar? Isn’t the other side holding the spring in place?
Great video!
My torsion cable keeps coming off, is their a way to adjust the torsion drumb so it doesn't come off anymore?
I was told that my torsion cables were loose because my center spring was old and worn out and wasn’t able to keep enough force on the cables to keep them taut.
When the door is up, is one cable supposed to be looser than the other side?
No. This usually indicates that the horizontal track (the overhead portion) is askew. In other words, the upper track need to be square or perpendicular to the front wall.
How do yo u fix the door when both cables come off the rollers? I tried to do it, but it looks like the spring has no tension so it didn't work when I tried to lower the door.
This is a more complicated issue. You are pretty much starting at the beginning- as if you were installing springs. You should look up videos for winding garage door springs for more details.
Why would there be loose tension on a cable when the door is up, but proper tension when the door is down?
Sounds like the upper horizontal track are askew. They should come away from the wall at 90 degrees.
should the cable be pretty tight after spring replacement? Mine are, it seems the spring torques the pulley, then pulls the cables tight, even if I try to loosen them. is that ok?
I replaced my both springs the garage door was working fine.now open my garage door the cables come off the roller both them any would be appreciated thanks
When this occurs it’s usually because you don’t have enough turns on the spring. Always wind 29 to 30 quarter turns on a 7 ft tall door and 33-34 quarter turns on an 8 ft tall door
Is this why my door is higher on one side, when it’s in the open position? Thanks
Could be. Take a close look at how the cables load into the drum for both sides. Do they load line by line perfectly?
Great video. Exactly what I needed. Thx so much.
You're welcome!
Thank you sooo much! you are the best!!!!
Thanks for watching!
Thanks worked great
Glad to hear it!
Hello before I saw your video I replaced the right side cable on the rt side (from the inside) I loosened the cable drum, did not realize I was supposed to put vise grips on the torsion bar. How do I get tension back on the right side ? Please advise.
Thanks very informative
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks amigo 👍
De nada
Thanks ...
March 24 2022 (2133 hrs)
Your welcome!
Thanks, it worked. You da man !!
Glad I could help
Is there any way to lower a garage door with the opener disconnected, Figured I would start that way first goes as far as i can but still have a 3/4" gap.
THANK YOU
thanks for this!
Sure thing!
This way would only work if the floor was level and your tracks are level as well. If the right side concrete was lower you've dropped the right side of the door too low when losing the drum....
Thanks for your input!
THANK YOU!!!!!
Much appreciated, you just saved me $160 CA. It's delinquent what they ask for just to do a quick fix.
Very true! Great job!
What if your cable goes into a bolt with a pin how do you remove
Hi! How can we repair the cable if it has come off the reel and onto the rod that goes across the top? It's a REEL mess in our garage.
I'm sure you already fixed it, but my suggestion would have been to follow the same process as shown, but back turn the cable drum enough to eliminate tension on the cable and pop the end loose from the slot in the drum. Now that you have the end of the cable unravel it completely from the rod. Next you would feed the end back into the slot in the drum, rotate the drum to tighten the slack. hold cable taught while you tighten set screws on the drum to secure it in place.
@@parts4garagedoors278 Thanks for the advice! Yes, that's what we did. It was a tough job, my hat off to the pros like you that teach us how to make it work.
Thank you!!!
You're welcome!
Never loosen a drum without a winding bar in at least one of the springs. Also ya put your vise grip on upside down. Where you were standing will hurt someone if they didnt bar off the springs and the other drum slips(because thelast guy may not have tightened it enough)
The purpose of this method is a quick fix for a DIY'er without a winding bar. I have used this method 100's of times. It is highly unlikely for the drum on the other side to slip all of a sudden. People tend to overtighten these drums. Again, anything is always possible! Some risk is always there.
Michael Perry is 100% correct, in Florida for example a 16x7 garage door can weigh nearly 450lbs with wind loading struts. All that load will be trusted to 1drum and 1 pair of questionable Vice grips. Instead put the Vice grips on the cable on the good side, next take a pipe wrench and put it directly on the torsion tube, lift up towards the ceiling no more then a 1/4 turn with 1 hand and move cable back in the grove with your other hand.
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🧰🧰🧰 Keep up the good work don’t stop doing that your videos are very helpful
Thanks dude, I’m on my moms phone right now, but took the car last night and hit the garage. Just fixed it all.
Great!
IT WORKED... THANK YOU!! 🙂🙂🙂
Great!
Thank you. Learned a lot. I would like to know what causes the cable to jump out when clossing the door?
It usually jumps when it’s going up, but you don’t notice it typically until you go to close it. A lack of spring tension, or raising the door too high, or raising it too fast, are some of the common causes
@@SpectrumGarageDoorsService if I can turn the cable drums does that indicate a lack of torsion on the spring? I has the cable come off one side,tried to do re spool and noticed I could turn drum by hand.
@@paulhoward1520 well, the two drums and shaft should turn as one. When the spring is applying proper counter balance- yes you will be able to turn it by hand! Pretty easily too. The idea is to be almost weightless because of the assistance of the spring.
Wow, you just saved me money!
could someone explain why some videos i’ve watched the people wrap the wire on the spool along side the markings but in this you didn’t. also mine weren’t wrapped around on the spool it’s just twisted on the side
Some people mark the position of the drum to the torsion tube. This allows them to set the door in the exact position as before. The only time this is helpful is when the ground is uneven and it’s necessary to get back to the same position as before.