Awesome. I was hesitant to replace a broken garage door cable on a torsion bar door, but your how-to video gave me confidence to do the job....SAFELY! Thank you!
Great video! I studied this video and found it extremely useful - it made my work replacing my springs easy. One thing that I ran into while doing this job was something that was not mentioned in the video - the cable placement on the cable drums. An issue I ran into was when I first put tension on the new springs, and lifted the door by hand to check it, the cable came off one of the drums. This happened a couple of times before I realized that the cable ends were sticking out from the drum and the wall bracket for the torque shaft was actually sliding the ends out of the slot, causing the door function to fail. Finally, after much work trying to get the door to work correctly, I realized this, and when I finally put the cable back on the drum properly, with the ends tucked under the outside lip, proper function of the door was achieved. Maybe this should be mentioned in the video, to make sure those cable ends don't stick out to catch on the mounting - bearing brackets for the torsion bar. This would help future installation instructions..
Well done, mostly. I have more than 20 years of Garage door installation, removals and repairs. You really should have a taller ladder for a 8 ft tall door. When you wind the springs you may need to brace against the ladder to counter the toque of the spring. I would want a 6 ft ladder. When you are marking the torsion tube at the drum the cable is off the drum. The marking will be slightly off. As a pro I would lock the torsion tube with 2 vice grips with curve jaws in both directions against the wall above the door. I saw that you had 2 pairs of vice grips in the video. I use 2 to secure the torsion tube. Not every one does this. For a 8 ft tall door you will normally put on 8 1/2 to 8 3/4 full turns. The springs will break in and lose some strength during the fir week of use. A 7 ft tall door gets 7 1/2 to 7 3/4 full turns. The door should balance from your knee to your shoulder. The springs will be a little hot at first . That is normal. They will break in soon. Your door will be heavy in a week or two. Then you will need to add tension. Open your door manually after about one week after spring installation to see how much tension may have been lost to break in. If the springs are too light the opener could cause a lose cable to come off the drum. This creates a dangerous problem. If your door has just one spring when it breaks always replace it with 2 smaller springs. They will last twice as long and the door runs better with 2 springs.
@jao8084 Yes, when the door opens, the springs unwind. So if you have too little tension on the springs, this will cause the cables to slack and potentially come off the drum. That creates a lot of issues. When you replace your springs, it's good practice to open the door all the way manually and ensure both cables are taunt.
I followed your instructions and repaired my door. I did not have broken springs, but the center bracket actually tore loose from the wall. I had to unwind the springs, remount the bracket, wind the springs, etc. Worked out great. You're a great teacher! Thanks.
When I saw this video was 40+ mins I was almost going to skip it, but after watching it I have to say there is no wasted time. Excellent video! I feel 100% confident I can do this job now.
Thanks! Replaced my garage door springs today using this video as a guide. It was very helpful for every step along the way. I appreciate you uploading it to share your experience.
You Sir, are like the little pin holding the steel cable at the bottom: In spite of so much weight and tension, you've succeeded in lifting us all up! Super video in content and construction. Thank you for all your careful work. I finally got my heavy off track wood double door working. YAY! And I'm a 5'4", 72 yo gal. We used to have to walk to the library to read manuals to fix stuff. Now the world is in the palm of our hands. Fantastic!
If I may: I am not a handy man at all! Just a young first time home owner in his 20s, a “kid pretending to be an adult” if you will. This video is perfect and walked me through replacing both of my springs. But pay attention to which ones go on the left and right. I had to do everything twice because I messed that part up. But thank you for the tutorial 🤙🏼
Just got my springs installed. This video was very helpful. Particularly in identifying what springs to purchase and how to purchase them. I went to the site he mentioned DDM Garage Doors and they sent me a link with all my options immediately. I pick out my springs with confidence and had them installed by the end of the week. My door runs and sounds great. The total cost for me was around $150. I got the winding rods from Amazon and the springs from DDM. Please be safe everyone and keep a firm grip on the winding rods.
Thank you! Replaced my spring today, follow your video and it was too easy. Also DDM Garage Doors is who I purchased the spring FedEx the day I ordered it. Again your video was spot on and I appreciate and actually learned something. Total cost was $95.00
Very helpful. I watched this after my spring broke to see if the job was something i felt comfortable doing. I followed this video and replaced both springs and put on a new bearing. One of the simplest home projects i've had to do once i knew what i was doing, and at no point did i feel unsafe.
Following this repair will result in a better repair than you're likely to get by hiring a pro. Helping friends and family lubricate their doors, I've noticed most doors aren't properly balanced. If you count the number of turns, they're tightened properly, but the wrong weight/length spring was installed in most cases. I believe that the garage door guys either replace like for like spring size without verifying they are correct, or they use what they have on the truck that's "close enough". Certainly only tackle this job if you're the OCD type as safety and attention to detail are paramount, and it's not worth risking your safety. With all that said, as a DIY guy, replacing my springs and door hardware was one of the most satisfying DIY repairs. The door is perfectly balanced, and it's nice and quiet. It's going to last years with minimum maintenance. I wish this video had existed back when I worked on my door.
While I suspect most garage door repair techs are doing a great job, I have definitely heard cases of them using a spring that isn't optimal for the door because they had it in stock and paid for already so it would save a few bucks. Mismatched springs are sometimes used in order to accommodate what the tech had on hand. Like you said, this is a very satisfying repair, so long as you're willing to take your time and be uber safe.
@@LRN2DIY having an undersized spring guarantees future work haha. A heavy door shortens the life of the worm gear and sprocket bushing on automatic openers. My parents have lived in their house for forty years, and have had multiple spring replacements and drive failures. They seem to only get 5 years out of a repair. I finally ordered the proper spring and got the door balanced, and they're in good shape now. I had a similar issue at my house and proactively changed the spring for the right size in order to prevent future problems. Short lifespan aside, having a heavy door means your family could be stranded in the case of a power outage. Neither my wife or my mom could manually lift the door on either of our houses before I got the doors balanced.
Thank you 🙏 this video was exactly what I needed. Following you advice/instruction save me one thousand dollars. My springs broke on double and single car garage. I successfully replace both cost @250 for springs, lubricant, and tension bars… Thank you
Great Video ! FYI , the Drums / Cable pulleys are 1 foot circumference , so an 8 foot door = 8 winds + a 1/4 to a 1/2/winds and that is what you came up with. plus No need to crush the pipe when tightening the 3/8 set screws, that just makes it harder to remove or install the next time. Always go for the higher cycle rated springs , its worth the money.
