Anyone else ever change the two cables on a garage door and rewind the torsion springs?

[JGalt]

Don't, unless you're one brave sonofabitch.

We have a 7' double-wide garage and one of the door cables rusted through at the bottom and broke a few weeks ago. I had to cut the other cable to let the other side of the door all the way down, so mice wouldn't get in. Last time I had a cable break, I had some garage door repairmen come and fix it They charged me $250, so I decided to fix it myself. The cables were only $15 for a pair at Ace Hardware, and putting them on was the easy part.

I had to make two 18" iron bars to wind the torsion springs, which is pretty dangerous if the winding bar happens to slip out. After getting them wound, the door actually came out better than when the repairmen did it last time. They left a 1/4" gap on once side, but now it's all the way down on both sides and it saved me $250.

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

hire a pro

 

[mamooth]

That's interesting. I tried to buy the winding tool before. Nobody will sell them to you, unless you're in the business. It's sort of a little cartel thing going on.

 

[miketx]

Don't, unless you're one brave sonofabitch.

We have a 7' double-wide garage and one of the door cables rusted through at the bottom and broke a few weeks ago. I had to cut the other cable to let the other side of the door all the way down, so mice wouldn't get in. Last time I had a cable break, I had some garage door repairmen come and fix it They charged me $250, so I decided to fix it myself. The cables were only $15 for a pair at Ace Hardware, and putting them on was the easy part.

I had to make two 18" iron bars to wind the torsion springs, which is pretty dangerous if the winding bar happens to slip out. After getting them wound, the door actually came out better than when the repairmen did it last time. They left a 1/4" gap on once side, but now it's all the way down on both sides and it saved me $250.

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When we bought this house the garage door would not open. I watched the door guys rewind the spring with the two bars you talked about. I had no idea how they did it before. The kid winding it kept asking the older guy, "Is that enough?" He said, "No keep winding until I tell you." Looked like it was killing him.

 

[JGalt]

When we bought this house the garage door would not open. I watched the door guys rewind the spring with the two bars you talked about. I had no idea how they did it before. The kid winding it kept asking the older guy, "Is that enough?" He said, "No keep winding until I tell you." Looked like it was killing him.

I don't know exactly how much the door weighs, but there is at least a couple hundred pounds of tension on that spring.

 

[okfine]

Yes

 

[luiza]

Don't, unless you're one brave sonofabitch.



I had to make two 18" iron bars to wind the torsion springs, which is pretty dangerous if the winding bar happens to slip out. After getting them wound, the door actually came out better than when the repairmen did it last time. They left a 1/4" gap on once side, but now it's all the way down on both sides and it saved me $250.

You are so brave and capable with your big tool , Mr Galt .I wish I was your garage door and could open and shut at your command .

 

[JGalt]

You are so brave and capable with your big tool , Mr Galt .I wish I was your garage door and could open and shut at your command .

I am so hot right now.

 

[sparky]

You got this JG.....~S~

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

hire a pro

Exactly what I was going to say.
It's probably not all that difficult to do but I'd want to see someone who knows what they're doing first.

 

[JGalt]

Exactly what I was going to say.
It's probably not all that difficult to do but I'd want to see someone who knows what they're doing first.

All I can say is, thank God for Youtube videos of people doing stuff. I only had to watch four videos before I figured it all you.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

All I can say is, thank God for Youtube videos of people doing stuff. I only had to watch four videos before I figured it all you.

Yeah...
It sure sucked back in the day when we had no internet and you had to figure shit out on your own.
I wasted thousands of dollars ruining briskets before I figured it out.

 

[Care4all]

Don't, unless you're one brave sonofabitch.

We have a 7' double-wide garage and one of the door cables rusted through at the bottom and broke a few weeks ago. I had to cut the other cable to let the other side of the door all the way down, so mice wouldn't get in. Last time I had a cable break, I had some garage door repairmen come and fix it They charged me $250, so I decided to fix it myself. The cables were only $15 for a pair at Ace Hardware, and putting them on was the easy part.

I had to make two 18" iron bars to wind the torsion springs, which is pretty dangerous if the winding bar happens to slip out. After getting them wound, the door actually came out better than when the repairmen did it last time. They left a 1/4" gap on once side, but now it's all the way down on both sides and it saved me $250.

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dad did my older sister's garage door 3 years ago at 89 years old.... To save the money....

ended up in the ER with 46 stitches on his hand and my sister with a bloody mess in her garage!!! And paying for a repairman.

