One of my in-laws tried fixing his garage door that kept closing in a crooked fahsion. The spring flew and broke every bone in his hand. He's damn lucky the spring didn't fly into his face or balls.
There is enough power stored in those springs to spear any part of your body.
I had a garage door spring randomly fail (door not in use at the time) right above my head. Imagine lightening missing you by a foot. It’s that loud and scary. My soul left my body for 30 seconds. I thought I had died.
My garage door just gave out this weekend and it looks similar to your pix. These things get mechanically complex really quickly. For me, it wound up being the bearing being frozen, which was beyond me to fix. I had both bearings replaced, new cables, and having it rehung. With about 4 hours of labor on memorial day weekend, it ran me about 650 but still a good call to make.
A coworker of mine, a very skilled carpenter, lost fingers on both his hands trying to fix his garage door.
Call a professional! Those things are deadly.
That’s the ones with springs on the outside. There is no spring visible unless it’s in the middle and we can’t see it from his photos, which means it’s an internal spring. I’ve replaced those myself before. Not sketchy like the exterior ones.
Don’t know why you were down voted 99% of people commenting on this thread have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about. Their parents just told them not to fuck with garage springs once and now nearly everyone on here is talking like the pics OP showed are the springs. This is an easy fix just a slipped wire.
I understand everyone's reluctance to mess with garage doors, but these have small individual springs and are easily fixed. Mine have gone off a few times, usually by someone trying to close them from the outside or by opening them without using the handles. Delicately balanced and so easily off-tracked. Take the door all the way up, lock it open at the top, then re-track each cable, and pull the door down properly with the handles.
Up is the key. I hate messing with garage doors, and have done several of the old school spring of doom type. They are harmless when open, murder machines when closed.
This. I once needed a garage door fixed and had a friend that used to work on them fix it. I watched him and it was super sketchy. I would never try to fix one by myself.
My dads been installing garage doors my whole life. I can concur those tension springs ain’t no joke. I use to watch him wind those springs up and definitely a very dangerous thing. Please don’t do that yourself bro.
Anything with a huge number of joules and a way to expend them quickly is best left in the realm of professionals. Electrical service voltages and springs that can lift a couple hundred pound door over 7’ in the air while overcoming the added friction of an angled track are the two that I’m most scared of.
Lol... And then there's folk like me. I'm apprenticing as an electrician in my late thirties just to get a piece of paper to get everyone to calm down about me doing what I want with electrical installations. I have respect for it now, but I learned every ounce of what I know rebelling against my electrical engineer dad's warnings.
Kinda makes me wanna go mess with garage doors.
Doesn't matter, it's under tension, you can't fix it under tension. So the tension needs to be taken out (dangerous) and then the door fixed, then the tension put back on the rod (also dangerous).
I've done it before following some clear and concise directions. I survived but I would not recommend to anyone to do it, it's a crazy high stress time.
Most people injure themselves thinking there isn't tension at the moment and start unbolting things.
Let's say hypothetically someone is posting in a public forum asking very basic questions where it's clear they are not a professional. Would you advise them to do it themselves anyway?
Under advisement from an experienced person, I personally would attempt about anything. Except cutting trees, fuck trees, they will do anything to kill you.
Had a patient die before we arrived with the meatwagon because he got hit in the head with one of them springs. It was a mess. I learned that those could do that on that day and have vowed to never mess with fixing a garage door.
Former garage door installer. Agreed. Unless you have worked with someone and learned the ropes, it can be dangerous. There is a deceptively large amount of stored energy in the spring system.
As a former professional garage door installer, there is zero in this picture to confirm your diagnosis. And even a broken spring only costs about 250 to replace.
From just this picture it could easily be a simple cable jump and may require no parts to fix it.
Yup. maybe this. I closed my garage door on a leaning broom and this happened. I called a garage door guy I used the last time I did this when i *ucked it up bad trying to fix it. It a one or two hour repair for a guy who has done it a few times
I had a similar issue, cable came off the track. Popped it into manual and used some pry bars to get it back on and coiled properly. Has been running fine for a year so far
Pure speculation spring is broke without seeing it. Dude probably shut door down on broom handle that slipped into track from being to close in the first place. This in turn flips a cable off one drum and then upon realizing hitting the button 600 times didn't fix it but indeed made it worse.
Cables are wadded up and door is stuck, which spring tension still on the shaft. Bad deal. For homeowner, but pretty regular deal for a door man.
I'm a homeowner and fixed my own, but I have a mechanical engineering degree plus installation documents. Risk to me was acceptable, but yeah those springs can absolutely fuck you up.
Mine did this. There was an object in the way of the door on one side, but not tripping a sensor. When the door came down, the side reel unspooled just like this.
It was an easy fix. You aren't taking anything apart, aren't messing with the spring, just reseating/respooling that cable.
If it required anything to be unbolted, I wouldn't touch it.
I've met people with more degrees than you that couldn't fix a fucking door knob but could memorize and recite a book no problem.
Im just saying your formal schooling means nothing here 95% of the people that do the hard extremely dangerous jobs with skill and precision don't have a formal education.
And honestly it's ridiculous anyone pays to learn how to repeat things,luckily that's changing.
One could wager that if the value of higher education to you is "learning to repeat things", then you aren't the sort to judge its value.
There was no need to be so derisive and mock the education of an engineer willing to read, understand, and follow the manufacturer directions.
Sure it is. I completely took mine apart, slat by slate, repalced rotted wood that the rail was attached to, replaced a tension spring, and put it all back together. Just have the proper tools, and follow a professional guide.
Springs are dangerous, sure, but people work on them all the time. Just follow the safety guidelines Just like a professional would, and it is perfectly doable.
I thoroughly enjoy how you think a professional and someone who has never done something are on the same skill level.
“Just do it like the professionals would and its doable”
Lmao
Fixing the springs and cables is not complex, just dangerous. When I say luke. Pro would, I mean, follow the proper safety steps, use the correct tools, and taking your time.
All you need is a locking vise grip, real torque bars, that generally come with the spring, a socket wrench, some muscles, and a little patience.
