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What to do when a torsion spring breaks
Short answer
A broken torsion spring is usually a one-visit repair: the spring above the door is rated for about 10,000 open-and-close cycles, and once it snaps the door is too heavy for the opener to lift safely. Leave the door where it is and call; we replace the spring, balance the door and test it.
Warning signs
Signs a torsion spring has broken or is about to
A loud bang with nobody near the door
Springs usually let go with the door closed, under full tension, and the sound carries through the house.
A gap in the coil above the door
Look at the spring on the bar over the door. A clean break leaves a gap of a couple of inches between coils.
The door is suddenly heavy by hand
With the opener released, a balanced door lifts with one hand. A broken spring turns that into a dead lift.
The opener strains, then reverses
Most openers lift a few inches, sense the weight and stop or go back down.
Slack cables at the drums
With the spring gone, the cables lose tension and can jump off their drums.
The job
Why a torsion spring does the heavy lifting
The opener does not lift your garage door; the torsion spring does. It sits on a steel shaft above the opening, wound tight when the door is closed, and unwinds as the door rises, carrying almost all of the weight through the cables and drums.
That is why a broken spring stops everything: the opener's gear and rail are not built to carry the door's full weight. Replacement means matching new springs to that weight, the door height and the drum size, then winding them so the door balances.
Single torsion spring doors
Replacing a single torsion spring
Many single-car doors and some lighter doubles run on one spring centered over the opening. When it breaks there is nothing else holding the door, so it needs securing before anything else. We size the new spring to the door as it is today, since added insulation, a new section or windows change the weight. On heavier doubles we may suggest splitting the load across two springs.
Two-spring doors
Two-spring doors and matched pairs
Most two-car doors carry a pair of springs either side of a center bearing plate. When one breaks, the other has made the same number of cycles and is usually close behind, so replacing both keeps the torque even and saves a second visit. We price both options, and we inspect the cables, because a break often frays them.
High-cycle spring upgrade
Upgrading to high-cycle springs
A standard spring is rated for about 10,000 cycles. High-cycle springs use thicker, longer wire and are made in 25,000 and 50,000 ratings and up, so the same door can go several times longer between replacements. They cost more up front, but for a household that uses the garage as its front door they are worth pricing. Our garage door tune-up is the time to check how many years the current springs have left.
A broken spring at 6 a.m. is a phone call, not a waiting list.
Call (331) 704-8271How the visit runs
How a spring replacement visit runs
- 1
Secure the door
Clamp the door in place and unplug the opener before touching the shaft.
- 2
Weigh and measure
Door weight, height and drum size decide the new spring.
- 3
Unwind and replace
The broken spring and its partner are unwound with bars and taken off the shaft.
- 4
Wind and balance
New springs are wound to the right turns, then the door is tested halfway up.
- 5
Reset and test
Opener reset, photo eyes and safety reverse checked with you.
Around Naperville
Why Naperville springs break when they do
January is Naperville's coldest month, with an average low of 17F, and that is when tired springs tend to let go, because cold steel near the end of its cycle life gives way under the load of a frozen morning. Many of the springs we replace sit on doors from the 1980s building boom, when almost a quarter of today's homes went up, and in Brighton Ridge, built between 1983 and 1993, an original door can easily be on its second or third set.
Do it yourself or call
Why torsion springs are not a weekend project
A wound spring holds enough energy to lift the whole door.
Fine to do yourself
- Look at the spring and cables from the floor and take a photo for the call
- Keep the door closed and the opener unplugged until the repair
- Lubricate healthy springs twice a year with garage door lubricant
Leave to a technician
- Unwinding or winding a spring with winding bars
- Loosening the set screws on a loaded winding cone
- Choosing wire size, inside diameter and length for the door's weight
- Re-hanging cables on the drums under tension
Cost
What a torsion spring replacement costs
A national planning range for both springs, not our quote; we price your door before work starts.
- One spring or a matched pair
- Wire size and length, set by the door's weight and height
- Standard 10,000-cycle or high-cycle springs
- Worn cables, drums or bearings found at the same visit
- An overnight or holiday call
Answers
Torsion spring questions from Naperville homeowners
Not safely. If the door is closed, leave it closed. If it is open, keep people and cars out from under it and do not pull the emergency release, because the door can drop.
On a two-spring door we usually recommend it, because the second spring has the same number of cycles as the one that broke. We price one and two so you can choose.
Standard springs are rated for about 10,000 cycles. At four open-and-close cycles a day that is roughly seven years; at eight a day it is closer to three and a half.
A spring near the end of its rated life is under the most stress on cold mornings, and Naperville's January lows average 17F. The cold does not cause the wear, it finds it.
If your household uses the garage door many times a day, usually yes. A 25,000-cycle spring lasts about two and a half times as long as a standard one on the same door, for a higher price at install.
Same group
Related door work we handle
Extension Spring Replacement
Side-mounted springs replaced with containment cables threaded through them.
Extension to Torsion Spring Conversion
Side springs swapped for a torsion shaft above the door for a steadier lift.
Garage Door Tune-Up
A balance test, a safety reverse check and tightened hardware before winter.