Re: Bam! Garage door over-the-door torsion spring snapped! How to replace?

[Danny D.]

On Sun, 04 Nov 2012 01:14:17 +0000, Danny D. wrote:

> I'll research what I can and report back but if you've actually done it
> (I realize most people have NOT) ... it would be useful to get your
> advice.

HERE IS A KNOWLEDGE BASE UPDATE (as promised) for ALT.HOME.REPAIR:

Perhaps the best argument 'for' a DIY repair is that we, the
homeowner, should be able to select & install the best spring for
our needs at the best price available (about $75 to $100, all told).

For example, my old 15000 cycle torsion spring is $41 at prodoorparts:
Garage Door Tension Spring 2" x .234 x 26.5" Right Wind - $40.99

But a 35000 cycle replacement torsion spring is only 20% more at $49:
Garage Door Tension Spring 2" x .250 x 36" Right Wind - $48.99

I would think we typical homeowners would opt for the latter, while a
(presumably) typical installer would opt for the former (for reasons
other than getting us the best spring & best value for our money).

One GREAT argument against a DIY repair is that the job is dangerous.
It 'is' dangerous. That's why most homeowners opt to pay about $150
to $200 (out here in the Silicon Valley anyway) to have it done.

Another argument against a DIY repair is the knowledge needed.
Luckily, replacing a garage door torsion spring is relatively
simple (it has its moment of drama though).

Nowadays, excellent DIYs abound, but the mainstream is what
I'll reference here.

The canonical DIY (a must-read novella) is by Richard J. Kinch:
http://www.truetex.com/garage.htm

However (IMHO) the 'best' (most informative) site overall is DDM:
http://ddmgaragedoors.com

There are other excellent DIY-aware sites which are already listed
in this thread so I won't repeat them in this research summary.

A second key requirement for a DIY repair is the proper tools.
The good news is that there is only one tool needed that a
typical homeowner won't already have in his toolbox.

That special tool is a set of ~18" long 1/2" diameter winding bars.

I've found that two winding bars should be around $8 for a set;
but many companies charge more than twice that; so here's a
link to the company with the most reasonable winding bar prices:
http://ddmgaragedoors.com/parts/part/WB-18.html

Apparently these winding bars are often machined with a hexagonal
"grip" (reputedly so they don't easily fall out of your hand and/or
roll away on the floor) - but the ends are always circular.
http://ddmgaragedoors.com/parts/tools_support.html

For commercial you'd use larger and longer winding bars.
Residential = 18" long, 1/2" & 7/16"
Light commercial = 24" long, 1/2" & 5/8"
Heavy commercial = 36" long, 1/2" & 5/8"

Apparently 17" bars are sometimes substituted for 18"
bars merely to better accommodate shipping box sizes.

Commercial garage door torsion springs often don't come
with the cones but residential torsion springs almost
always are sold with the cones already attached.

All you really need is the following information:
1. Inside diameter (always embossed on the end cones, e.g., 2")
2. Untensioned length (you measure only the spring, not the cone)
3. Wire gauge (i.e., the diameter of the wire, e.g., 0.2343")
4. Wind direction (use the tried-and-true right-hand rule)
5. Cone type (most are 'standard' cones but oddballs exist)

There are other specifications which are important but which
are not necessary if you're simply replacing a broken spring.

I've found, by calling companies that some "salespeople" will
talk 'colors' painted on the springs and cones rather than
sizes and duty cycles when asking you for details. My advice
is to use paint color only as a doublecheck of your math
(e.g., right-wind cones are usually painted red and gold spray
on springs is sometimes an indication of the 0.250"wire gauge).

In my research, I found OLD threads where most of the thread
was from people saying it couldn't easily and safely be done as
a DIY repair. Those older threads imply it must have been harder
to come by information, springs, & calculation tools in the past.

But now it's easy to buy a single spring on the web.
It's easy to calculate alternative replacement sizes.
It's easy to buy the right tools.
And, it's easy to find excellent step-by-step DIYs on the web.

My conclusion: Times have changed!

You no longer have to impersonate a licensed technician in order
to have a single garage door torsion spring shipped to your home.