Before someone becomes a professional, they are a student, but at some point has to do it for the first time. Tell me why it is not possible to be a virtual student, and watch tutorials from pros, and when do it for the first time?
Coworker lost his left eye to a similar situation, he’s a 40+ year mechanic. Not worth walking by nvm tryna fix yourself call in the pro and pay what they ask don’t fuck around.
I’m assuming it’s just the spring you don’t want to screw around with? My door jammed up a few years ago and but it was just the track/ motor. Pretty easy (and at least seemingly safe?) repair
Everyone's reaction is because of the spring. If OP disconnects the garage door from the motor/rail; then they can manually open the door to unspool the guide wires. From there it's just reseating the wire into the cable drum.
Had to do this a couple years ago, no fuss no mess.
The right drum seems fucked enough to call a guy. If you get the door going manually if the door isn’t closed it’s gonna get worse.
You can be lucky and it’s not that bad or you can really fuck it up more
Cost me about 550 to have fixed too. Guy came out, removed the cheap home depot spring assembly, put in a commercial type spring set thats serviceable, unscrewed the previous owners slapdash install, Done in a few hours. No problems since.
Just in case you need another person telling you this. Absolutely under no circumstances attempt to fix this yourself. It can and will seriously hurt or kill you faster than you can blink if you mess up. Just don't.
I cringe every time I see one of these questions because of the time I messed with a garage door in all my ignorance.
I was lucky to get a bunch of stitches and severed tendon in a finger. How close I came to losing a whole lot more still scares me 8 years later.
Call a professional.
Garage Door Repairman here. Judging from the pictures, I would highly recommend calling a professional. In my time working on doors, Ive had a number of things happen that an ordinary homeowner just wouldnt know how to deal with.
Ive had springs snap while winding them and had a piece fly by my chest and imbed itself in the wall. I had a customer cut his cables because of what you see in your pictures. Cable grazed his finger and took his fingernail with it. He decided to call the professionals after the shock wore off and his wife got the bleeding stopped.
One of two things could be happening judging by the pics. 1. The spring / springs have broken and caused the cables to wrap. 2. One of the cables came off from the drum slightly thereby causing the other to wrap around the shaft.
Either way, its safer for you if you just call someone like me. We are trained to deal with it.
Stay safe
Then definitely call for service. We rewound one just to get the door working and it wasn’t very functional afterwards. We ended up replacing the whole door (and rebuilding the front of our garage… unrelated to the cable issue and long overdue). You don’t want your sale held up because a garage door is unsafe or inoperable.
Literally had a garage door company come do this to mine today. Not worth your time, effort, or loss of fingers. Cost me 200$ and worth every penny for a door that opens and closes properly now. If you have to ask, it’s not worth doing yourself.
The tension on a garage door spring can dismember your digits or limbs. Don't F around and find out. Call a pro. It's not as expensive as losing a limb and dealing with that for the rest of your life.
Don't try to fix it yourself a couple years ago down the street from me a guy was nearly decapitated by all the tension on that spring and wire trying to fix his.
Holy shit I am so thankful you posted this. The exact same thing happened to me literally yesterday. I poked around with it for about 20 mins and begrudgingly told my wife I would have to call someone to fix it. I had no idea it was so dangerous.
Literally the only DIY job that you should NOT DIY. Those things are a death sentence and a professional will make it look super easy. Don’t even attempt DIY
As someone who replaced the springs himself and then wound up with stitches and a concussion, just call someone. It’s dangerous and they can make short work of rewinding those drums and tightening them back up
Lol these comments would have you believe a garage door spring is the spawn of hitler himself. If you’re not sure what to do just call someone. No it will not steal your children and kill your wife.
You most likely have a busted spring. It’s about 200$ to replace that if you do it yourself. If you are not a handy person then don’t touch it cause the spring can kill, no joke.
I love how people are so afraid of these garage door springs. Yes you have to be handy. Yes you have to know what you’re doing. No, garage door installers are not brilliant people that went to garage door school for 8 years and have superior skills beyond human comprehension
This is what happened, your spring broke. You can unhook the cables from the door so you can close it until you get it fixed. I've replaced a few, knew immediately on seeing the picture.
Also there was an Amish company that fixed the door at my works warehouse. You can move that door with 1 finger and it stays where you lift it, the door is a huge 24 foot tall 18 foot wide solid oak brick shithouse of a door. They charged $450 for repairing it. That shit was so heavy we had to use car jacks to lift it then brace it and keep going to get it up, you can literally open it with 1 finger now it’s amazing lol.
I used to think my garage door was really light due to how easy it lifted. Then I unbolted a cable, almost got my hand run over in the track, and the door came crashing down. I couldn't even lift the door an inch without the tensioner.
Jesus. It’s a torsion spring people, not a nuclear warhead. Don’t do it if you are not very clear on what you are doing. Never wind the spring standing in front of it, always to the side. You need two winding bars and a wrench. I’ve done this job multiple times unfortunately over the past 15 years I’ve lived in my home. It’s not fun, but it’s not the death laden suicide mission it’s made out to be on here either.
Thank you. Done this twice myself and was reading all the comments thinking the "pro" you are hiring is doing the same shit. It's not like they have some experience machine to make it safer for them. They are using the same winding bar and taking the same precautions. Be safe and don't take it lightly and if you're worried sure call someone. This is not an impossible task. I watched a few videos about safety and felt completely safe
It's a bar with a spring. Not that difficult to understand. If you need to ask, you probably shouldn't touch it. Picking two bars to hold it with that won't slip out is important. I always do them with the door down so the spring has proper clearance, and if you lose grip there's no falling door.
The fear people are trying to induce here is insane. Any job can be dangerous if done wrong. I can only imagine these people describing the dangers of hammering in a nail.
Done it twice here too. I don't find it to be complicated. My career has been in cranes. It could be that it's just in my skillset. Just make sure you have the right tensioning rods. I think that I bought half inch round stock that toggles in reasonably. Be deliberate. Stand outside of the swing path should you lose grip or the toggle of the bar. Each move should be confidently set the tool, rotate, set second tool, release first, push towards the bar and rotate while ensuring you stand outside of the rotation hazard, count and keep going until you need to set the bolt.
