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• Sorry, but I think this post should be pulled. This guy admits he has above-average knowledge, skills, and tools. Regardless of what he says, it is very dangerous to monkey with these springs. There's no way to know whether you can handle it until it's too late, and then you're on a ladder, attempting to tame a powerful spring that's either over your head or at face level. If you do it wrong, you can break a limb, get hit in the head with a flying steel bar, and/or fall off your ladder. It's dangerous, awkward work, and there's no way to learn how to do it because the garage door companies are rightly concerned about DIYers doing it.
  In my neighborhood, it cost about $130 to get my springs replaced. That's one time I didn't hesitate to crack the checkbook. Check around until you find a price you can live with, and live with it - that's the point. If enough DIYers injure themselves attempting this repair, your homeowner's quote will include questions about your garage door, along with questions about Rottweilers and Pit Bulls.

  Posted by: jswilson64 on May 12, 2006 at 7:07 AM

• Just working with a bandsaw is dangerous and people get hurt. It doesn't mean we should censor discussions on the topic.

  Posted by: fxer on May 12, 2006 at 9:19 AM

• By that same logic, all references to automobile fixes'n'hacks should be pulled as well. After all, if you mess up replacing a tire on your car it's not just your own life you're putting in jeopardy.

  Posted by: aplumb on May 12, 2006 at 1:46 PM

• Thanks for this posting. About 5 years a go one of the springs on our door let go with a loud BANG! and I searched all over to find a source for the springs. Finaly I succumbed and paid a "professional" $150 to do it. He put in a spring that was considerably smaller than the original and insisted that it was a correct subitituion. NOT! He only replaced the one spring, unlike the hypothetical dealer in your post.

  I lived with the door opener making laboring sounds for about 6 months, and then invested about a dollar in some 1/2 inch steeel rod, and attempted to adjust the springs. The best I can get is to have a "neutral" weight in the middle of the travel. Below that the door falls of its own weight; above that point it rises due to the spring tension. I haven't measured it, but I woul estimate the "out-of-balanceness" at being about ten pounds at either end.

  Your instructions are clear and well written. I don't think that anyone with some mechanical ability and experience should have any problems following your instructions safely. True, as jswilson64 says above, there are a lot of what we used to call "Shoemaker mechanics" out there who can hurt themselves, but I believe those folks will find a way to hurt themselves one way or another anyway. I see no reason why an individual with reasonable skills and a healthy respect for the forces involved should not make this repair.

  One last comment about attempting to weld springs - DON'T! Any competent welder will know that the heat of welding will destroy the temper of the spring, and create a weak spot that will probably break as you are winding the spring the first time, or soon thereafter.

  Posted by: Walt_S on May 14, 2006 at 6:00 AM

• Thanks for this posting. About 5 years a go one of the springs on our door let go with a loud BANG! and I searched all over to find a source for the springs. Finaly I succumbed and paid a "professional" $150 to do it. He put in a spring that was considerably smaller than the original and insisted that it was a correct subitituion. NOT! He only replaced the one spring, unlike the hypothetical dealer in your post.

  I lived with the door opener making laboring sounds for about 6 months, and then invested about a dollar in some 1/2 inch steeel rod, and attempted to adjust the springs. The best I can get is to have a "neutral" weight in the middle of the travel. Below that the door falls of its own weight; above that point it rises due to the spring tension. I haven't measured it, but I woul estimate the "out-of-balanceness" at being about ten pounds at either end.

  Your instructions are clear and well written. I don't think that anyone with some mechanical ability and experience should have any problems following your instructions safely. True, as jswilson64 says above, there are a lot of what we used to call "Shoemaker mechanics" out therr who can hurt themselves, but I believe those folks will find a way to hurt themselves one way or another anyway. I see no reason why an individual with reasonable skills and a healthy respect for the forces involved should not make this repair.

  One last comment about attempting to weld springs - DON'T! Any competent welder will know that the heat of welding will destroy the temper of the spring, and create a weak spot that will probably break as you are winding the spring the first time, or soon thereafter.