For example, here is a typical price list for a wide selection
of two inch residential garage door torsion springs to fit my door.
(remember to add about 10% CA sales tax & about $20 for shipping).
http://www.prodoorparts.com/garage-door-springs/2/

In summary, I'm looking forward to my spring arriving so that I
can attempt my very first garage door torsion spring DIY based on
the ample tutorials, suppliers, & videos extant on the web today.

[Danny D.]

> That's why most homeowners opt to pay about $150 to
> $200 (out here in the Silicon Valley anyway) to have it done.

Or more ...

By way of partial proof, here's a 'special' $200 deal for my area:
http://www.thegaragedoorstoresanjose.com/GarageDoorSpringReplacement.html
"Your garage door is the largest moving object in your house and can
be dangerous? Make sure it isn't. When looking for expert garage
door repair service in San Jose, Santa Clara, Los Gatos, Campbell,
Saratoga, Milpitas, and Sunnyvale; call us today for our $199 spring
special! 408-281-7111"

I arbitrarily called about a dozen local (408 area code) garage door
repair outfits yesterday to obtain that $150 to $200 price range.

Incidentally, I MUST say, I had the most interested phone call yesterday
to "Tiffany" at 408-335-0145 when I was shopping for local repair costs
for my research summary to you guys at alt home repair.

That outfit literally called me back twice to get my business!

First, they called back to lower the price of the service call from
$50 (just for the estimate) to $30 and to offer to refund that lowered
price service call if I got their $150 to $250 service - and then -
when I still declined, Tiffany called back today saying the new manager
just authorized her to drop the service call fee altogether.

At that point, I 'could' have taken then up on their offer (just to
get a more specific estimate for you guys) ... but ... I didn't really
want to jerk them around so I politely declined (but thanked them
nonetheless).

I mention this because many people reading this will want to have
someone do the work for them - so it's good to know you still 'can'
get a free estimate in the Silicon Valley (but only if you play their
game).

[Vic Smith]

Thanks for all the garage door spring info. Nice job.
Around here - north of Chicago suburbs - it seems most home repair
contractors do free estimates.
In fact, they PAY to give estimates if they use a referral service
like Service Magic.
They have mixed views about Service Magic, and so do I.
It does save the home owner time in finding contractors.
But in talking to some of the contractors, it works like this. If
they get the job, the SM referral fee is nothing to them, as it gets
paid out of job profit. If they don't, some resent the fee, others
just see it as a business cost. There's other issues I don't mention
now.
Anyway, although it probably pays to check around and get multiple
estimates, damn if I don't nearly always end up hiring the first guy
out. Maybe I've just been lucky, but it's worked out well.
More likely the first guy out is a hustler, does the most work, runs
his business the best, and can offer a good cost for good work.
Just guessing, but it seems to generally work that way.
Five out of six of the last jobs I contracted went to the first
bidder.
Keeping to garage doors, I was expecting to pay about $2k for a new
steel door - just going by what a workmate paid for a similar one
about 5 years ago - but the first guy I called was over here in an
hour, and bid $900. He's had a local business with a good rep for a
long time. Looked no further.
He was slow getting out to do the job, because he was busy.
But I told him up front there was no hurry, and do it by his schedule.
So $200 for a new spring sounds high to me, but as you say, you live
where you live.

[Vic Smith]

On Sat, 10 Nov 2012 12:24:59 -0600, G. Morgan
<seal...@osama-is-dead.net> wrote:

>Vic Smith wrote:
>
>>Keeping to garage doors, I was expecting to pay about $2k for a new
>>steel door - just going by what a workmate paid for a similar one
>>about 5 years ago - but the first guy I called was over here in an
>>hour, and bid $900. He's had a local business with a good rep for a
>>long time. Looked no further.
>
>

>Must have been a nice insulated door. In Houston I'll (well, used to
>before I got out of the business) install a 16 x 7 non-insulated door
>complete with take-down and haul-off for about $500.
>

That's my size - 4 panel - but his garage is attached so he probably
got insulated. Pretty sure he got windows too. Might have an 18'.
Mine is plain-jane but much better looking than the old wood one.
I think I priced a similar door at about $400 at the big box when I
was thinking about doing it myself. Then add the opener.