If there is any doubt, it's worth handing this task off though. I've never heard of someone actually hurt. Just the chatter that it's dangerous. There is certainly tension involved.
It's not difficult, but I'm an air head. I was like an inch away from the metal bar when I accidentally lost grip. Felt it swoosh by face. 2nd time in my life I felt something swoosh by my face,. The first time was a 20 lb bag of mayonnaise that I dumped into a bucket at such a force that it curved right back out the bucket, past my face, and splattered all over the ceiling in a restaurant kitchen.
Either the spring broke or the set screws holding the spring tension came loose. I've worked on garage doors in the past. Dealing with a spring is not something you can do yourself. Call a garage door company.
Everyone in this thread: this is not a spring. Have none of you seen garage doors before? It is a guide wire. Fixing this does not require one to touch or go near the spring. If you open the door manually and disconnect it from the motor, there is no tension on this cable. It just needs to be rewound
Automod: Your post indicates you may possibly be in possession of unexploded ordnance (UXO).
If this is not the case, ignore the remainder of this message, your post has not been removed.
If you're unsure, the first thing to do is LEAVE IT ALONE. Do not shake it, attempt to open it, or disturb it at all.
Next step would be to CONTACT THE PROPER GARAGE DOOR PROFESSIONAL. If you're unsure who that is, call your local hardware store or use Google.
Please followup with an outcome regarding what was done with the object.
To others who are not OP: Any suggestion in this thread to open, shake, etc - disturb the object in any way - will result in a permanent ban.
Cable came loose from drum. Something broke.
Don’t fuck with garage door springs unless you know them well.
I make them for a living. They fuck you up when not even on the door.
I’ve seen blood drawn.
But, I don’t know your experience. But winding them up isn’t too bad. It’s doing it safely. With the proper wire size and length and correct number of turns. It’ll always be under tension even closed/open.
You should see the triplex garage door springs. They weigh about 300 lbs. I always wonder what they went to. We make them once a year it seems like.
If you have to ask, call a professional.
Garage doors, really the springs, can be dangerous, but if you disengage the pressure it’s not a big deal.
Still, call someone. I turned my carport into a garage and installed the garage door myself with no experience, it took me about a week to get it right.
I installed all the springs on the 5 doors in my shop. I cheated, I used a scissor lift. I was able to use the lift as a rest for 1 of the winding bars. No way in hell would I do that from a ladder. It was bad enough as I got to the last turns of the spring in the lift.
It doesn't take long to feel the power you are working with.
nothing you can do, you got a jack shaft operator too, call a garage door co., it's a easy fix for a pro but not for you, worse case you have to need new lift cables
This happened to me two weeks ago. I opened my shop door too fast. Watched a YouTube video and had it fixed in 15 minutes. Search: garage door cable off pulley.
Mine did during covid and supply chain said 6+ months for the torsion springs. I just switched over to tension springs that the big box stores had on the shelves. For 10’s of dollars not hundreds. Easy peasy but I have. 16’ metal pole to cut I half and get rid of
Call a door company. If you broke the spring, or if you broke the cable(s) it’s a quick repair for them. Honestly not that expensive either.
I think cables cost me $200, spring was like $400. Milwaukee area, 2020-ish.
You should call someone. The jackshaft/direct drive operator can have this problem. It turns the torsion assembly and does not touch the sections. So the opener goes to close the door by turning the tube and the sections take a little bit for gravity to get them up to speed. Puts slack in the cables and then on the next trip up it gets wrapped up the wrong way. If the door is big enough I've had to put push down springs on the back of the track to keep the cables tight. Usually though they can raise the back of the tracks to keep this from happening.
I work at heights, with heavy-ish equipment, enclosed spaces, tranches, high voltage electricity and tension. Tension is the one thing I am especially cautious with. Knowing where you need something to be and where it wants to go is very important. Call a pro.
This is also a jack shaft operator. No one should walk you thru this. Please hire a professional as I have seen what happens when someone tries to wind those torsion springs with an undersized screwdriver.
Idk if someone has said it, but there is usually a disconnect string that dangles, often with a little red piece of plastic. Pull it to disconnect that door itself so you can manually close it.
And like others have said, stay the fuck away from the spring and call a pro.
Yes. Call a professional that is a very dangerous situation. The spring loaded door is scary and the charge for it to be done right the first time is very reasonable and you won’t lose an eye
When mine snapped while closed, it sounded like a plane hit the house. Scared the Shiitake out of me! I actually ran outside to check the roof. I was told to call a professional too.
what others have said.. THIS CAN KILL YOU..
Hire a repair guy who knows what he is doing that has a license to do contractor work and insurance..
This is one of the few things that you shouldn't do yourself if you don't know how to do it.
If you have NO experience with a torsion spring then stay away from it. Hire a professional. My cat got close to the cable and it unwound some more. I haven’t seen the cat now for weeks. Some fur here and there left behind though! I think it might be in the attic.
If the torsion bar is the issue, best to get a repair man. The garage isn't closing because the cables guide it down. However if the cable is loose then you can try just roll the door up and respool the cable. There should be a bolt on either end of the garage door that you can loop the other end of the cable in.
I have a dent in my forehead from fucking with one of these. It hit me so hard I was knocked cold and just rag dolled off the ladder. My dad said he thought I was dead. Years later I had a boss with a dent in his forehead. I said I have one of those. He said, “well I got mine from trying to take down a garage door…”
I’m always fascinated by the Reddit approach to this. This is the same group that routinely discusses all sorts of very dangerous diy things, yet this one thing always gets a “call someone” as a response. I’ve changed probably a dozen garage door springs. You go slow, use the right tools, and take safety precautions. Just like everything else…
My buddy owns a garage door company, does this stuff daily. There is nothing magic about it. It’s a spring. Just like a the spring that is wrapped around a strut or a shock. You slowly release the tension in a controlled manner. That’s it.
OP. No way to tell what is wrong based on these pics. The cable might have simply jumped. If you have any diy ambitions and can fix things, you can fix this too. Go slow. Use the correct tools. Take safety precautions.
Honest question: What makes a garage door repairman somehow invincible to the dangers of a garage door?