I have had the enjoyment of replacing a lot of those garage door springs and garage door openers. The tension springs are extremely dangerous and you should always use an abundance of caution when working on them. If you heard one snap you would understand, most people think something hit their house when they break under tension. There is a great deal of kinetic energy in those springs. Your tutorial was spot on with the procedure to replace the springs. As far as staying in the safety zone it is not just you but anyone else in the garage with you. I cringed watching your daughter get in that danger zone with the scales. But it all turned out safely. Just remember that in the future if you have to do this again.
Good points. I'm glad I was holding the winding cone with the winding bar while she was there but I understand what you mean - I could have had her go around me to stay clear of that path since something certainly could have gone wrong. A good warning to other DIYers.
@@troubleshooter1975You really have to treat garage door springs like they are explosive devices, because they can literally explode. Many homeowners will say when one of the springs break that they thought something hit their house, because it is that violent. Now under the proper precautions they are relatively safe to replace, but you must use and abundance of caution for you and those that might be around you.
Hello, its October 5, 2024. I just replaced my springs following this video, all went very well until I tried to make the springs 1/4 turn tighter. While making the adjustments some how the cables came off the spools. I imagine that I should have put the vise grips back in place (somewhere) to hold everything but I didn't because you didn't mention anything like this in the final adjustment section. I ended up having to release both springs and start over. I am happy to say that I did get it correct and working. also the cable spools needed to be against the bearing bracket too. Thank you for this very helpful instruction video!
I changed the springs of my garage door today. I had never done it before. Your video motivated me to do it myself. I thank you SO much for your detailed video. You made me save money and I had fun doing it. DDM company is a great provider for springs and material for garage door. I highly recommend it. They helped me all the way answering my questions about choosing the right springs. And the after sales service is wonderful.
Thanks! Did it no problem with your crystal clear instructions. Anyone can do this if they just respect that power of the springs and take the steps to ensure safety! Did it for $97 instead of my quoted price of $843
Just as many others have said, this video broke down the spring replacement process clearly and gave me all the critical info to do this safely and competently! Thank you so much!
I just want to say this video was very detailed. My torsion spring was broken on both sides. I ordered the replacement part on Amazon and alone I was able to replace the spring. Thank you so much for sharing this video ❤
Great video ! Watched a couple times, went out and bought torsion springs. Completed the job successfully in under an hour. Took my time & was over cautious. No problems & door works great. Thanks !
appreciate very much your patrience with detailed explanations for someone like me who is a novice to a torsion spring garage door; upon my 2nd viewing (after doing much intervening research on my own), i think that it would be helpful to spend a little more time explaining that there was a significant difference between your old springs and the new ones; while you glossed over the difference in measurements, your replacement springs were noticeably stronger than the prior ones both in wire gauge and length; in understanding my situation, i have found that the recommended replacement springs are also significantly stronger than my old broken one; apparently, when a more substantial door was replaced in 2010, the installers did not replace the corresponding recommended springs----so from what my research has enlightened me about is that just re-installing the same size of prior springs is not the best assumption (which may have been how a commercial installer would have handled my issue); also, FYI, using only one of the Walmart scales centered under a double door, instead of 2 scales, worked for me---the one scale gave a reading of 250 pounds; i finally tracked down the manufacturer's specs, and it stated the weight was 242 pounds; also, once i finally tracked down the manufacturer's specs (Haas corporate never replied to me), the specs gave the exact spring size that should have been on the door; the manufacturer recommended 0.234-2-27 springs, and what had been on the door since the 2010 replacement, and now is broken, was 0.218-1.75-28 ; again, thank you for your efforts in this detailed video
Wish I had seen this before I paid through the nose to have a tech come and replace my springs. Two days later one cables failed (they wrapped it wrong?) and my door was stuck at an angle. Had to cut the other cable to get it to come down. Certainly wasn't going to call those yahoos back. Using this video I was able to repair that BS with new cables and a well tensioned door. Thanks!
The last time I had garage door springs to replace, I just took the broken one to a brick and mortar shop, and they fixed me up with the correct set of springs. That was over 25 years ago.
10 points Sir! Watched the entire video first and felt comfortable tackling the job. Really appreciated all the safety pointers. Ordered the springs, followed the video step by step. Made some tension adjustments at the end - again - following the video. No problems and saved a few hundred dollars. Thank you for the thorough instructions!!
I’m 63, my son 40. We both DIY. I’ve instilled in him proper tool for job. Our garage door broke. I’m buying the proper tools and not paying labor. Or and gonna watch this a time or two more. Thanks.
That's totally reasonable. If in doubt at all on something like this, calling a pro is the way to go but it really is DIY-able if you take it slow and safe.
Stay on the outside of the spring. If the good one pops, there may be a projectile. I worked at Wayne Dalton for a bit. Seen one of those tubed twisted by the spring as well, that was a hard fix, that's why I ask how old always. Cause you may have to change out the bar/tube/pipe as well. There is a methodology to that also. You can get yourself killed/mangled. Be careful.
@@LRN2DIY "it really is DIY-able if you take it slow and safe." You weren't safe. It's always from the outside of the spring that you unwind and rewind. I made a long comment, you should find it and read it.
Good video. I have done this twice now at my house, two 24" wide springs on a 7' door, most recently yesterday. As of April 2024, I got a quote from a reputable door service guy my neighbor has used and liked - $250 per spring, plus $75 service call = $575. On Amazon I got two Vevo brand springs, with winding bars and included new drum cables, for $65. The door lost multiple rollers and got badly off kilter when springs broke and door fell hard. It took me and my hand brother about 80 minutes to replace, more time spent getting rollers replaced and the door aligned to move in its tracks. The spring part is easy if you just take your time. And measure twice if you're not sure of your spring size, it's not hard, just tedious counting spring coils and doing a tad of basic math. I saved $500. You can too. And the Vevo springs and winding bar seem very good quality, even cam e with a decent pair of cotton gloves with the little blue rubber stipply grippy bumps. I did it alone the first time when the door was not out of its rollers. One person can do it that way as in this video; if the door is jacked up and out of alignment, buy a 12 pack of beer and grab a buddy.
