ontime

It is nothing new to some folks but I had the torsion springs break on my garage door tonight and that was a interesting event. My '13 GS is now stuck in the garage until the door can be repaired. thankfully no pieces went flying at the car. I have replaced these before but will not attempt this time as it is dangerous and I don't want to risk another wrist surgery and a year long rehab. Once was enough. Hopefully they can come and fix before the end of day.

Just an update and thanks for all of your comments. Door guy came and decided to do a complete assessment of the door. It needs springs and nothing more but after fifteen minutes of him climbing around my car which I had asked him not to do went to his truck to do estimate and then we can discuss your options. When he came back he had a list of 3 price levels. This guy was quite the salesman with all the up charges he managed to come up with. The best option for you was just over a grand and did not include a new door. when I refused to do more than the springs he said it would be over 600 dollars. His office had told me 180 and when I asked him about the difference in price he said they don't know what they are doing. Needless to say I asked him to leave and managed to find the original installer. They are coming out Friday as they are very busy but offered to at least come right away to get the car out if I wanted. Both springs installed 245 and no hassle. nothing else needed.

Gator6977

Been there... BTW, if you pull that cord that runs back and forth along the chain, it will unlock the coupler from the chain and allow you to open the garage door. I would recommend having a friend nearby to assist in lowering the door as that sob is heavy. Pulling it up, not so bad. Letting it back down gently, bring help!

corvettezman

I have an insulated fiberglass 2 car garage door. the sucker will not move without the springs. It probably weighs 300 pounds. Not sure what the OP has for a door.

AORoads

You're kidding (not making fun). I had a 1992-era, two-car, solid wood door. No idea what it weighed but it was a lot. Pulled the cord and pushed the door open. Put a 2x4 under one end so it wouldn't "slide down" by some fluke as I pulled the car out..

Gator6977

According to these folks, you're looking closer to the 150-200 lb mark. Given the variables. Nothing too crazy, but it becomes cumbersome and with a friend becomes short work.
https://veterangaragedoor.com/faq/ho...e-doors-weigh/

BadAV

Better the coil spring on the door header than the 2 loose springs that run along the door rails. Those can beat the crap out of a car when they break!

jrose7004

I had to have my garage door fixed for that just last week.

JW Motorsports

Me too. They had it done in no time.

jimmymac25

Here's a pic of mine outside of the garage, if that helps...

Welker1

Had to have my garage door replaced just a couple months back; wife hit the button to close one night, as it did, cross beam bent, door buckled to of the 4 windows that ran across the top panel broke sending shards everywhere to include the trunk area of my Camaro and hatch area of my Corvette. Found a guy who started his company in our small town who replaced the panels for $700; he also added extra cross beam supports on each panel.

JerryC5

Yes, one broke at my old house, and it swung down and hit my C5. I called the door company and had them replace the assembly with a torsion spring set-up.

Vet Interested

itomh

I have a three car garage, three separate doors and have had two door springs fail within the last year. When my last spring broke I purchased a spare spring just waiting for the last one to fail. I replace them carefully myself, but found that if you set the garage door opener to the closed position that I am able to lift and assist the garage door to the open position to free trapped car. When closing with broken spring it take quite a bit of muscle to assist door in closed position without slamming it. It's a 20 year old house with original springs, so it was not a surprise. Maybe when I get time I'll go ahead and change that third one before it breaks, it's just a small inconvenience for me.

BadAV

One thing I found that helps the torsion springs to last longer is to periodically add some type of lubricant to the springs. I like spray motorcycle chain lube. Be sure to get it between the coils as this lessens the friction from coil to coil contact.

Not So Fast

Yep, I spray mine regularly with Garage Door Blaster Lube. They told me that the corrosion between the coils causes a lot of them to snap
NSF

Bob Paris

The last time I had ours replaced I asked for a "high cycle" spring that is good for about three times as many up-down cycles. Spring cost about 40% more than the normal one but the labor charge was the same so for a tad more I eliminated two future repair visits.

BTW, for people with the old style springs on the sides of the door, install a safety rod inside the old springs so that if [when] they break, they are contained on the rod and don't go shooting across the garage.

twinarrow99

Ontime shows wisdom here. These springs are dangerous. Worth the money to call the door guys. Had one go a while ago, agree with the shotgun sound comments! The door guys recommended garage door spray, I use it regularly.

joec

doesn't anyone run cables thru their springs so when the do break it doesn't fly all over???

Gman in NC

I know what you mean. Had that happen years ago and it did hit my car. Nasty chip. It was only a '70' Dodge Charger though. It did hurt.