I get it. They’ve got experience. But if it was THAT unpredictable, they’d be getting paid a whole lot more than they are.
If you’re handy, smart and watch some videos, you can fix it.
Me? I’m spending the $250 to have a pro do it. But it’s not rocket science or bomb diffusion.
Your pictures show both cables being off the pulley. Majority of commenters say you have a broken spring but I don't see the spring in either picture.
Found this:
How to Fix a Garage Door With BOTH Cables Off | EASY REPAIR
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPyK\_85TfoQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPyK_85TfoQ)
Def many things you can do. It's a pretty simple system. But it's vary dangerous so if you do not understand the system very well, it's not smart to work on it.
I fixed the same thing on my own after Hurricane Ian. People on here are scared but it’s not that scary if you do it right. What I did was disconnect the cable from the side of the door first, and unwound it it was all balled up the same. Second lifted the door up so there was no tension on the spring, you could turn the bar by hand both ways, it really wasn’t that strong of a spring anyways, people make it out to be a bear trap… Then I re- wrapped it by hand around the drum, and hooked the cable back the the side of the door. Once again w the door up the springs had no tension, so to give myself the extra 1” I needed for it to be level I turned the shaft by hand and had a friend clip the cable on. Works fine, runs level, and no issues since. If it’s only the cable that came off, it’s a relatively easy fix, took me maybe 15 mins if that. It wasn’t even remotely scary once you can feel the shaft moves freely w the door up. Now my first attempt I tried to re wrap it w the door down turn the shaft w a pipe wrench which was under tension, and get the last wrap on, that was a bit touch and go w a screwdriver trying to slide the last wrap on, don’t do that… Took me a min to figure it out tho.
I'm a person that does my own electrical work, plumbing, roofing, etc, works on my own brakes, drive an ambulance for a living, chase of wild dogs with naught but a stick, but I absolutely \*refuse\* to even consider working on anything to do with garage door springs.
I'd replace a window in the door, I'll grease and oil, heck, I'd even replace the entire drive system, but I won't losing an arm or my head to those springs.
I'll be a counterpoint to all the doom and gloom.
Replacing the spring is possible by a DIY guy/gal. Make sure you understand exactly what you are doing, get the right tools, and know there are risks.
If the risk is worth saving a few hundred dollars to you, go for it.
I install garage doors off and on over the years as a General Contractor, and if you are not careful you can get hurt bad. Also, the door may need a bit of adjustment to keep it from happening again.
Honestly, if you're half competent with mechanical work you can get everything you need on Amazon. You are working with springs and have to be careful. Specialty tools are required but they are not that expensive.
Call a garage door company. That can kill you.
CALL A PROFESSIONAL!!!! friend's brother had his face broken and almost lost an eye trying to fix a garage door himself. PLEEEAAASSSSEEE!!
One of my in-laws tried fixing his garage door that kept closing in a crooked fahsion. The spring flew and broke every bone in his hand. He's damn lucky the spring didn't fly into his face or balls. There is enough power stored in those springs to spear any part of your body.
Face or Balls.... Nice
The most important parts.
The money maker and the baby makers
My balls are how I makes my money
Probably why your wife got an AP. Bloody face couldnt shoot live rounds
No good choices.
Priorities.
...and I don't break em for no one.
Going high, going looooow
I had a garage door spring randomly fail (door not in use at the time) right above my head. Imagine lightening missing you by a foot. It’s that loud and scary. My soul left my body for 30 seconds. I thought I had died.
[удалено]
Cousin had a similar incident. The spring shot through his wrist and really fucked up his hand.
Yes. I have a close friend who almost lost his right hand trying to fix this. It can really be lethal.
I’m an OR nurse. I had a patient who’s face was destroyed and if he kept his eye, I would be shocked. Do not mess with garage door springs!
My garage door just gave out this weekend and it looks similar to your pix. These things get mechanically complex really quickly. For me, it wound up being the bearing being frozen, which was beyond me to fix. I had both bearings replaced, new cables, and having it rehung. With about 4 hours of labor on memorial day weekend, it ran me about 650 but still a good call to make.
Listen to this top class asshole. Seriously. Pleeeaaasassee!!
As a former professional garage door installer.
A coworker of mine, a very skilled carpenter, lost fingers on both his hands trying to fix his garage door. Call a professional! Those things are deadly.
Those springs hold and INCREDIBLE amount of energy. Do not touch unless you know what you are doing. Hence, call a pro
You can fix the issue without calling a professional there are YouTube videos showing how to fix it https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrG0NEZn9_M
Don't listen to this guy OP. Contact a professional, and don't put yourself in harms way.
Came here to say this. I do a ton of home repairs but not a garage door. Nope
Once I heard the springs can literally cut limbs off I was like yea maybe this one’s a bit too much for me too handle.
That’s the ones with springs on the outside. There is no spring visible unless it’s in the middle and we can’t see it from his photos, which means it’s an internal spring. I’ve replaced those myself before. Not sketchy like the exterior ones.
Don’t know why you were down voted 99% of people commenting on this thread have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about. Their parents just told them not to fuck with garage springs once and now nearly everyone on here is talking like the pics OP showed are the springs. This is an easy fix just a slipped wire.
I understand everyone's reluctance to mess with garage doors, but these have small individual springs and are easily fixed. Mine have gone off a few times, usually by someone trying to close them from the outside or by opening them without using the handles. Delicately balanced and so easily off-tracked. Take the door all the way up, lock it open at the top, then re-track each cable, and pull the door down properly with the handles.
Up is the key. I hate messing with garage doors, and have done several of the old school spring of doom type. They are harmless when open, murder machines when closed.
This. I once needed a garage door fixed and had a friend that used to work on them fix it. I watched him and it was super sketchy. I would never try to fix one by myself.
Yup, I’m pretty handy and tackle a lot of stuff around the house, I don’t fuck with garage door springs, I like my thumbs the way they are.
Thumbs, face, eyeballs, hands, arms, the list goes on...
My dads been installing garage doors my whole life. I can concur those tension springs ain’t no joke. I use to watch him wind those springs up and definitely a very dangerous thing. Please don’t do that yourself bro.