I rarely comment on videos, but this is the most informative video I've viewed. You saved me at least $350! This guide is gold. I followed it to the syllable. The torsion spring suppressing this video shipped overnight. Keep up the great content! Thank you!
Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to share you knowledge by shooting, editing, and uploading this video. I'm a rather handy guy but never wanted to attempt this repair because it seemed so dangerous. With your thorough instruction, and safety tips I was able to find the right parts on Amazon ($135), get longer lasting equipment, stay safe, and save lots of cash. The toughest part I found was the last 10 quarter turns of each spring when the tension got really high. Well done! I get the effort that went into this because I have uploaded a few how-to's myself.
Thank you so much for making this video. I wound up using the website you recommended and it made it very clear about what to order. I upgraded from one spring to two and they had all of the info I needed to do that. I literally followed your video step by step and paused it before I did the next step that you had just done. No hiccups at all and perfect explanations. Very well done.
Awesome video and instructions. Just replace my springs and garage work even better. I put a longer spring so it should last longer than previous.. never change springs before and thank you again for saving me $360. The local repairman wanted $480.
Thank you for the video. I replaced tmy springs for only $55. I liked the step by step process. I especially liked how you pretended to not undo the fasener screws before putting on the new spring, so we would not make that mistake. Thanks again!
Dude! Thanks so much for mentioning the danger zone. I was trying to loosen a set screw and the winding bar fell out and sure enough the spring unwound. by design my body and face was out of the way. Thanks for the steps and warnings. Just watching again to make sure I'm following the right steps and getting my mind sorted on what occured. You saved me a hospital trip. Also saving with DIY. Great video. Money saved for my family...
Just got the springs today and I installed them today. The website you showed is right in my area so I was able to pick them up and not pay shipping. Awesome.
I just finished replacing both garage door springs. Thanks for this Awesome video/guide. It really helped a ton! I am a pretty handy guy, I think, I build and fix a lot of things. This was not a super difficult job, but I can see how it could be very dangerous! Just be cautious, and watch this video! I followed all your guidelines on ordering spring and purchased them from DDM as well. Everything seems to be working perfectly. Thanks again!
Thank you so much for this video. Did it myself and it was a great success! I relied on my spring supplier to get me the right springs and did the install myself. Appreciate it.
Ah! If I only found your channel 2 weeks earlier. I already spent $280 to have a tech do this. Great company, but it would have saved me over $100 from labor charges, and possibly a little more for spring cost. Keep these vids coming. I DIY everything I can so your efforts are greatly appreciated.
$100 more to spare yourself any physical risk, knowing the right parts are used, and saving yourself the time? Sounds like a good deal. Most places guarantee the parts and work too. I think you're looking at it wrong. I do agree that it's not too complex an operation, but my time is worth money too. Last thing I want is injuring my hands, maybe permanently.
Brother you helped me tremendously. I had to remove about a full turn to get the correct tension for going down but otherwise you were spot on. My old one was a 37 1/2 and the new spring was 35 1/2, when done, I measured to make sure i was 2 inches off. The only difference I did from what you taught was on the center mount, I didnt trust to measure and it hold in place, so I took a sharpie and drew a line around the base showing exactly where it needed to go back. Regardless, you took a project that was completely foreign to me and made it possible. Thank you.
Thank you 🙏🙏🙏 Your well articulated video helped me save a lot of money. Doing this myself was important as these are very hard times for me and my family. I went through the video step by step, pausing the video and performing each task. The safety tips are very much appreciated. I bought my torsion springs kit from Amazon and they were delivered the next day. Unfortunately, I found only one torsion spring made in the USA (Dura-Lift), but delivery was 1 week minimum.
I wanted to check prices, so I input the exact info for your garage door springs on the DDM website. Since your video 6 months ago, the prices have actually doubled.
Thank You for sharing your knowledge and experience. Last week I installed a two ton mini split system in my boat garage following your guidance. I am now ordering the garage door insulation from your previous video. I never would have considered the weight variance for the door springs.
Thank you for this video! It was very meticulous and thorough. It effectively helped me save $500 dollars today. I learned how to work on my car through UA-cam, now I learned how to fix my garage door too!
It is important to point out that the shaft is hollow, and if you over-tighten the keys, they will just keep going deeper until they flatten the tube shaft; as some others here have commented.
Studied this video to remove a torsion spring in preparation for complete garage door replacement. Thank you! Skimming the comments was also useful for tips.
Always said i would never replace these springs, but i did. Safty safety respect for what your doing. Great presentation great emphasis on safety. Proceed with caution. Relax take your time.
Great video. I don't think there's any part of this job you didn't cover. So I just got an estimate of $650 to replace both of the springs on my garage door. This seemed a bit high to me, but I really had no point of reference. Now, I'm a DIY guy by nature, but I wasn't sold on the idea of replacing these springs myself only because I know the tension on these springs can cause some serious injuries if not handled properly. After watching this video, I'm not worried about tackling this myself and I'll be saving probably $400 bucks in the process.
The garage door service industry is one of the shadiest and most untrustworthy group of people I have met. Multiple repairmen have serviced my door and it has always been way more money than they quoted and awful customer service. I am happy to learn how to do this myself, thank you for the video.
Hey man, really helpful video. Going to attempt to do my own spring repair. I'm a retired physician and I just wanted to advise you on one thing. Start using gloves when touching any of these petroleum based chemicals. They get absorbed through your skin and go straight to your liver. It's a major toxicity and carcinogenic concern that bites you later in life. Gave you a like and a subscribe - was really well done!
You say "34 turns", but they are 1/4 turns. This would convert into 8-1/2 full turns. This makes more sense to me now. I was like "34 turns! You mad bro!" Awesome video by the way.
Excellent step by step video. Made doing the job myself very easy and saved me a couple hundred bucks. Look forward to checking out more of your videos!
I came home earlier today through the garage. A few seconds after walking into the house and somewhat slamming the interior door I heard a noise in the garage. I thought something had fallen. Looking around I saw nothing amiss, so I thought perhaps it was outside. I hit the opener button, two seconds of motor noise, but no lift. Tried again with same result. I walked over to the garage door and noticed that both springs (about 20yrs old) had snapped. Just found your video and feel confident in attacking this.