>Our cost on the door is $300. It takes about 1.5 hours to do, and the
>dump charges $30 to drop off the "dead door".
>

About the time the 2-man crew took. I was glad to see that old door
hauled away on top of their van. Right there is what tipped the scale
for me early about doing it myself. Getting old.

>I'm not up to date on current prices, but I'm sure they have not changed
>much with the ads I see.
>

I'll never know, but no complaints from me.
Heh, just had a visitor. His dad paid $700 for a door at the big box
with 1/2" foam. Put it up himself.
4 times.

[Danny D.]

On Sat, 10 Nov 2012 12:24:59 -0600, G. Morgan wrote:

> Our cost on the door is $300. It takes about 1.5 hours to do, and the
> dump charges $30 to drop off the "dead door".

Wow. You live on a different planet from California prices!

BTW, I just now weighed the 7' tall by 8' wide steel garage door,
and I was shocked it's 185 pounds (and not 135# which one installer
told me based on my description of the door).

http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/11375189/img/11375189.jpg

Lesson: Don't trust what the installer says on the phone!

[Danny D.]

On Sat, 10 Nov 2012 01:56:00 +0000, Danny D. wrote:

> The door is apparently 135 pounds.

That was a wrong number. It is off by 50 pounds!

I had described the door to an installer over the phone
who said it was 135 pounds based on what I told him.

As a doublecheck, given the dimensions of the original spring:
2"ID, 0.243"thick, 26.5"long, 7'tall, 13"track radius
the lift calculates to only about 125 pounds.
http://ddmgaragedoors.com/springs/standard-torsion-springs.php#database

However, today I physically MEASURED the weight of the door.
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/11375192/img/11375192.jpg

The door clearly weighs 185 pounds!

Something isn't right by about 60 pounds!

[Gunner]

http://www.dyersgaragedoors.com/services/newdoors/garage-doors-san-fernando-valley.html

Pretty much typical for California

Gunner

--
""The Democratic constituency is just like a herd of cows. All you have
to do is lay out enough silage and they come running. That’s why I
became an operative working with Democrats. With Democrats all you
have to do is make a lot of noise, lay out the hay, and be ready to
use the ole cattle prod in case a few want to bolt the herd.

Eighty percent of the people who call themselves Democrats don’t have
a clue as to political reality.
What amazes me is that you could take a group of people who are hard
workers and convince them that they should support social programs
that were the exact opposite of their own personal convictions. Put a
little fear here and there and you can get people to vote any way you
want.

The voter is basically dumb and lazy. The reason I became a Democratic
operative instead of a Republican was because there were more
Democrats that didn’t have a clue than there were Republicans."
James Carvell, DNC operative

[Gunner]

Amazing how many jobs a ball joint tool will do isnt it? Mine has only
done 1 set of ball joints..but gets used about 4 times a week for all
sorts of other things...

<G>

[Danny D.]

On Sat, 10 Nov 2012 19:30:08 +0000, Danny D. wrote:

> BTW, I just now weighed the 7' tall by 8' wide steel garage door, and I
> was shocked it's 185 pounds (and not 135# which one installer told me
> based on my description of the door).
> http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/11375189/img/11375189.jpg

I just got off the phone Dan Musick of DDM doors who said
that there's no way my 2 7/8" thick steel (both sides) door is
185 pounds - so the scale must be lying to me (by 60 pounds!).
http://ddmgaragedoors.com 630-293-1337

He says that it must be a Taylor door (due to the black plastic hinges)
and that an 8 foot wide by 7 foot double sided steel Taylor door would
be about 127 pounds (which is about right for the original spring
which has an unusual 13 inch track radius).

We double-checked the coils to be 0.234"
30 coils = 7 inches = 0.233"
20 coils = 4 5/8 inches = 0.231"
10 coils = 2 3/8 inches = 0.237"
Note: A micrometer came up with 0.242" but it's not accurate on curves.