 

[JGalt]

dad did my older sister's garage door 3 years ago at 89 years old.... To save the money....

ended up in the ER with 46 stitches on his hand and my sister with a bloody mess in her garage!!! And paying for a repairman.

Those things are definitely dangerous. Some folks have tried to use a screwdriver to wind them, with disastrous results. The winding bars are something like $15 dollars at the hardware store, but I just cut two pieces of 1/2" iron bar.

Now I'm sore as hell tonight.

 

[JGalt]

I have a 7' door on the two-car garage and one of the stupid steel cables broke earlier this week, so I fixed it. This isn't the first time this has happened, the loop on the cable rusts after time from the salty slush that gets on the car and all over the floor.

When that cable gave way, the garage door was kiltered, so I had to cut the other cable to let the tension off the torsion springs and the door all the way down. That meant I had to replace both cables. Replacing the cables is the easy part. The hard part is winding the torsion springs.

A garage door repair company would charge about $250.00-$300.00 to do this job so I do it myself when this happens. The cables cost me $14.71 for a pair and the 1/2" torsion spring winding rods were about $17.00 at the hardware store. A 7' door takes an 8-foot, 6-1/2 inch cable, with 28 full turns on each of the two winding cones. This can be a very dangerous operation if you don't know what you're doing. You can get whacked upside the head with the steel winding bar, break a hand, lose an eye, or get a severe cut or bruise. The only injury I sustained was getting a finger pinched from a pair of vise grips. It bled a little until I put a band-aid on it.

After adjusting the travel on the garage door opener motor, it now works...

 

[1srelluc]

Looks like you have been cleaning that mess out some.

 

[JGalt]

Looks like you have been cleaning that mess out some.

That's a fact, Jack. I had a whole Winter in that freezing-ass garage to clean it up.

 

[1srelluc]

That's a fact, Jack. I had a whole Winter in that freezing-ass garage to clean it up.

Now you have room for a couch.

 

[jotathought]

I have a 7' door on the two-car garage and one of the stupid steel cables broke earlier this week, so I fixed it. This isn't the first time this has happened, the loop on the cable rusts after time from the salty slush that gets on the car and all over the floor.

View attachment 1094788View attachment 1094789

When that cable gave way, the garage door was kiltered, so I had to cut the other cable to let the tension off the torsion springs and the door all the way down. That meant I had to replace both cables. Replacing the cables is the easy part. The hard part is winding the torsion springs.

View attachment 1094791View attachment 1094792

A garage door repair company would charge about $250.00-$300.00 to do this job so I do it myself when this happens. The cables cost me $14.71 for a pair and the 1/2" torsion spring winding rods were about $17.00 at the hardware store. A 7' door takes an 8-foot, 6-1/2 inch cable, with 28 full turns on each of the two winding cones. This can be a very dangerous operation if you don't know what you're doing. You can get whacked upside the head with the steel winding bar, break a hand, lose an eye, or get a severe cut or bruise. The only injury I sustained was getting a finger pinched from a pair of vise grips. It bled a little until I put a band-aid on it.

View attachment 1094796View attachment 1094797

After adjusting the travel on the garage door opener motor, it now works...

You're a brave man .. I'd pay the $250.00 to get it repaired . On the other hand, your dog was like WTF when the door opened.

 

[White 6]

I have a 7' door on the two-car garage and one of the stupid steel cables broke earlier this week, so I fixed it. This isn't the first time this has happened, the loop on the cable rusts after time from the salty slush that gets on the car and all over the floor.

View attachment 1094788View attachment 1094789

When that cable gave way, the garage door was kiltered, so I had to cut the other cable to let the tension off the torsion springs and the door all the way down. That meant I had to replace both cables. Replacing the cables is the easy part. The hard part is winding the torsion springs.

View attachment 1094791View attachment 1094792

A garage door repair company would charge about $250.00-$300.00 to do this job so I do it myself when this happens. The cables cost me $14.71 for a pair and the 1/2" torsion spring winding rods were about $17.00 at the hardware store. A 7' door takes an 8-foot, 6-1/2 inch cable, with 28 full turns on each of the two winding cones. This can be a very dangerous operation if you don't know what you're doing. You can get whacked upside the head with the steel winding bar, break a hand, lose an eye, or get a severe cut or bruise. The only injury I sustained was getting a finger pinched from a pair of vise grips. It bled a little until I put a band-aid on it.

View attachment 1094796View attachment 1094797

After adjusting the travel on the garage door opener motor, it now works...

Nice job! I take it you live up north, as we don't get much salt on the roads very often down here. Is there anything you can put on the cables to avoid salt corrosion the problem?