I had a guy come out and his first quote was $750. I walked him out. I asked my husband if he could do it (even though he works 14 hour days…he said he would.) He watched this video and read the comments. He said somewhere in these comments someone said something crucial that saved him. Anyway, thanks for doing the vid. He did it for $120 for two springs.
I had already replaced the springs on my garage door before seeing this video. It is 99.5% correct. If you don't own a ladder, you shouldn't be doing any DIY projects. Also most are not lucky enough to have that much space on each side to remove and install the springs without taking the bar down to remove and replace everything. In that case, you will need two ladders. Everything else is spot on.
Great video. Inflation everywhere. Now 6 months later, the springs you bought are double the price at DDM. Still no excuse for the rip-off prices that many unscrupulous contractors charge. They're taking advantage of perceived homeowner urgency (like AC fan/compressor failures due to a $20 cap) to charge way more than a fair labor rate.
Lots of 411 here and pretty well presented. I wanted to see the number of marks (chalk) on each side to see if there were the same on both sides. I have tried to set mine that way since I added a second spring after replacing the original one. Didn't want to unload them both and rewind so i figured the white chalk lines in both springs should be the same. I will loosen the left one and tighten the right side until i can see 6 marks on both sides. It does work as is but i think it is better to have same tension on both springs. Btw, i found it easy to use vice grips on top locked against the wall and then put the take up spools on, hand tighten them and lock them in place, switch to the other side and repeat.
I'm the type of guy that doesn't read manuals and I like to go through trial and error physically and mentally in the real world and the first time I ever took a Bay door that was 40 feet high with a huge Spring while I'm on a 30 foot lift that was exciting when the son of a b**** went crazy on me. lol. I learned real quick.😅
Not something I have to do currently, but have paid to have done in the past... I'll definitely handle it myself next time! Thanks. Great job teaching too.
Don't underestimate the value of a lifetime of experience. We had something installed at our company. The owner of the small company that installed it came to explain to us how it works. Our maintenance people were asking him questions. One of them said, "What if it did this xyz?" He said in 30 years we've installed thousands of these. I've only seen it happen three times. You're not gonna have to worry about that. That's the experience of knowing what really goes wrong or can go wrong and how to manage those situations so they don't continue to happen. It's the shame he sold the company and retired. I would definitely recommend them to anyone. It was heating equipment.
Great video! Very well done and very well explained about how to be safe etc, without going all OSHA overboard. I’ve don’t this several times and know I can always learn, so I always watch a good video or two before tackling DIY stuff. THIS is a very well done How To. 😎👍🏻
14:44 it does make perfect sense… in new construction, take-offs are taken from plan elevations so it’s looked at from the exterior. Same with windows when determining which side of a slider is the vent. Always from exterior.
I'm doing this job now and ran into a problem not mentioned in this video. I found that I had two different sized springs. Apparently you can use non-matching springs, they just have to be wound a different number of times, but it's not recommended because the smaller spring will wear out sooner, which is exactly what happened in my case. Also, I measured the broken spring to figure out what size to order and didn't notice it wasn't the same size as the other one. I thought the good spring was slightly longer due to it still being wound. It was only after I unwound it that I realized it was longer and the wire size was larger. I had to order new springs.
Might want to add a section showing how to deal with a garage door where the partitions (walls) on either end are too close (to the drums on both ends to add springs - meaning the axel with drums needs to be removed from the middle bracket to allow room for the springs to be applied .. also? automatic focus and larger depth of field (smaller aperture) helps a lot..
I did a direct replacement on my springs. Ended up only going 24 turns to have it balanced. Guess they were wrong from the start. Guess I'll replace them with the correct springs when they break again lol. This video was super helpful though.
Love the video, this was my go to guide on getting this done myself and saving $300-$400. You MAY want to work on camera focus as it seemed to focus on other things besides you while working. It did not detract too much from the quality of the info but is just a slight bit distracting. Thank you kindly sir!
Nice Video, Little complicated on measuring the spring. I measured physically to determine the size. I skipped the weighing of the door with only one spring supporting the wight of the door, I don't want it to break while I am working. This can be done and adjusted after the installation.
![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)
Awesome. I was hesitant to replace a broken garage door cable on a torsion bar door, but your how-to video gave me confidence to do the job....SAFELY! Thank you!
Great video! I studied this video and found it extremely useful - it made my work replacing my springs easy. One thing that I ran into while doing this job was something that was not mentioned in the video - the cable placement on the cable drums. An issue I ran into was when I first put tension on the new springs, and lifted the door by hand to check it, the cable came off one of the drums. This happened a couple of times before I realized that the cable ends were sticking out from the drum and the wall bracket for the torque shaft was actually sliding the ends out of the slot, causing the door function to fail. Finally, after much work trying to get the door to work correctly, I realized this, and when I finally put the cable back on the drum properly, with the ends tucked under the outside lip, proper function of the door was achieved. Maybe this should be mentioned in the video, to make sure those cable ends don't stick out to catch on the mounting - bearing brackets for the torsion bar. This would help future installation instructions..
Well done, mostly. I have more than 20 years of Garage door installation, removals and repairs. You really should have a taller ladder for a 8 ft tall door. When you wind the springs you may need to brace against the ladder to counter the toque of the spring. I would want a 6 ft ladder. When you are marking the torsion tube at the drum the cable is off the drum. The marking will be slightly off. As a pro I would lock the torsion tube with 2 vice grips with curve jaws in both directions against the wall above the door. I saw that you had 2 pairs of vice grips in the video. I use 2 to secure the torsion tube. Not every one does this. For a 8 ft tall door you will normally put on 8 1/2 to 8 3/4 full turns. The springs will break in and lose some strength during the fir week of use. A 7 ft tall door gets 7 1/2 to 7 3/4 full turns. The door should balance from your knee to your shoulder. The springs will be a little hot at first . That is normal. They will break in soon. Your door will be heavy in a week or two. Then you will need to add tension. Open your door manually after about one week after spring installation to see how much tension may have been lost to break in. If the springs are too light the opener could cause a lose cable to come off the drum. This creates a dangerous problem. If your door has just one spring when it breaks always replace it with 2 smaller springs. They will last twice as long and the door runs better with 2 springs.