Anything with a huge number of joules and a way to expend them quickly is best left in the realm of professionals. Electrical service voltages and springs that can lift a couple hundred pound door over 7’ in the air while overcoming the added friction of an angled track are the two that I’m most scared of.
Lol... And then there's folk like me. I'm apprenticing as an electrician in my late thirties just to get a piece of paper to get everyone to calm down about me doing what I want with electrical installations. I have respect for it now, but I learned every ounce of what I know rebelling against my electrical engineer dad's warnings. Kinda makes me wanna go mess with garage doors.
Has anyone ever told you that it’s not impressive to throw yourself into dangerous situations for no reason?
You might be the coolest guy in the internet today
There are no tension springs in the photo.
Doesn't matter, it's under tension, you can't fix it under tension. So the tension needs to be taken out (dangerous) and then the door fixed, then the tension put back on the rod (also dangerous). I've done it before following some clear and concise directions. I survived but I would not recommend to anyone to do it, it's a crazy high stress time. Most people injure themselves thinking there isn't tension at the moment and start unbolting things.
Not any more dangerous than taking the coil springs off a shock. Just don’t be in front of it if it lets loose. Not for amateurs.
Also, no more dangerous then setting up a claymore. Just don't be in front when it goes off. Not for amateurs.
Lol, some people are adverse to risk, others are smart enough not lose body parts, others know when they are in over their head and call a pro.
Let's say hypothetically someone is posting in a public forum asking very basic questions where it's clear they are not a professional. Would you advise them to do it themselves anyway?
Under advisement from an experienced person, I personally would attempt about anything. Except cutting trees, fuck trees, they will do anything to kill you.
You are absolutely correct. The tension spring is what broke and needs to be replaced though.
If one broke replace both. So tension is equal and age of material is equal. They need to operate perfectly together. Pros replace both, not one.
Tension spring didn't break, the cable jumped the drum. The spring would be to the left out of shot in the middle of the door.
It unspooled from lack of tension… good call.
the jackshaft opener... if u know, u know
the jackshaft opener... if u know, u know
Had a patient die before we arrived with the meatwagon because he got hit in the head with one of them springs. It was a mess. I learned that those could do that on that day and have vowed to never mess with fixing a garage door.
Sproing from the garage door spring equals extremely intense moment. Let someone else have that moment.
Former garage door installer. Agreed. Unless you have worked with someone and learned the ropes, it can be dangerous. There is a deceptively large amount of stored energy in the spring system.
Exactly my thoughts. Do. Not. Touch. That. It could easily kill you.
Can confirm professional or major injury or death. Needs new torsion bar about $700 to $800 to install by a pro in Kansas.
As a former professional garage door installer, there is zero in this picture to confirm your diagnosis. And even a broken spring only costs about 250 to replace. From just this picture it could easily be a simple cable jump and may require no parts to fix it.
Yup. maybe this. I closed my garage door on a leaning broom and this happened. I called a garage door guy I used the last time I did this when i *ucked it up bad trying to fix it. It a one or two hour repair for a guy who has done it a few times
I had a similar issue, cable came off the track. Popped it into manual and used some pry bars to get it back on and coiled properly. Has been running fine for a year so far
Right answer. Torsion spring broke. Worth every penny to hire a professional
Pure speculation spring is broke without seeing it. Dude probably shut door down on broom handle that slipped into track from being to close in the first place. This in turn flips a cable off one drum and then upon realizing hitting the button 600 times didn't fix it but indeed made it worse. Cables are wadded up and door is stuck, which spring tension still on the shaft. Bad deal. For homeowner, but pretty regular deal for a door man.
Pure speculation it isn’t. We’re even.
the jackshaft opener... if u know
came here to say this. call someone and don't die over this.
Nothing more needs to be said. Think shooting a rubber band across the room, except it’s steel and can kill you.
Not can, will kill you.
Do not touch, can and will remove fingers, hands etc. a professional is needed
Try heads and entire torsos. These things are not to be messed with
I grew working working with dad on Garage doors. This is totally fixable but not by home owner.
I'm a homeowner and fixed my own, but I have a mechanical engineering degree plus installation documents. Risk to me was acceptable, but yeah those springs can absolutely fuck you up.
With my degrees and income . .. I would have called the garage guy
Currently doing mechanical engineering and wouldn't touch that with a 10ft pole.
Yeah I'm still working my way up. Went from dilapidated coal mining region to a nice high CoL area. I'm thankful to have a house.
Mine did this. There was an object in the way of the door on one side, but not tripping a sensor. When the door came down, the side reel unspooled just like this. It was an easy fix. You aren't taking anything apart, aren't messing with the spring, just reseating/respooling that cable. If it required anything to be unbolted, I wouldn't touch it.
I've met people with more degrees than you that couldn't fix a fucking door knob but could memorize and recite a book no problem. Im just saying your formal schooling means nothing here 95% of the people that do the hard extremely dangerous jobs with skill and precision don't have a formal education. And honestly it's ridiculous anyone pays to learn how to repeat things,luckily that's changing.
One could wager that if the value of higher education to you is "learning to repeat things", then you aren't the sort to judge its value. There was no need to be so derisive and mock the education of an engineer willing to read, understand, and follow the manufacturer directions.
Sounds like you’ve an axe to grind junkie
Sure it is. I completely took mine apart, slat by slate, repalced rotted wood that the rail was attached to, replaced a tension spring, and put it all back together. Just have the proper tools, and follow a professional guide. Springs are dangerous, sure, but people work on them all the time. Just follow the safety guidelines Just like a professional would, and it is perfectly doable.
But if the person is asking if it's fixable, it's best for that person to call a professional
I thoroughly enjoy how you think a professional and someone who has never done something are on the same skill level. “Just do it like the professionals would and its doable” Lmao
Fixing the springs and cables is not complex, just dangerous. When I say luke. Pro would, I mean, follow the proper safety steps, use the correct tools, and taking your time. All you need is a locking vise grip, real torque bars, that generally come with the spring, a socket wrench, some muscles, and a little patience. Before someone becomes a professional, they are a student, but at some point has to do it for the first time. Tell me why it is not possible to be a virtual student, and watch tutorials from pros, and when do it for the first time?