  Posted by: Walt_S on May 14, 2006 at 6:00 AM

• Thanks for this posting. About 5 years a go one of the springs on our door let go with a loud BANG! and I searched all over to find a source for the springs. Finaly I succumbed and paid a "professional" $150 to do it. He put in a spring that was considerably smaller than the original and insisted that it was a correct subitituion. NOT! He only replaced the one spring, unlike the hypothetical dealer in your post.

  I lived with the door opener making laboring sounds for about 6 months, and then invested about a dollar in some 1/2 inch steeel rod, and attempted to adjust the springs. The best I can get is to have a "neutral" weight in the middle of the travel. Below that the door falls of its own weight; above that point it rises due to the spring tension. I haven't measured it, but I woul estimate the "out-of-balanceness" at being about ten pounds at either end.

  Your instructions are clear and well written. I don't think that anyone with some mechanical ability and experience should have any problems following your instructions safely. True, as jswilson64 says above, there are a lot of what we used to call "Shoemaker mechanics" out therr who can hurt themselves, but I believe those folks will find a way to hurt themselves one way or another anyway. I see no reason why an individual with reasonable skills and a healthy respect for the forces involved should not make this repair.

  One last comment about attempting to weld springs - DON'T! Any competent welder will know that the heat of welding will destroy the temper of the spring, and create a weak spot that will probably break as you are winding the spring the first time, or soon thereafter.

  Posted by: Walt_S on May 14, 2006 at 6:01 AM

• Thanks for this posting. About 5 years a go one of the springs on our door let go with a loud BANG! and I searched all over to find a source for the springs. Finaly I succumbed and paid a "professional" $150 to do it. He put in a spring that was considerably smaller than the original and insisted that it was a correct subitituion. NOT! He only replaced the one spring, unlike the hypothetical dealer in your post.

  I lived with the door opener making laboring sounds for about 6 months, and then invested about a dollar in some 1/2 inch steeel rod, and attempted to adjust the springs. The best I can get is to have a "neutral" weight in the middle of the travel. Below that the door falls of its own weight; above that point it rises due to the spring tension. I haven't measured it, but I woul estimate the "out-of-balanceness" at being about ten pounds at either end.

  Your instructions are clear and well written. I don't think that anyone with some mechanical ability and experience should have any problems following your instructions safely. True, as jswilson64 says above, there are a lot of what we used to call "Shoemaker mechanics" out therr who can hurt themselves, but I believe those folks will find a way to hurt themselves one way or another anyway. I see no reason why an individual with reasonable skills and a healthy respect for the forces involved should not make this repair.

  One last comment about attempting to weld springs - DON'T! Any competent welder will know that the heat of welding will destroy the temper of the spring, and create a weak spot that will probably break as you are winding the spring the first time, or soon thereafter.

  Posted by: Walt_S on May 14, 2006 at 6:02 AM

• I will add my two cents to this topic. There's much talk on the net from folks that can hardly change a light bulb to Engineers that are so smart it takes them 3-1/2 hours to complete this job. Matter of fact a certain engineer writes over 30 pages on how to install torsion springs and goes on in on about it. Wow! That's some extra time I would like to have. My first attempt at this job took me 35 minutes and I'm far from an engineer. As far as how dangerous this job can be, well that depends on who is doing the install. I know plenty of accident proan installers that hurt themselves no matter what they do. I've watched installers and company owners with 50 years in the business up on uneven ladders, with tools, broken springs, buckets scattered all about. Then they cry when they fall and break something. I've also met and talked to thousands of my own customers that install these springs without a hitch. I know this because they call me back or email their success stories. If you have any doubts of your own abilities then I suggest you call someone out of the yellow pages. Notice I never mentioned professional. This is because I have customers that are better skilled garage door installers than most companies hire nowadays. Take your time, do your due diligence and shop for the best price. I'm here to answer all of your questions. 1-866-970-7278