This is all excellent information, my friend,. Thank you so much for this!
Towards the end, of above response, when you said if the springs are too light, do you mean light as in tension?...not putting enough turns?
@jao8084 Yes, when the door opens, the springs unwind. So if you have too little tension on the springs, this will cause the cables to slack and potentially come off the drum. That creates a lot of issues. When you replace your springs, it's good practice to open the door all the way manually and ensure both cables are taunt.
What do you think will happen if I don’t do this after adding insulation like this video?
@Esterovball the door will be too heavy. If you have an operator, it might still lift the door but will eventually "burn" out.
I followed your instructions and repaired my door. I did not have broken springs, but the center bracket actually tore loose from the wall. I had to unwind the springs, remount the bracket, wind the springs, etc. Worked out great. You're a great teacher! Thanks.
When I saw this video was 40+ mins I was almost going to skip it, but after watching it I have to say there is no wasted time. Excellent video! I feel 100% confident I can do this job now.
Just play it at 2x the speed in settings. Becomes a 20 min video 😂
Thanks! Replaced my garage door springs today using this video as a guide. It was very helpful for every step along the way. I appreciate you uploading it to share your experience.
Thank you so much and I’m so glad it helped!
You Sir, are like the little pin holding the steel cable at the bottom: In spite of so much weight and tension, you've succeeded in lifting us all up! Super video in content and construction. Thank you for all your careful work. I finally got my heavy off track wood double door working. YAY! And I'm a 5'4", 72 yo gal. We used to have to walk to the library to read manuals to fix stuff. Now the world is in the palm of our hands. Fantastic!
If I may: I am not a handy man at all! Just a young first time home owner in his 20s, a “kid pretending to be an adult” if you will. This video is perfect and walked me through replacing both of my springs. But pay attention to which ones go on the left and right. I had to do everything twice because I messed that part up. But thank you for the tutorial 🤙🏼
You probably narrowly escaped an insane injury
You're an employee or owner of a garage door service company, huh?
He literally said to pay attention on that multiple times
Best video out there for this! I did the job in just about 1h 40m. Smooth, safe(!), and easy. You saved me $400+. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!🙌🙏
Just got my springs installed. This video was very helpful. Particularly in identifying what springs to purchase and how to purchase them. I went to the site he mentioned DDM Garage Doors and they sent me a link with all my options immediately. I pick out my springs with confidence and had them installed by the end of the week.
My door runs and sounds great. The total cost for me was around $150. I got the winding rods from Amazon and the springs from DDM.
Please be safe everyone and keep a firm grip on the winding rods.
Thank you! Replaced my spring today, follow your video and it was too easy. Also DDM Garage Doors is who I purchased the spring FedEx the day I ordered it. Again your video was spot on and I appreciate and actually learned something. Total cost was $95.00
Very helpful. I watched this after my spring broke to see if the job was something i felt comfortable doing. I followed this video and replaced both springs and put on a new bearing. One of the simplest home projects i've had to do once i knew what i was doing, and at no point did i feel unsafe.
Following this repair will result in a better repair than you're likely to get by hiring a pro. Helping friends and family lubricate their doors, I've noticed most doors aren't properly balanced. If you count the number of turns, they're tightened properly, but the wrong weight/length spring was installed in most cases. I believe that the garage door guys either replace like for like spring size without verifying they are correct, or they use what they have on the truck that's "close enough".
Certainly only tackle this job if you're the OCD type as safety and attention to detail are paramount, and it's not worth risking your safety.
With all that said, as a DIY guy, replacing my springs and door hardware was one of the most satisfying DIY repairs. The door is perfectly balanced, and it's nice and quiet. It's going to last years with minimum maintenance. I wish this video had existed back when I worked on my door.
While I suspect most garage door repair techs are doing a great job, I have definitely heard cases of them using a spring that isn't optimal for the door because they had it in stock and paid for already so it would save a few bucks. Mismatched springs are sometimes used in order to accommodate what the tech had on hand. Like you said, this is a very satisfying repair, so long as you're willing to take your time and be uber safe.
@@LRN2DIY having an undersized spring guarantees future work haha. A heavy door shortens the life of the worm gear and sprocket bushing on automatic openers. My parents have lived in their house for forty years, and have had multiple spring replacements and drive failures. They seem to only get 5 years out of a repair. I finally ordered the proper spring and got the door balanced, and they're in good shape now. I had a similar issue at my house and proactively changed the spring for the right size in order to prevent future problems.
Short lifespan aside, having a heavy door means your family could be stranded in the case of a power outage. Neither my wife or my mom could manually lift the door on either of our houses before I got the doors balanced.
Thank you 🙏 this video was exactly what I needed. Following you advice/instruction save me one thousand dollars. My springs broke on double and single car garage. I successfully replace both cost @250 for springs, lubricant, and tension bars… Thank you
Great Video ! FYI , the Drums / Cable pulleys are 1 foot circumference , so an 8 foot door = 8 winds + a 1/4 to a 1/2/winds and that is what you came up with. plus No need to crush the pipe when tightening the 3/8 set screws, that just makes it harder to remove or install the next time. Always go for the higher cycle rated springs , its worth the money.
Great input, Robert. Thanks!
I have had the enjoyment of replacing a lot of those garage door springs and garage door openers. The tension springs are extremely dangerous and you should always use an abundance of caution when working on them. If you heard one snap you would understand, most people think something hit their house when they break under tension. There is a great deal of kinetic energy in those springs. Your tutorial was spot on with the procedure to replace the springs.
As far as staying in the safety zone it is not just you but anyone else in the garage with you. I cringed watching your daughter get in that danger zone with the scales. But it all turned out safely. Just remember that in the future if you have to do this again.
Good points. I'm glad I was holding the winding cone with the winding bar while she was there but I understand what you mean - I could have had her go around me to stay clear of that path since something certainly could have gone wrong. A good warning to other DIYers.
I had the exact same concern the minute I saw him set up 2 scales, and said his daughter was going to set them...
@@troubleshooter1975You really have to treat garage door springs like they are explosive devices, because they can literally explode. Many homeowners will say when one of the springs break that they thought something hit their house, because it is that violent. Now under the proper precautions they are relatively safe to replace, but you must use and abundance of caution for you and those that might be around you.
