Garage doors do not have very many parts in the system, but there are a few things that are important for the door to work correctly. The lift springs on the door are there to assist you in opening the door, and if they are broken, the garage door can be cumbersome and hard to open by yourself.

Garage Door Springs

Garage doors have several types of springs that have been used over the years, but most modern doors use two tension springs that mount above the door. These springs tighten as the door is closed and unwind as the door is opened. 

Garage door spring repair can be dangerous if you do not know how to work with these springs, and just removing them from the brackets they are on will cause the spring to unwind, potentially injuring the person working on them suddenly. 

Older systems sometimes still use verticle springs that are fixed to the door with cables, load when the door is down, and relax when it is up. Garage door spring repair on these older doors is more manageable, and in many cases, the cable on the spring breaks before the spring wears out.

Replacing the Springs

If your door uses a tension spring system, as many new doors do, call a garage door repair company and have them replace the springs for you. The technician from the door company will release the tension on the spring and remove the brackets securing the spring and the rod it is mounted on. Many times one spring is broken, but talk to the tech about replacing both springs at the same time because the older spring may not have the same strength as a brand new spring does.

There is an end cap on the spring that holds it in place on the rod that needs to be removed, then the spring will come off the shaft, and a new spring can be put in place. The technician will mount the new spring and rod above the door and install the door cables and tension the spring so that it will lift the door when you open it.

The tech may need to add or remove tension to the spring several times to get the door to function correctly, but once the tension is right, the door will open and close with minimal effort. If the door is connected to an electric opener, the spring will make it easier to open the door and reduce the stress on the electric motor.