  www.diygaragerepair.com
  Ask for Mike
  

  Posted by: DIYGarage on November 29, 2006 at 4:29 PM

• I thouroughly read and re-read the instructions in "HOW TO - Replacing deadly garage door torsion springs," ordered the replacement springs, and sucessfully completed the job in lesss than 2 hours. The installation time included a couple of coffee breaks to review the next step in the installation. I agree with Mike and Walt's post; If you are comfortable with home repair projects,this is a walk in the park compared to others that I have done. If you're the guy that has a couple of screwdrivers and an adjustable wrench sitting in a junk drawer, then this is definitely not the project for you. Thanks again for the excellent detail to safety as well as the possible pitfalls of the project.
  

  Posted by: markka on February 4, 2007 at 6:09 AM

• The how to sent in by Richard was thorough and well detailed. Even if it wasnt, use your own intelligence to decide if you want to follow it but never, never suggest censorship of this sort of thing!

  If you're an idiot then you shouldnt try anything yourself, or read all the fantastic and freely available information on the internet. Why would anyone in their right mind suggest censorship of this type of material?? People have to quit trying to blame someone else for their stupidity and their decisions. I doubt if someone who isnt mechanically inclined and fairly intelligent would attempt this job. Maybe the not so smart people of the world shouldnt be allowed to drive, swim, eat, walk across the street, read? If you want censorship, go live in a communist country for awhile.

  I've replaced 2 springs on my door in the past 15 years. The 2nd spring, about 5 years ago was replaced when the door was up (secured and clamped) and the spring had no tension. It had to be stretched when installing it but I found that to be less difficult and alot safer. I havent had a problem since.

  Posted by: Shadow99 on May 1, 2007 at 8:14 AM

• I'm a veteran installer and service tech in the garage door industry, and while i'll agree that there isn't anything especially difficult about replacing these types of springs, they are dangerous to those that don't know what they're doing.

  I'm a firm believer it doing it myself when it comes to anything around my home, if at all possible, but when it comes to something that may hurt me .... I call someone who knows thier stuff.

  That being said, in addition to the danger of of death / injury related to these springs, one thing that i see being overlooked here is the fact that if they are not properly installed, it can cause damage to your door. There is a certain balance required for a garage door to have the proper function. And by proper function, i mean more than it just being able to move up and down. A few pointers ..... you should be able to move your door easily by hand, and let it go at any point in the opening, without having it drift more than a couple of inches in either direction. If it drops down, or flys up, your door isn't balanced. This severly increases the wear on your door and drastically cuts it's life span.

  I could go on and on about this, but i'll simply say this. in order to maintain your door, be sure to lubricate your rollers and hinges regularly, with a lithium grease or a silicone based spray lube, and use rollers with bearings, not the cheap plastic type that are just rond wheels on the ends of steel shafts, and if you have a spring issue, think of the larger picture and call a professional. Go with a larger name such as Overhead Door, Clopey, or Wayne Dalton, over a mom and pop operation and you will usually get a much better result.

  Posted by: Doorman76 on September 12, 2007 at 6:07 PM

• "middle of the road"
  I find some people saying do and some saying don't. I think for the majority changing a spring is just one of those projects that can be as dagerous as the next...changing a lightbulb can be dangerous if you stick your finger in the socket when the switch is on. So if you're not afraid to get a little dirty and can follow basic instructions there is no reason a home owner cannot change their springs. But if you do not feel comfortable don't put yourself in a position to get hurt...it isn't worth the few dollars you would save.
  

  Posted by: Mike on January 28, 2008 at 7:42 PM

• I will be changing a spring for a friend soon. One thing I can't understand is the jeft sping is much shorter than the right. The right one is the one that broke. Is this normal at all? The door is very old and heavy. I'm a millwright mechanic with good skills and I believe your instrucions are thorough to the point it should be retalitive easy task when done with precaution. I would like to know why there are 2 different springs though. Please email me if anyone can answer this at mackman1962@yahoo.com .
  Thank you,
  Sammy

  
  

  Posted by: Sammy on February 7, 2008 at 12:19 PM

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