Hello, its October 5, 2024. I just replaced my springs following this video, all went very well until I tried to make the springs 1/4 turn tighter. While making the adjustments some how the cables came off the spools. I imagine that I should have put the vise grips back in place (somewhere) to hold everything but I didn't because you didn't mention anything like this in the final adjustment section. I ended up having to release both springs and start over.
I am happy to say that I did get it correct and working. also the cable spools needed to be against the bearing bracket too.
Thank you for this very helpful instruction video!
I changed the springs of my garage door today. I had never done it before. Your video motivated me to do it myself. I thank you SO much for your detailed video. You made me save money and I had fun doing it. DDM company is a great provider for springs and material for garage door. I highly recommend it. They helped me all the way answering my questions about choosing the right springs. And the after sales service is wonderful.
Thanks! Did it no problem with your crystal clear instructions. Anyone can do this if they just respect that power of the springs and take the steps to ensure safety! Did it for $97 instead of my quoted price of $843
Just as many others have said, this video broke down the spring replacement process clearly and gave me all the critical info to do this safely and competently! Thank you so much!
I just want to say this video was very detailed. My torsion spring was broken on both sides. I ordered the replacement part on Amazon and alone I was able to replace the spring. Thank you so much for sharing this video ❤
Great video ! Watched a couple times, went out and bought torsion springs. Completed the job successfully in under an hour. Took my time & was over cautious. No problems & door works great. Thanks !
appreciate very much your patrience with detailed explanations for someone like me who is a novice to a torsion spring garage door; upon my 2nd viewing (after doing much intervening research on my own), i think that it would be helpful to spend a little more time explaining that there was a significant difference between your old springs and the new ones; while you glossed over the difference in measurements, your replacement springs were noticeably stronger than the prior ones both in wire gauge and length; in understanding my situation, i have found that the recommended replacement springs are also significantly stronger than my old broken one; apparently, when a more substantial door was replaced in 2010, the installers did not replace the corresponding recommended springs----so from what my research has enlightened me about is that just re-installing the same size of prior springs is not the best assumption (which may have been how a commercial installer would have handled my issue); also, FYI, using only one of the Walmart scales centered under a double door, instead of 2 scales, worked for me---the one scale gave a reading of 250 pounds; i finally tracked down the manufacturer's specs, and it stated the weight was 242 pounds; also, once i finally tracked down the manufacturer's specs (Haas corporate never replied to me), the specs gave the exact spring size that should have been on the door; the manufacturer recommended 0.234-2-27 springs, and what had been on the door since the 2010 replacement, and now is broken, was 0.218-1.75-28 ;
again, thank you for your efforts in this detailed video
Wish I had seen this before I paid through the nose to have a tech come and replace my springs. Two days later one cables failed (they wrapped it wrong?) and my door was stuck at an angle. Had to cut the other cable to get it to come down. Certainly wasn't going to call those yahoos back. Using this video I was able to repair that BS with new cables and a well tensioned door. Thanks!
The last time I had garage door springs to replace, I just took the broken one to a brick and mortar shop, and they fixed me up with the correct set of springs.
That was over 25 years ago.
10 points Sir! Watched the entire video first and felt comfortable tackling the job. Really appreciated all the safety pointers. Ordered the springs, followed the video step by step. Made some tension adjustments at the end - again - following the video. No problems and saved a few hundred dollars. Thank you for the thorough instructions!!
That's awesome feedback and so glad to hear it went well! Thank you!
I’m 63, my son 40. We both DIY.
I’ve instilled in him proper tool for job.
Our garage door broke. I’m buying the proper tools and not paying labor.
Or and gonna watch this a time or two more.
Thanks.
First time ever changing the springs on a door. I followed the video step by step and it worked perfectly. Thanks for the video.
Great video! I am a DYI-er, but this is one project I've always paid someone else to do. I'm confident I can take this on safely now. Thank you.
That's totally reasonable. If in doubt at all on something like this, calling a pro is the way to go but it really is DIY-able if you take it slow and safe.
Stay on the outside of the spring. If the good one pops, there may be a projectile. I worked at Wayne Dalton for a bit. Seen one of those tubed twisted by the spring as well, that was a hard fix, that's why I ask how old always. Cause you may have to change out the bar/tube/pipe as well. There is a methodology to that also. You can get yourself killed/mangled. Be careful.
@@LRN2DIY "it really is DIY-able if you take it slow and safe." You weren't safe. It's always from the outside of the spring that you unwind and rewind. I made a long comment, you should find it and read it.
I followed your instructions, and everything came out perfectly. Thanks a bunch! Saved me 400 dollars!
Good video. I have done this twice now at my house, two 24" wide springs on a 7' door, most recently yesterday. As of April 2024, I got a quote from a reputable door service guy my neighbor has used and liked - $250 per spring, plus $75 service call = $575. On Amazon I got two Vevo brand springs, with winding bars and included new drum cables, for $65. The door lost multiple rollers and got badly off kilter when springs broke and door fell hard. It took me and my hand brother about 80 minutes to replace, more time spent getting rollers replaced and the door aligned to move in its tracks. The spring part is easy if you just take your time. And measure twice if you're not sure of your spring size, it's not hard, just tedious counting spring coils and doing a tad of basic math. I saved $500. You can too. And the Vevo springs and winding bar seem very good quality, even cam e with a decent pair of cotton gloves with the little blue rubber stipply grippy bumps. I did it alone the first time when the door was not out of its rollers. One person can do it that way as in this video; if the door is jacked up and out of alignment, buy a 12 pack of beer and grab a buddy.
Should probably drink the beer AFTER the job is finished. 😂
I rarely comment on videos, but this is the most informative video I've viewed. You saved me at least $350! This guide is gold. I followed it to the syllable. The torsion spring suppressing this video shipped overnight. Keep up the great content! Thank you!
The garage door service spring replacement prices is ridiculous. I appreciate the detail explanation, very thorough. It helped me greatly, thank you.
Thank you sir! You saved me hundreds. Only lost one tooth but dental work is still a little cheaper than hiring someone to do these springs.
Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to share you knowledge by shooting, editing, and uploading this video. I'm a rather handy guy but never wanted to attempt this repair because it seemed so dangerous. With your thorough instruction, and safety tips I was able to find the right parts on Amazon ($135), get longer lasting equipment, stay safe, and save lots of cash. The toughest part I found was the last 10 quarter turns of each spring when the tension got really high. Well done! I get the effort that went into this because I have uploaded a few how-to's myself.