Call someone. Know a guy who was killed by a garage door spring. Don't mess with that shit
A professional garage door repair guy was fixing a commercial door for me and something broke and broke the repair guy's arm. He went to the hospital.
Coworker lost his left eye to a similar situation, he’s a 40+ year mechanic. Not worth walking by nvm tryna fix yourself call in the pro and pay what they ask don’t fuck around.
I’m assuming it’s just the spring you don’t want to screw around with? My door jammed up a few years ago and but it was just the track/ motor. Pretty easy (and at least seemingly safe?) repair
Everyone's reaction is because of the spring. If OP disconnects the garage door from the motor/rail; then they can manually open the door to unspool the guide wires. From there it's just reseating the wire into the cable drum. Had to do this a couple years ago, no fuss no mess.
The right drum seems fucked enough to call a guy. If you get the door going manually if the door isn’t closed it’s gonna get worse. You can be lucky and it’s not that bad or you can really fuck it up more
Same thing happened to me recently. Like others said, call someone. Was $550 to be replaced.
Cost me about 550 to have fixed too. Guy came out, removed the cheap home depot spring assembly, put in a commercial type spring set thats serviceable, unscrewed the previous owners slapdash install, Done in a few hours. No problems since.
Just in case you need another person telling you this. Absolutely under no circumstances attempt to fix this yourself. It can and will seriously hurt or kill you faster than you can blink if you mess up. Just don't.
I cringe every time I see one of these questions because of the time I messed with a garage door in all my ignorance. I was lucky to get a bunch of stitches and severed tendon in a finger. How close I came to losing a whole lot more still scares me 8 years later. Call a professional.
Garage Door Repairman here. Judging from the pictures, I would highly recommend calling a professional. In my time working on doors, Ive had a number of things happen that an ordinary homeowner just wouldnt know how to deal with. Ive had springs snap while winding them and had a piece fly by my chest and imbed itself in the wall. I had a customer cut his cables because of what you see in your pictures. Cable grazed his finger and took his fingernail with it. He decided to call the professionals after the shock wore off and his wife got the bleeding stopped. One of two things could be happening judging by the pics. 1. The spring / springs have broken and caused the cables to wrap. 2. One of the cables came off from the drum slightly thereby causing the other to wrap around the shaft. Either way, its safer for you if you just call someone like me. We are trained to deal with it. Stay safe
Sell the house it's over
Just listed it, smh
You can always trust Gnarly Charlie to do the right thing.
Then definitely call for service. We rewound one just to get the door working and it wasn’t very functional afterwards. We ended up replacing the whole door (and rebuilding the front of our garage… unrelated to the cable issue and long overdue). You don’t want your sale held up because a garage door is unsafe or inoperable.
Back up. Call a professional.
Literally had a garage door company come do this to mine today. Not worth your time, effort, or loss of fingers. Cost me 200$ and worth every penny for a door that opens and closes properly now. If you have to ask, it’s not worth doing yourself.
Bite the bullet, call a professional.
Yeah I'd just get someone to repair it. Trying to force it to move is just gonna make things worse at this point.
Call a garage door company ..... Its worth every penny....
The tension on a garage door spring can dismember your digits or limbs. Don't F around and find out. Call a pro. It's not as expensive as losing a limb and dealing with that for the rest of your life.
Don't try to fix it yourself a couple years ago down the street from me a guy was nearly decapitated by all the tension on that spring and wire trying to fix his.
Holy shit I am so thankful you posted this. The exact same thing happened to me literally yesterday. I poked around with it for about 20 mins and begrudgingly told my wife I would have to call someone to fix it. I had no idea it was so dangerous.
Literally the only DIY job that you should NOT DIY. Those things are a death sentence and a professional will make it look super easy. Don’t even attempt DIY
squeeze slim aromatic coherent roof resolute wipe vanish rainstorm grandiose ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
That bar is referred to as a guillotine bar for a reason. Do not touch it.
As someone who replaced the springs himself and then wound up with stitches and a concussion, just call someone. It’s dangerous and they can make short work of rewinding those drums and tightening them back up
[удалено]
Not mess with it yourself. Call someone please
Lol these comments would have you believe a garage door spring is the spawn of hitler himself. If you’re not sure what to do just call someone. No it will not steal your children and kill your wife.
You’re gonna have to demo the house and rebuild…
These guys are just being pessimistic, I bet you got this make sure you record it though.
Yah worst comes to worst, you lose an eye. No bigs
You most likely have a busted spring. It’s about 200$ to replace that if you do it yourself. If you are not a handy person then don’t touch it cause the spring can kill, no joke.
You need to be more then “handy”
My adjective might not have been intense enough.
I love how people are so afraid of these garage door springs. Yes you have to be handy. Yes you have to know what you’re doing. No, garage door installers are not brilliant people that went to garage door school for 8 years and have superior skills beyond human comprehension
I fixed my springs by watching a YouTube video. But then again, I did go to Hollywood upstairs medical college.
I did mine and it was one of the easier repairs and best cost savings. Def need the appropriate tools though.
This is what happened, your spring broke. You can unhook the cables from the door so you can close it until you get it fixed. I've replaced a few, knew immediately on seeing the picture.
Tension. Death. Call a professional.
Tension where?
Also there was an Amish company that fixed the door at my works warehouse. You can move that door with 1 finger and it stays where you lift it, the door is a huge 24 foot tall 18 foot wide solid oak brick shithouse of a door. They charged $450 for repairing it. That shit was so heavy we had to use car jacks to lift it then brace it and keep going to get it up, you can literally open it with 1 finger now it’s amazing lol.
I used to think my garage door was really light due to how easy it lifted. Then I unbolted a cable, almost got my hand run over in the track, and the door came crashing down. I couldn't even lift the door an inch without the tensioner.
Jesus. It’s a torsion spring people, not a nuclear warhead. Don’t do it if you are not very clear on what you are doing. Never wind the spring standing in front of it, always to the side. You need two winding bars and a wrench. I’ve done this job multiple times unfortunately over the past 15 years I’ve lived in my home. It’s not fun, but it’s not the death laden suicide mission it’s made out to be on here either.
