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Posted to alt.home.repair
George
 
Posts: n/a
Default How to replace torsion springs?

yourname wrote:
Joseph Meehan wrote:

wrote:

How?




If you are thinking garage door, the answer is the yellow pages.
This job is dangerous for someone who does not know what they are doing.



Why is it that people are so damn afraid of springs. Are you afraid to
change the shocks on your car? Damn



Just curious, how do car shocks have anything to do with garage door
springs?


you need: 2 bars maybe 30 inches long, not too long not too short.
Probably 3/8 or 1/2 inch diameter

wrench to fit the bolts in the outboard spring mount[square head on my
doors]

There are 4 holes in the outboard ends of the springs. The bars need to
just fit in them.


standing on a very sturdy ladder, you will need to first take the
weight of the spring with your shoulder. Stick the bar in the hole that
is closest to horizontal.If you let the bar loose it will go flying,
break your collar bone or somehting similarly ugly.
So you are standing on the ladder, door down, facing the door, bar
resting firmly on your shoulder. when you lift the bar you will see the
cable slack.

loosen the bolts clamping the spring retainer to the bar. the bar
should be weighing on your shoulder, not any space in between you and it.

The force will now be on your shoulder and not on the door.
Take the second bar and place it in one of the holes above the one you
are using and push it up, away, towards the door/wall.

This will allow you to remove the bar resting on your shoulder.

carefully lower the second bar till it rests on your shoulder

repeat.

When there is no force left on the bar, you can do the other side.

tightening is the reverse process

Note that there is always a bar in the hole, so that the spring can only
spin less than half a turn and is not very dangerous unless you put your
head in there or use some old rotten piece of tubing instead of a
proper solid steel bar.

Completely replacing a spring is a little more complicated than just
adjusting, but not rocket science. Note exactly how the cable is wound
on the pulley.