Thank you so much for making this video. I wound up using the website you recommended and it made it very clear about what to order. I upgraded from one spring to two and they had all of the info I needed to do that. I literally followed your video step by step and paused it before I did the next step that you had just done. No hiccups at all and perfect explanations. Very well done.
Awesome video and instructions. Just replace my springs and garage work even better. I put a longer spring so it should last longer than previous.. never change springs before and thank you again for saving me $360. The local repairman wanted $480.
Thank you for the video. I replaced tmy springs for only $55. I liked the step by step process. I especially liked how you pretended to not undo the fasener screws before putting on the new spring, so we would not make that mistake. Thanks again!
You did a magnificent job explaining this process I would have never tried until I saw this video.A+
Thank you sooo much for a detailed explanation! it took me about 2 hours but I got it done and saved hundreds!!!
Dude! Thanks so much for mentioning the danger zone. I was trying to loosen a set screw and the winding bar fell out and sure enough the spring unwound. by design my body and face was out of the way. Thanks for the steps and warnings. Just watching again to make sure I'm following the right steps and getting my mind sorted on what occured. You saved me a hospital trip. Also saving with DIY. Great video. Money saved for my family...
That had to be a startle. Glad you are safe.
Just got the springs today and I installed them today. The website you showed is right in my area so I was able to pick them up and not pay shipping. Awesome.
I just finished replacing both garage door springs. Thanks for this Awesome video/guide. It really helped a ton! I am a pretty handy guy, I think, I build and fix a lot of things. This was not a super difficult job, but I can see how it could be very dangerous! Just be cautious, and watch this video! I followed all your guidelines on ordering spring and purchased them from DDM as well. Everything seems to be working perfectly. Thanks again!
Thank you so much for this video. Did it myself and it was a great success! I relied on my spring supplier to get me the right springs and did the install myself. Appreciate it.
Ah! If I only found your channel 2 weeks earlier. I already spent $280 to have a tech do this. Great company, but it would have saved me over $100 from labor charges, and possibly a little more for spring cost. Keep these vids coming. I DIY everything I can so your efforts are greatly appreciated.
$100 more to spare yourself any physical risk, knowing the right parts are used, and saving yourself the time? Sounds like a good deal. Most places guarantee the parts and work too. I think you're looking at it wrong.
I do agree that it's not too complex an operation, but my time is worth money too. Last thing I want is injuring my hands, maybe permanently.
Brother you helped me tremendously. I had to remove about a full turn to get the correct tension for going down but otherwise you were spot on. My old one was a 37 1/2 and the new spring was 35 1/2, when done, I measured to make sure i was 2 inches off. The only difference I did from what you taught was on the center mount, I didnt trust to measure and it hold in place, so I took a sharpie and drew a line around the base showing exactly where it needed to go back. Regardless, you took a project that was completely foreign to me and made it possible. Thank you.
Thank you 🙏🙏🙏 Your well articulated video helped me save a lot of money. Doing this myself was important as these are very hard times for me and my family. I went through the video step by step, pausing the video and performing each task. The safety tips are very much appreciated. I bought my torsion springs kit from Amazon and they were delivered the next day. Unfortunately, I found only one torsion spring made in the USA (Dura-Lift), but delivery was 1 week minimum.
Just did my 7' door. worked perfectly.
Bravo ......being a body&fender dynamo, you've made my 1st attempt an easier one. Thanks for taking the time. You've got my gratitude.............
I wanted to check prices, so I input the exact info for your garage door springs on the DDM website. Since your video 6 months ago, the prices have actually doubled.
I noticed that too
Thank You for sharing your knowledge and experience.
Last week I installed a two ton mini split system in my boat garage following your guidance.
I am now ordering the garage door insulation from your previous video. I never would have considered the weight variance for the door springs.
Great video....NOTHING IS TO BE FEARED, BUT TO BE UNDERSTOOD!!!
Thank you for this video! It was very meticulous and thorough. It effectively helped me save $500 dollars today. I learned how to work on my car through UA-cam, now I learned how to fix my garage door too!
It is important to point out that the shaft is hollow, and if you over-tighten the keys, they will just keep going deeper until they flatten the tube shaft; as some others here have commented.
Great video! I always hear about guys getting their head chopped off by garage door springs... Glad you made it out alive, man!! Bravo!
Haha - me too. I haven't heard of any decapitations but I managed to get out with my head still attached ;)
Just replaced both spring bars, appreciate it 👏👍🙏
Studied this video to remove a torsion spring in preparation for complete garage door replacement. Thank you! Skimming the comments was also useful for tips.
Great information. Especially wearing safety glasses needed when on the dangerous internet.
Always said i would never replace these springs, but i did. Safty safety respect for what your doing. Great presentation great emphasis on safety. Proceed with caution. Relax take your time.
Great video. I don't think there's any part of this job you didn't cover. So I just got an estimate of $650 to replace both of the springs on my garage door. This seemed a bit high to me, but I really had no point of reference. Now, I'm a DIY guy by nature, but I wasn't sold on the idea of replacing these springs myself only because I know the tension on these springs can cause some serious injuries if not handled properly. After watching this video, I'm not worried about tackling this myself and I'll be saving probably $400 bucks in the process.
The garage door service industry is one of the shadiest and most untrustworthy group of people I have met. Multiple repairmen have serviced my door and it has always been way more money than they quoted and awful customer service. I am happy to learn how to do this myself, thank you for the video.
Thanks! I found that this video of garage door spring install is the best one that I have found. The instruction is spot on.
Stay on the outside of the spring. No sleaves.
Hey man, really helpful video. Going to attempt to do my own spring repair. I'm a retired physician and I just wanted to advise you on one thing. Start using gloves when touching any of these petroleum based chemicals. They get absorbed through your skin and go straight to your liver. It's a major toxicity and carcinogenic concern that bites you later in life. Gave you a like and a subscribe - was really well done!
You say "34 turns", but they are 1/4 turns. This would convert into 8-1/2 full turns. This makes more sense to me now. I was like "34 turns! You mad bro!" Awesome video by the way.