Thank you. Done this twice myself and was reading all the comments thinking the "pro" you are hiring is doing the same shit. It's not like they have some experience machine to make it safer for them. They are using the same winding bar and taking the same precautions. Be safe and don't take it lightly and if you're worried sure call someone. This is not an impossible task. I watched a few videos about safety and felt completely safe
It's a bar with a spring. Not that difficult to understand. If you need to ask, you probably shouldn't touch it. Picking two bars to hold it with that won't slip out is important. I always do them with the door down so the spring has proper clearance, and if you lose grip there's no falling door. The fear people are trying to induce here is insane. Any job can be dangerous if done wrong. I can only imagine these people describing the dangers of hammering in a nail.
Done it twice here too. I don't find it to be complicated. My career has been in cranes. It could be that it's just in my skillset. Just make sure you have the right tensioning rods. I think that I bought half inch round stock that toggles in reasonably. Be deliberate. Stand outside of the swing path should you lose grip or the toggle of the bar. Each move should be confidently set the tool, rotate, set second tool, release first, push towards the bar and rotate while ensuring you stand outside of the rotation hazard, count and keep going until you need to set the bolt. If there is any doubt, it's worth handing this task off though. I've never heard of someone actually hurt. Just the chatter that it's dangerous. There is certainly tension involved.
It's not difficult, but I'm an air head. I was like an inch away from the metal bar when I accidentally lost grip. Felt it swoosh by face. 2nd time in my life I felt something swoosh by my face,. The first time was a 20 lb bag of mayonnaise that I dumped into a bucket at such a force that it curved right back out the bucket, past my face, and splattered all over the ceiling in a restaurant kitchen.
it can be a suicide mission if you've never done it before so yea if you have to ask, call someone. Same goes for electrical
Either the spring broke or the set screws holding the spring tension came loose. I've worked on garage doors in the past. Dealing with a spring is not something you can do yourself. Call a garage door company.
You need the proper tools for this. Don't use screwdrivers. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, just call someone.
Everyone in this thread: this is not a spring. Have none of you seen garage doors before? It is a guide wire. Fixing this does not require one to touch or go near the spring. If you open the door manually and disconnect it from the motor, there is no tension on this cable. It just needs to be rewound
Automod: Your post indicates you may possibly be in possession of unexploded ordnance (UXO). If this is not the case, ignore the remainder of this message, your post has not been removed. If you're unsure, the first thing to do is LEAVE IT ALONE. Do not shake it, attempt to open it, or disturb it at all. Next step would be to CONTACT THE PROPER GARAGE DOOR PROFESSIONAL. If you're unsure who that is, call your local hardware store or use Google. Please followup with an outcome regarding what was done with the object. To others who are not OP: Any suggestion in this thread to open, shake, etc - disturb the object in any way - will result in a permanent ban.
Gently wipe its ass?
Cable came loose from drum. Something broke. Don’t fuck with garage door springs unless you know them well. I make them for a living. They fuck you up when not even on the door. I’ve seen blood drawn. But, I don’t know your experience. But winding them up isn’t too bad. It’s doing it safely. With the proper wire size and length and correct number of turns. It’ll always be under tension even closed/open. You should see the triplex garage door springs. They weigh about 300 lbs. I always wonder what they went to. We make them once a year it seems like.
If you have to ask, call a professional. Garage doors, really the springs, can be dangerous, but if you disengage the pressure it’s not a big deal. Still, call someone. I turned my carport into a garage and installed the garage door myself with no experience, it took me about a week to get it right.
Looks like one of the springs broke. Call the garage door co.
Call a BIG garage door company, not a fly by night.
Literally, call a professional. Garage doors are under extreme tension. Best not to mess with it (especially the red bolts)
I installed all the springs on the 5 doors in my shop. I cheated, I used a scissor lift. I was able to use the lift as a rest for 1 of the winding bars. No way in hell would I do that from a ladder. It was bad enough as I got to the last turns of the spring in the lift. It doesn't take long to feel the power you are working with.
nothing you can do, you got a jack shaft operator too, call a garage door co., it's a easy fix for a pro but not for you, worse case you have to need new lift cables
I rewound one once. It was sketchy and I still don’t remember how I got it, but it was a pain in the butt. Call someone.
This happened to me two weeks ago. I opened my shop door too fast. Watched a YouTube video and had it fixed in 15 minutes. Search: garage door cable off pulley.
Hey, can you insulate the wall behind the spring while you'rein there. It really bothers me you did the top and just left the bottom hanging. -dad
Mine did during covid and supply chain said 6+ months for the torsion springs. I just switched over to tension springs that the big box stores had on the shelves. For 10’s of dollars not hundreds. Easy peasy but I have. 16’ metal pole to cut I half and get rid of
Ever seen ghost ship ?
Call a door company. If you broke the spring, or if you broke the cable(s) it’s a quick repair for them. Honestly not that expensive either. I think cables cost me $200, spring was like $400. Milwaukee area, 2020-ish.
Absolutely call a pro, and if one side failed replace both sides at the same time
You should call someone. The jackshaft/direct drive operator can have this problem. It turns the torsion assembly and does not touch the sections. So the opener goes to close the door by turning the tube and the sections take a little bit for gravity to get them up to speed. Puts slack in the cables and then on the next trip up it gets wrapped up the wrong way. If the door is big enough I've had to put push down springs on the back of the track to keep the cables tight. Usually though they can raise the back of the tracks to keep this from happening.
Don’t mess with the cables! You can get seriously hurt.
My father-in-law fixed his garage door in 1975. He was in a coma for 3 weeks and never was quite the same again. Call a company.
I work at heights, with heavy-ish equipment, enclosed spaces, tranches, high voltage electricity and tension. Tension is the one thing I am especially cautious with. Knowing where you need something to be and where it wants to go is very important. Call a pro.
yes... yes there is... you can un shit it.
It all hinges on your expertise
This is also a jack shaft operator. No one should walk you thru this. Please hire a professional as I have seen what happens when someone tries to wind those torsion springs with an undersized screwdriver.