And, we doublechecked the length at 26.5 inches by loosening the
winding cone and slapping both ends of the broken spring together.

Moral of the story:
- Don't trust micrometers & digital bathroom scales!

[Danny D.]

On Sat, 10 Nov 2012 12:30:19 -0800, Gunner wrote:

>>http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/11375189/img/11375189.jpg

> Amazing how many jobs a ball joint tool will do isnt it?

Ah, you noticed that!

That pickle fork I bought in, oh, the early 1980s to replace
my ball joints - and it's still being put to use!

If I had the 18-inch long steel winding bars, I could also
have just wound the door up and then let it sit back down
on the scale.

[Gunner]

On Sat, 10 Nov 2012 21:29:58 +0000 (UTC), "Danny D."
<dann...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>On Sat, 10 Nov 2012 12:30:19 -0800, Gunner wrote:
>
>>>http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/11375189/img/11375189.jpg
>> Amazing how many jobs a ball joint tool will do isnt it?
>
>Ah, you noticed that!

I was trained years ago to See stuff in photos.
Sometimes it a curse too. Particularly in my own photos. Sigh....

>
>That pickle fork I bought in, oh, the early 1980s to replace
>my ball joints - and it's still being put to use!
>
>If I had the 18-inch long steel winding bars, I could also
>have just wound the door up and then let it sit back down
>on the scale.

One of the reasons to never throw Stuff away.

<Grin>

[Danny D.]

On Sat, 10 Nov 2012 16:12:29 -0600, G. Morgan wrote:

> Two guys can lift it easily. One guy can lift it with some difficulty.

One problem is getting your hands on it because of the cheap plastic
Taylor door handles.

Unfortunately, all there is, is one cheap plastic handle, way down low.

Trying to lift 127 pounds with that cheap plastic handle where you can
only get one hand on it at a time, and you're half bent over, is, I
think, the real challenge in lifting it up.

[Danny D.]

Just to give you an update ... I'm waiting for the upgraded
torsion spring & tools to arrive - and I will post pictures
of the thicker spring & new tools when UPS arrives with it.

Meanwhile, now that I know what to look for, I looked at
my second (larger) garage door to find the wrong hinges
installed, broken hinges, and even a badly cracked bottom
corner (the wood is split in half!).

So, by way of update, here is a picture of what I'm dealing
with, while I wait for the torsion spring to arrive from UPS.
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/11391739/img/11391739.jpg

Thank you for your help. I've learned a ton and I now have the
confidence to replace my own torsion spring, when it arrives.

Without a.h.r., this learning task would be nearly impossible.

[Vic Smith]

On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 17:05:28 +0000 (UTC), "Danny D."
<dann...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>
>Meanwhile, now that I know what to look for, I looked at
>my second (larger) garage door to find the wrong hinges
>installed, broken hinges, and even a badly cracked bottom
>corner (the wood is split in half!).
>

That's a bit strange. Wonder how that happened. I've only seen
normal weathering and common joint separation with my wooden garage
doors. Never a crack or serious wood splitting. Very old doors.

[Danny D.]

On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 11:49:13 -0600, Vic Smith wrote:

> That's a bit strange. Wonder how that happened. I've only seen normal
> weathering and common joint separation with my wooden garage doors.
> Never a crack or serious wood splitting. Very old doors.

The Taylor door is probably circa 1990'ish.

I wonder if the fact that more than a few of the black plastic (nylon)
hinges had already been replaced put more stress on the bottom corner?

Also, the fact that the #1 and #3 positions on one side BOTH were prior
replaced with #1 steel hinges ...makes me wonder about stresses applied.

Lastly, at least one #14 inch-long sheet-metal screw is missing from that
bottom corner - so - I have to wonder what that means for the tremendous
stress applied when the door is down.

From outside, it looks like the door had a major 'problem' at some
point - based on these uneven gauges all along both jambs.