I find that I am going to have to repair one of these garage doors. Your video is GREAT! Thank you for posting it.
Excellent step by step video. Made doing the job myself very easy and saved me a couple hundred bucks.
Look forward to checking out more of your videos!
Thank you for a very informative and very detailed video in replacing garage door spring. Safety was stressed extensively throughout the video.
I came home earlier today through the garage. A few seconds after walking into the house and somewhat slamming the interior door I heard a noise in the garage. I thought something had fallen. Looking around I saw nothing amiss, so I thought perhaps it was outside. I hit the opener button, two seconds of motor noise, but no lift. Tried again with same result. I walked over to the garage door and noticed that both springs (about 20yrs old) had snapped. Just found your video and feel confident in attacking this.
I had a guy come out and his first quote was $750. I walked him out. I asked my husband if he could do it (even though he works 14 hour days…he said he would.) He watched this video and read the comments. He said somewhere in these comments someone said something crucial that saved him. Anyway, thanks for doing the vid. He did it for $120 for two springs.
What was the comment??!
I had already replaced the springs on my garage door before seeing this video. It is 99.5% correct. If you don't own a ladder, you shouldn't be doing any DIY projects. Also most are not lucky enough to have that much space on each side to remove and install the springs without taking the bar down to remove and replace everything. In that case, you will need two ladders. Everything else is spot on.
Great video. Inflation everywhere. Now 6 months later, the springs you bought are double the price at DDM. Still no excuse for the rip-off prices that many unscrupulous contractors charge. They're taking advantage of perceived homeowner urgency (like AC fan/compressor failures due to a $20 cap) to charge way more than a fair labor rate.
Lots of 411 here and pretty well presented. I wanted to see the number of marks (chalk) on each side to see if there were the same on both sides. I have tried to set mine that way since I added a second spring after replacing the original one. Didn't want to unload them both and rewind so i figured the white chalk lines in both springs should be the same. I will loosen the left one and tighten the right side until i can see 6 marks on both sides. It does work as is but i think it is better to have same tension on both springs. Btw, i found it easy to use vice grips on top locked against the wall and then put the take up spools on, hand tighten them and lock them in place, switch to the other side and repeat.
You’re a great teacher. I’ll probably never do this, but fantastic tutorial
Great video! Very easy to follow along. Although, i did have to rewatch some parts a few times. It took me about 3 hours to install by myself. Thanks.
I did it safely. I called the overhead door company & they fixed it safely for me!
How much did it cost you
I'm the type of guy that doesn't read manuals and I like to go through trial and error physically and mentally in the real world and the first time I ever took a Bay door that was 40 feet high with a huge Spring while I'm on a 30 foot lift that was exciting when the son of a b**** went crazy on me. lol. I learned real quick.😅
Not something I have to do currently, but have paid to have done in the past... I'll definitely handle it myself next time! Thanks. Great job teaching too.
Thanks so much and hoepfully your next replacement is a long ways out :)
I was able to complete this thanks to this video, excellent walkthrough!
Don't underestimate the value of a lifetime of experience. We had something installed at our company. The owner of the small company that installed it came to explain to us how it works. Our maintenance people were asking him questions. One of them said, "What if it did this xyz?" He said in 30 years we've installed thousands of these. I've only seen it happen three times. You're not gonna have to worry about that. That's the experience of knowing what really goes wrong or can go wrong and how to manage those situations so they don't continue to happen. It's the shame he sold the company and retired. I would definitely recommend them to anyone. It was heating equipment.
Thanks for that! Just replaced both springs---gotta love Amazon 135.00 bucks, here next day- 2 hrs done!
Great video! Very well done and very well explained about how to be safe etc, without going all OSHA overboard. I’ve don’t this several times and know I can always learn, so I always watch a good video or two before tackling DIY stuff. THIS is a very well done How To. 😎👍🏻
What a awesome video!! You did a fantastic job of explaining how to preform this job. Thank you.
14:44 it does make perfect sense… in new construction, take-offs are taken from plan elevations so it’s looked at from the exterior. Same with windows when determining which side of a slider is the vent. Always from exterior.
Great point! I hand't thought about it that way.
Very well done.
Appreciate you taking the time to provide the explanation and process.
Thanks
I'm doing this job now and ran into a problem not mentioned in this video. I found that I had two different sized springs. Apparently you can use non-matching springs, they just have to be wound a different number of times, but it's not recommended because the smaller spring will wear out sooner, which is exactly what happened in my case. Also, I measured the broken spring to figure out what size to order and didn't notice it wasn't the same size as the other one. I thought the good spring was slightly longer due to it still being wound. It was only after I unwound it that I realized it was longer and the wire size was larger. I had to order new springs.
Might want to add a section showing how to deal with a garage door where the partitions (walls) on either end are too close (to the drums on both ends to add springs - meaning the axel with drums needs to be removed from the middle bracket to allow room for the springs to be applied .. also? automatic focus and larger depth of field (smaller aperture) helps a lot..
Thanks! A coffee for you, Brother
I’m about to attempt this. Your video makes it look easy. Luckily, my old springs have all the product info on the original tag.
Well done! Understanding this process is complex and appreciate the details.
Thanks for providing such thorough and safety conscious information.
Thanks for the help, I just took care of my door. Easy and safe
Great video, thank you! All the other garage door videos on YT sick so bad. I followed your mini split install as well.
Thank you. You would be proud , got it done in no time. Appreciate your help.
I did a direct replacement on my springs. Ended up only going 24 turns to have it balanced. Guess they were wrong from the start. Guess I'll replace them with the correct springs when they break again lol. This video was super helpful though.
Love the video, this was my go to guide on getting this done myself and saving $300-$400. You MAY want to work on camera focus as it seemed to focus on other things besides you while working. It did not detract too much from the quality of the info but is just a slight bit distracting. Thank you kindly sir!
Thanks so much! Did this myself with no issues.
Nice Video, Little complicated on measuring the spring. I measured physically to determine the size. I skipped the weighing of the door with only one spring supporting the wight of the door, I don't want it to break while I am working. This can be done and adjusted after the installation.
One of my springs broke. Replaced the pair. This video helped quite a bit.
Very detailed and well put together video...great job!
Honestly bro ur so underrated, this a great tutorial and reference. Ana use it for sure 👍