Broken Garage Door Spring in St. Louis: Signs and What to Do
The short answer
If you heard a loud bang in the garage and now the door won't go up, a spring has most likely broken. Leave the door closed, don't run the opener, and call a technician to replace the spring.
Call About a Broken Spring(314) 200-4461Signs to look for
- A loud bang from the garage, often when nobody was using the door.
- The opener strains, lifts the door a few inches, then stops.
- A gap of a few inches in the coils of the spring above the door.
- The door feels far heavier than normal if you try to lift it.
- The door rises crooked, or a cable hangs loose at one side.
Why it happens
Normal wear
Every spring is built for a set number of open and close cycles. Many standard springs are rated for about 10,000 cycles. A door used four or five times a day reaches that in roughly six to seven years.
Rust
Rust eats into the coils and makes them rub. Humid summers and wet winters speed this up, especially in garages that are not heated.
Cold weather
Steel gets more brittle in the cold. A spring that is already worn often lets go on the first cold morning of the season.
Wrong size or a single spring
A spring that is too light for the door works harder on every cycle. Heavy doors with only one spring also wear it out faster.
Is it safe to use the door?
No.
A garage door can weigh well over 100 pounds. With a broken spring, the opener or your arms take the full weight and the door can drop fast. Leave it closed, keep kids and cars clear, and do not pull the red emergency release while the door is open.
What you can check, and what needs a pro
Safe for you to check
- From the floor, look at the spring above the door for a gap in the coils. Do not touch it.
- Unplug the opener so nobody tries to run it.
- If a car is stuck inside, call us before trying anything else.
- Keep the door closed and the area under it clear until it is fixed.
Leave these to a technician
- Removing, winding or installing torsion springs.
- Replacing extension springs and their safety cables.
- Checking and replacing cables, drums and bearings.
- Balancing the door once the new springs are on.
Never adjust, release or loosen springs, cables, drums or bottom brackets. They hold enough tension to cause serious injury.
Call About a Broken Spring(314) 200-4461What the repair involves
The technician secures the door, removes the broken spring and installs new springs sized to your door's weight and height.
In most cases both springs are replaced at once, because when one breaks the other is close behind. That saves you a second service call and keeps the door balanced.
Then the cables, drums and rollers are checked, the door is balanced and tested, and the opener is run through a few cycles. Most spring jobs take under an hour, and common spring sizes are kept on our service vehicles.
More about our garage door spring repair service in St. Louis
Call About a Broken Spring(314) 200-4461