retensionion garage door spring
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retensioning garage door spring
Cloosing the garage door, one of the pullies came loose (retaining nuts loose) and the door did not reverse direction fast enough to prevent damage. found the cable on one pulley completely unwound. released the pulley from the shaft and rewound it, but the door was all off kilter. released the other pulley and the spring unwound.
How do I retension the big spring so my garage door will go up again?
Thanks, Dan
Cloosing the garage door, one of the pullies came loose (retaining nuts loose) and the door did not reverse direction fast enough to prevent damage. found the cable on one pulley completely unwound. released the pulley from the shaft and rewound it, but the door was all off kilter. released the other pulley and the spring unwound.
How do I retension the big spring so my garage door will go up again?
Thanks, Dan
Last edited:
semlin
curmudgeon
you might get help from this thread.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=177144&highlight=garage+door
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=177144&highlight=garage+door
My first thought/comment/safety....
GET SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT! Seriously I've seen some pretty messed up folks who
tangled with the torsion springs.
Second thought, read up how Richard did it here:
http://truetex.com/garage.htm
(Sounds like he should be a FJ60 owner, but no idea.... still lots of cool stuff on his web site)
Tom
GET SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT! Seriously I've seen some pretty messed up folks who
tangled with the torsion springs.
Second thought, read up how Richard did it here:
http://truetex.com/garage.htm
(Sounds like he should be a FJ60 owner, but no idea.... still lots of cool stuff on his web site)
Tom
It's not all that hard to do if the center drum has indents to put a bar or long extension into to hold the progress.
Make sure both side cables are equal - that each has the same amount of wrap, and that all of the roller parts and cable ends are good.
Then it's just a matter of turning the drum with a large crescent wrench or other good fit wrench, alternating the bar into and out of the indents as you wind it up. When it gets kinda' hard to crank it around stop, lock down the keeper bolts, and try it out. Too hard to raise means you go back to cranking in tension. Too easy means you let some tension off.
The whole thing keys on never letting the drum slip back while you have the lock bolts loose.
Look over the cables for fraying and broken strands. It's a good time to change a bad cable. I like to change both of them to keep everything equal.
Make sure both side cables are equal - that each has the same amount of wrap, and that all of the roller parts and cable ends are good.
Then it's just a matter of turning the drum with a large crescent wrench or other good fit wrench, alternating the bar into and out of the indents as you wind it up. When it gets kinda' hard to crank it around stop, lock down the keeper bolts, and try it out. Too hard to raise means you go back to cranking in tension. Too easy means you let some tension off.
The whole thing keys on never letting the drum slip back while you have the lock bolts loose.
Look over the cables for fraying and broken strands. It's a good time to change a bad cable. I like to change both of them to keep everything equal.
I second those thoughts. Safety First. Have someone else qualified to do this if you are in the least bit confused, or unsure on what exactly to do. These springs store a tremendous amount of energy. Since you may not know the age of the spring also, one more reason to leave it to a professional.
I work in high end construction and have also seen the results of untrained repairs/adjustments. I've seen cases where the homeowner did not want to wait for a pro...did it himself and it let go while he was backing his Merc out...crunch. Solid mahogany is very heavy FYI.
Money well spent IMHO.
I work in high end construction and have also seen the results of untrained repairs/adjustments. I've seen cases where the homeowner did not want to wait for a pro...did it himself and it let go while he was backing his Merc out...crunch. Solid mahogany is very heavy FYI.
Money well spent IMHO.
it's easy to DIY but yes, one could get hurt if being sloppy. With a modicum of common sense, it should be fine, though IMO.
IIRC, basically, if the cable jumps the pulley, with the door in a fully upright position I tighten both cables to just taut by rotating the cable pulley. The spring is then at rest so no danger.
BTW, I have successfully used my HiLift to raise the door...
If it's closed and you can't lift it, yes, you may need to wind it up. I use 2 short metal bars that fit in the eyes of the spring end. The effort to exert is not too bad, but you better not let go, and the bars better fit OK. Probably a good idea not to stand right in front of the bars I guess.
good luck.
IIRC, basically, if the cable jumps the pulley, with the door in a fully upright position I tighten both cables to just taut by rotating the cable pulley. The spring is then at rest so no danger.
BTW, I have successfully used my HiLift to raise the door...
If it's closed and you can't lift it, yes, you may need to wind it up. I use 2 short metal bars that fit in the eyes of the spring end. The effort to exert is not too bad, but you better not let go, and the bars better fit OK. Probably a good idea not to stand right in front of the bars I guess.
good luck.
You could probably do it yourself but fine tuning it to open and close with just the touch of a finger takes alot of time and patience. When I accidentally ran my 71 FJ40 through the old door, different story, I had a guy come out and install the new one. While adjusting the spring on it, the bar came out of the sprocket? and slapped him upside the head. Damned, it looked like it hurt too. I know the guy wanted to cry. He finished up, took his money and left. It put a nice little cut right under his left cheek bone but, it didn't bleed alot. Be Carefulllll what ever you do....
when i installed the two doors on my shop it was easy. I used two peices of rebar 16-18" long and tightened th spring a total of 7 turns then testd the door and adjused fom there. too heavy add 1/2 a turn, too easy take out 1/4 turn. one door was 7' the other was 9'. Dean
It's not that hard to do. USe common sense, be aware of what you are doing, and take the proper safety precaution. The hardest part is finding someone who will sell you a pair of springs.
I ended up overpaying in CASH for a pair of springs that were a bit too powerful for my door. When you are unwinding the old spring, count the number turns and use that as a starting point for your new spring.
I ended up overpaying in CASH for a pair of springs that were a bit too powerful for my door. When you are unwinding the old spring, count the number turns and use that as a starting point for your new spring.
I bought a torsion spring online no problem. Much cheaper than locally, even with shipping. And yes, the locals will argue you'll get killed if you do it yourself so they can do the job and refuse to sell you the spring.
If the spring doesn't have one already, you can paint an axial line on the outside and then just count the twists easily with the line.
If the spring doesn't have one already, you can paint an axial line on the outside and then just count the twists easily with the line.
Yep. Except the darn thing broke while both cars were parked INSIDE the garage so I could not wait for the spring to be shipped from across the country
is it wrong that I laughed when I read this? it just seems so comical. I don't think I'd mess with the springs, it looks like voodoo magic to me and I'd worry that I'd put myself in the hospital.
bk
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- #15
I was able to get 2 1/2" X 1.5' lengths of round stock and started cranking the spring. Once I sat looking at it for a while and figuring that I could keep tension on the spring by letting the round stock rest against the header, I could tighten the retension bolts. thanks for the info.
