Forum > Home Improvement
garage door torsion spring problem
chopin1397:
I've got an old blue max that has been working good but recently the door drops back down a foot or more when I open the door. It comes up and stops where it is supposed to when the carriage contacts the switch. It then rolls back down. I called blue max and they said it is most likely the torsion spring needs either replacing or adjusting. I found a youtube video which shows how to adjust it by increasing the tension. It requires two special steel bars to rotate the spring to tighten it. This is potentially dangerous if you're not careful because the spring is strong enough to lift the door and therefore powerful enough if it were to break to do some real damage. Anyone has experience with this and knows where to get the tools? If I were able to fix it myself the cost of the tools would eventually pay for themselves since the springs are always going to need adjusting from time to time. I would expect a technician would charge at least $100 to come out for just an adjustment.
scuzzy:
My suggestion is that unless you are very comfortable doing this, then don't as it can cause very serious injury if you mess up. A few months ago, I opted to hire the local professionals to repair my springs.
An easy way to test the spring tension is to disengage the garage door opener and manually open and close the garage door. If it is difficult to manipulate the door, then you know the springs need to be adjusted or replaced. Or maybe the rollers need a good lube. But if the door opens and closes smoothly, then you'll know the problem lies in the garage door opener.
chopin1397:
There are excellent youtube videos showing exactly how to go about this. ie Very carefully! There are two springs so tighten both of them the same, doing maybe a half turn each, then checking it. Wear eye protection and a bike helmet and stay as far away from the spring as practical.
I talked to a genie tech. With the garage door set to manual and closed, lift it about 4 feet. If the springs are good it will stay. Mine didn't. Let it go and it goes back to the floor. She said this is definitely a spring problem.
One problem, which direction to turn. One video was going clockwise to tighten but spring adjustment was on the opposite end as mine. Genie won't give any info about how to adjust cuz they say it's too unsafe for the untrained.
Amazon has the winding rods for $13 a pair. 2 are required as shown on the ut video. Unbeatable price as I've already checked around. Home depot and lowes sells the springs (around $40 each) but web site doesn't list the winding rods(?)
I'm definitely going to try it (very carefully) cuz it will cost a minimum $100 for some guy to spend 15 minutes on it.
Bill:
I had the middle spring support pull away from the wall because of a poor installation. Like Scuzzy, I hired a service company. Rather safe than sorry.
chopin1397:
ja I'm not replacing the springs, just tightening them a couple turns, 1/2 at a time.
oops ... you said have to be sober to do this??!!
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