RIGHT SIDE GOUGES:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/11393131/640/11393131.jpg

LEFT SIDE GOUGES:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/11393130/640/11393130.jpg

[Jon Elson]

Can you get the door to the fully up position? If so, you can
probably lock it in place with a C clamp and then replace the
spring. I'm more familiar with tension springs, but I have seen
the torsion type with the shaft and pulleys. I think you install
the spring, and then wind it up a bit and attach the cables to
the pulleys. Then, remove the clamp and it should be back to
working.

Jon

[Danny D.]

UPDATE:

I replaced the hinges without drama.
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/11402682/img/11402682.jpg

I was confused whether the stamped number should go upward
or downward but this DIY implies the slot goes upward:
http://ddmgaragedoors.com/diy-instructions/middle-roller-hinge-replacement.php


That DIY doesn't say why, but it does say this:
"The two ends of the hinge have holes for the lag screws.
The end with a slot in the hinge must be on top,
while the end with just a hole must be on the bottom."

That means the numbers should be upside down.
(Which means the prior installer goofed again!)

[Danny D.]

On Wed, 14 Nov 2012 01:48:34 -0600, G. Morgan wrote:

> You put the rollers in the wrong slot dude. The rollers go in the
> bottom slot, numbers should be readable without standing on your head.

Here is a picture of the new #3 hinge mounted on the left side of the door:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/11405301/img/11405301.jpg
And here is a full-size picture where you can see exactly what is:
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/11405302/img/11405302.jpg

The previous (plastic) hinge had the roller in the lower slot, so that's
why I put the roller in the lower slot. I see that's a mistake (I wonder
what the difference is) - and I hesitate to retension sheet-metal screws
but I think I must change that as you said.

However, this DIY says the slotted hole needs to go on top - but that
would (counterintuitively) put the numbers upside down:
http://ddmgaragedoors.com/diy-instructions/middle-roller-hinge-replacement.php

I do agree that it's not logical for the number to be mounted upside down,
so I'm confused about the direction of the hinge mounting. The instructions
were worthless. I'll snap a photo of them and post so you see what I mean.

[Danny D.]

On Wed, 14 Nov 2012 01:48:34 -0600, G. Morgan wrote:
> The rollers go in the bottom slot,
> numbers should be readable without standing on your head.

I'm thoroughly confused now that I look again at the instructions
that came with the hinges! (see pictures of instructions)

The instructions absolutely have to be WRONG!

NOTE 1:
The instructions say to put the roller in the tube furthest
from the door, but, the PICTURES in the instructions clearly
have the roller in the tube closest to the door!

NOTE 2:
The instructions make no mention of mounting orientation, and,
worse yet, the diagram omits the assymetry of the hinge.
That is, the diagram shows SYMMETRIC hinges! (which is wrong!)

Here are the instructions next to the hinge as I installed it:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/11405723/img/11405723.jpg

Here is the hinge just flipped the other way & the roller moved:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/11405725/img/11405725.jpg

NEITHER WAY fits the instructions!
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/11405724/img/11405724.jpg

Here are the instructions verbatim:
1. Close door completely. Keep door closed by fastening "C"
Clamps on both the left and right door track against the
top side of two rollers.
2. Disconnect power and lifting arm of garage door opener.
3. Unbolt hinge from door. Feed roller into new hinge, but
furthest from door. Place wheel of roller into track and
fasten hinge to door.

Yet, here is a closeup of the associated DIAGRAM
(which directly contradicts the written instructions!)
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/11405773/img/11405773.jpg

NOTE: I've scoured the net for DIYs and none of these garage
door hinge DIYs mention the hinge orientation!
http://www.diygaragerepair.com/How-to-Install-Garage-Door-Rollers-s/193.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_6587952_install-garage-door-hinges.html

When I look at a DIY building a garage door from scratch:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,20294087,00.html
I can see WHY the hinge needs the slotted hole at top - but
that puts the numbers (illogically) upside down then.

[Danny D.]

On Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:07:19 +0000, Danny D. wrote:

> I'm thoroughly confused now that I look again at the instructions

> that came with the hinges! (see pictures of instructions).

> The instructions absolutely have to be WRONG!

UPDATE:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/11406880/640/11406880.jpg

I moved the roller to the tube furthest away on all the #2 and #3
replacement hinges (I had to use larger sheet-metal screws now).