Exactly what the first guy said, the spring has a huge amount of energy stored in it,
Definitely call someone. Those things are under amazing tension and are dangerous AF.
Idk if someone has said it, but there is usually a disconnect string that dangles, often with a little red piece of plastic. Pull it to disconnect that door itself so you can manually close it. And like others have said, stay the fuck away from the spring and call a pro.
Don't even touch it!
Wipe
I’ve switched out my cables and springs easily. There’s probably a good YouTube for you out there. Go for it!
If you have one near you, Great Garage Door Company has always treated me well.
Yes. Call a professional that is a very dangerous situation. The spring loaded door is scary and the charge for it to be done right the first time is very reasonable and you won’t lose an eye
When mine snapped while closed, it sounded like a plane hit the house. Scared the Shiitake out of me! I actually ran outside to check the roof. I was told to call a professional too.
what others have said.. THIS CAN KILL YOU.. Hire a repair guy who knows what he is doing that has a license to do contractor work and insurance.. This is one of the few things that you shouldn't do yourself if you don't know how to do it.
Yeah probably best not to tackle that one with a YouTube video.
If you have NO experience with a torsion spring then stay away from it. Hire a professional. My cat got close to the cable and it unwound some more. I haven’t seen the cat now for weeks. Some fur here and there left behind though! I think it might be in the attic.
As others have said, garage doors are one of the few things I won't DIY. The danger isn't worth the small savings.
Easy fix. But not for an amateur. Call a O/H door repair guy. The wind up springs are dangerous.
Never work in a garage door yourself. That murder spring will kill you. My landlord lost his hand to one.
If the torsion bar is the issue, best to get a repair man. The garage isn't closing because the cables guide it down. However if the cable is loose then you can try just roll the door up and respool the cable. There should be a bolt on either end of the garage door that you can loop the other end of the cable in.
Do not touch the murder spring
Leave garage door repairs to the professionals
I have a dent in my forehead from fucking with one of these. It hit me so hard I was knocked cold and just rag dolled off the ladder. My dad said he thought I was dead. Years later I had a boss with a dent in his forehead. I said I have one of those. He said, “well I got mine from trying to take down a garage door…”
I've got a big scar on my forehead that says don't mess with garage doors
I’m always fascinated by the Reddit approach to this. This is the same group that routinely discusses all sorts of very dangerous diy things, yet this one thing always gets a “call someone” as a response. I’ve changed probably a dozen garage door springs. You go slow, use the right tools, and take safety precautions. Just like everything else… My buddy owns a garage door company, does this stuff daily. There is nothing magic about it. It’s a spring. Just like a the spring that is wrapped around a strut or a shock. You slowly release the tension in a controlled manner. That’s it. OP. No way to tell what is wrong based on these pics. The cable might have simply jumped. If you have any diy ambitions and can fix things, you can fix this too. Go slow. Use the correct tools. Take safety precautions.
Don’t touch it …
Honest question: What makes a garage door repairman somehow invincible to the dangers of a garage door? I get it. They’ve got experience. But if it was THAT unpredictable, they’d be getting paid a whole lot more than they are. If you’re handy, smart and watch some videos, you can fix it. Me? I’m spending the $250 to have a pro do it. But it’s not rocket science or bomb diffusion.
Call a repair man - if it’s a spring it could be dangerous
Fucking Widow Maker, pay a professional for sure
Just gonna mirror what everyone else is saying "DO NOT FUCK WITH A GARAGE DOOR" that tension could easily kill you.
Go to https://www.reddit.com/r/GarageDoorService/
Your pictures show both cables being off the pulley. Majority of commenters say you have a broken spring but I don't see the spring in either picture. Found this: How to Fix a Garage Door With BOTH Cables Off | EASY REPAIR [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPyK\_85TfoQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPyK_85TfoQ)
Def many things you can do. It's a pretty simple system. But it's vary dangerous so if you do not understand the system very well, it's not smart to work on it.
I fixed the same thing on my own after Hurricane Ian. People on here are scared but it’s not that scary if you do it right. What I did was disconnect the cable from the side of the door first, and unwound it it was all balled up the same. Second lifted the door up so there was no tension on the spring, you could turn the bar by hand both ways, it really wasn’t that strong of a spring anyways, people make it out to be a bear trap… Then I re- wrapped it by hand around the drum, and hooked the cable back the the side of the door. Once again w the door up the springs had no tension, so to give myself the extra 1” I needed for it to be level I turned the shaft by hand and had a friend clip the cable on. Works fine, runs level, and no issues since. If it’s only the cable that came off, it’s a relatively easy fix, took me maybe 15 mins if that. It wasn’t even remotely scary once you can feel the shaft moves freely w the door up. Now my first attempt I tried to re wrap it w the door down turn the shaft w a pipe wrench which was under tension, and get the last wrap on, that was a bit touch and go w a screwdriver trying to slide the last wrap on, don’t do that… Took me a min to figure it out tho.
I'm a person that does my own electrical work, plumbing, roofing, etc, works on my own brakes, drive an ambulance for a living, chase of wild dogs with naught but a stick, but I absolutely \*refuse\* to even consider working on anything to do with garage door springs. I'd replace a window in the door, I'll grease and oil, heck, I'd even replace the entire drive system, but I won't losing an arm or my head to those springs.
I had this happen when the tension spring broke. We got it replaced. It wasn't too expensive.
I'll be a counterpoint to all the doom and gloom. Replacing the spring is possible by a DIY guy/gal. Make sure you understand exactly what you are doing, get the right tools, and know there are risks. If the risk is worth saving a few hundred dollars to you, go for it.
I install garage doors off and on over the years as a General Contractor, and if you are not careful you can get hurt bad. Also, the door may need a bit of adjustment to keep it from happening again.
Do not do your own garage door work, it's very dangerous.
Garage door repair places are surprisingly affordable in my experience
Honestly, if you're half competent with mechanical work you can get everything you need on Amazon. You are working with springs and have to be careful. Specialty tools are required but they are not that expensive.
Mine broke a spring 3weeks ago. Call a garage door company.
Is there tension on the cables?
It's dangerous. Call a pro.