Unfortunately, I have to disregard the package instructions
(because they just can't be followed).

1. I put the roller in the tube furthest from the door.
2. I put the hinge with the 2 round holes at the bottom.
3. Therefore the two slotted holes were at the top.
4. This resulted in the numbers reading upside down.
5. Unfortunately, the door now jams at the #3 position!

By that, I mean the door, which worked actually BETTER before
I moved the roller to the tube furthest from the door, now it
hangs up when the #3 hinge is near the curve at the top.

I have to hit the button twice or three times to get past that
tightness at the #3 hinge at the top of the curve.

I don't know what is wrong yet.

[Danny D.]

On Thu, 15 Nov 2012 02:20:39 -0600, G. Morgan wrote:

> use you own hands so you can feel where it binds.
I agree. That's what I did.

> Chances are the track is not adjusted properly.
I can't disagree. Dan Musick of DDM Garage Doors
(800-383-9548) suggested I move the rollers.

I think that's because readjusting the track is problematic.

> Can you loosen the track screws and pull the track further
> from the opening?
Yes. But.

If I move the vertical track backward (into the garage), the horizontal
track also needs to be moved - and that's a lot of hardware.

> you can "cheat". Try a #2 hinge in the top section instead.
Yes. I did cheat. Dan Musick suggested I put the #2 in the #3 position
and that I bring down the #3 to the #2 location but switch tubes to the
tube closest to the door. That seems to have worked.

> The whole point of different hinges should be obvious when you
> look at the way the track is mounted.
I agree. But, it's only obvious that the track pitch is tilted back the
same amount that the hinge wedges the door forward AFTER you know that.
It's not obvious intuitively (someone must have gotten a patent on that
wedging idea!).

> It should be so when the door is
> closed, the roller stems can freely turn by your thumb and forefinger.

THAT's the kind of practical hint we need!
I'm not sure HOW to test whether the door is wedged just right.
I assumed I should look for a vertical arrangement - but that's hard to
measure.

I'm not sure about the test of the spinning wheels. Certainly they should
not be too tight - but - if they're loose - how are they wedging anything?
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/11428815/img/11428815.jpg

[Danny D.]

Update.

In the words of Richard Kinch in his canonical DIY, I installed a torsion
spring and lived to tell the tale.

My assessment was that the tools necessary were minimal, and that the
effort required was also minimal. Other than the winding of the spring
itself, everything was actually trivial. The winding was trivial in terms
of effort - but dangerous in terms of cost of mistakes.

Interestingly, the winding force needed was muuuuch less than I was led
to believe; I would assess that a normal guy would have no problem
winding the 0.250" 36-inch-long spring that I just wound using 1/2"
eighteen-inch-long steel bars.

The hardest part was keeping count for 30 quarter turns because I stopped
every 10 turns to snap a photo for you guys.

Here's a photo at the zero-turn point. Notice I've lined up the tools
I'll need at the 30 turn point (namely a marker, a mallet, & a 3/8" open-
end wrench).
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/11430093/img/11430093.jpg
PS: Can you find the mallet in the picture?

Here's what a quarter of a turn does to the white painted line:
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/11430097/img/11430097.jpg

Here's a stop at 10 quarter turns (notice the spring grows longer).
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/11430098/img/11430098.jpg
(If it didn't grow longer after 6 quarter turns, you have it on backward!)

At 20 quarter turns, the force is just starting to get strong - but you
can rest any time you like as the force holds the 18-inch bars in place:
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/11430102/img/11430102.jpg

Lastly, here's the 30 quarter turn mark - where I then marked the nine-
foot bar about a quarter inch out, and used the mallet against the 18-
inch bar to push the winding cone to that marked point before tightening
3/4 turn with the 3/8" open-end wrench.
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/11430107/img/11430107.jpg

I think I wound it about 1/4 turn too much as the door goes up too easily
by hand (with the opener disconnected) and will keep moving a foot or so
on the upswing - so I'm going to re-adust it by removing 1/4 turn - but
other than that, there was none of the drama that makes for a good story.

[Danny D.]

On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 22:56:32 +0000, Danny D. wrote:

> In the words of Richard Kinch in his canonical DIY, I installed a
> torsion spring and lived to tell the tale.

Two minor problems.
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/11430257/img/11430257.jpg

One is that the gap on the right side is about 1/4 inch when the door is
closed. This, I think, is because I had left the pickefork in place and
didn't realize the implications.

The picklefork, if you remember, was used to raise the 130 pound door to
weight it - but I had lazily left the picklefork in place.

So now I'm following these instructions on how to level the door:
http://ddmgaragedoors.com/diy-instructions/leveling-garage-door.php

The other problem is the spring is wound about a quarter turn too tighly,
so I'll tackle that separately.

[Vic Smith]

On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 22:56:32 +0000 (UTC), "Danny D."
<dann...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>
>Here's a stop at 10 quarter turns (notice the spring grows longer).
> http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/11430098/img/11430098.jpg
>(If it didn't grow longer after 6 quarter turns, you have it on backward!)
>

That's where you got dangerous. Leaving an unused winding bar in the
collar without holding it The collars aren't infallible.
If the winding bar doing the holding broke out or slipped out, anybody
in range of the other bar could be in a world of hurt.

[Danny D.]

On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 18:01:27 -0600, Vic Smith wrote:

> That's where you got dangerous. Leaving an unused winding bar in the
> collar without holding it The collars aren't infallible.

I don't disagree. The whole thing does not seem as dangerous as it really
is, simply because there is no difficulties. Of course, were something to
break or slip - THEN - it would be over in a flash.

The good news is that I just fixed two of the three problems I found
after I was done.

1. The door wasn't level (now fixed as per below).
2. The spring was 1/4 turn too tight (now fixed as per below).
3. The bracket is being forced to bend (not good - no solution yet).

1. The door was 1/4 inch too high on the right side (probably due to my
mistake of leaving the picklefork under the door) so I lowered it by 1/4
inch by loosening the cable drum as per this wonderful "Leveling Garage
Doors" DDM DIY:
http://ddmgaragedoors.com/diy-instructions/leveling-garage-door.php

Here is a before and after photo of the door, perfectly leveled now:
BEFORE LEVELING:
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/11430729/img/11430729.jpg
AFTER LEVELING:
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/11430591/640/11430591.jpg

2. The spring was about 1/4 turn too tight as the door was shooting
upward at the midway point - even though it stayed at the bottom and
middle if you didn't move it. So, I simply unwound the spring by 1/4 turn
as shown here:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/11430590/img/11430590.jpg

3. The bracket is bending! It's only held in with a single bolt!
There is no bushing nor a bearing. It just doesn't look like it's
mounted correctly. This is the topic of a more recent thread so I only
mention this problem here.

Other than that third problem, which isn't of my making, although I wish
I knew to look for it BEFORE the spring broke ... I would consider this,
my first torsion spring R&R DIY a success.

Thanks to everyone for your advice & encouragement!

[Danny D.]

On Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:41:54 -0600, G. Morgan wrote:

> I'm glad you asked a lot of questions
> and took safety seriously.

Thanks. Dan Musick at DDM Garage doors told me that
I was very detail oriented, and he was able to help
me simply by looking at the pictures & videos I posted.

Here is a video looking at the spring end plate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNAfZP1bMQM

And here's a video looking at the bearing end plate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHKjGDqz9wE

If you guys need a torsion spring, and advice,
I highly recommend DDM Garage Doors!

[Danny D.]

On Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:40:24 -0600, G. Morgan wrote:

> Just make damn sure the winding bar is seated all the way

That's why I taped the ends and listened for the click
of them seating (as Dan Musick says in his wonderful DIYs).

I've wound and unwound this one spring perhaps a half
dozen times this weekend - so I can attest that it
can be done safely.

See this picture for how I set it up for safety:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/11445270/img/11445270.jpg

What you don't see in that picture is the garage door
opener mechanically disconnected and unplugged; and the
safety glasses; and me keeping standing on a sturdy step
ladder keeping my head out of the danger zone.