Broken Garage Door Springs
A loud bang from the garage followed by a door that will not lift indicates a broken spring. This is the most common garage door failure and the one that takes a door entirely out of service, because the springs carry the weight of the door and the opener only guides it.
Signs Your Garage Door Spring is Broken
- A loud bang from the garage, often heard the previous night
- The door will not lift, or lifts only a few inches
- A visible gap in the coil of the spring above the door
- The opener strains, runs and stops, or trips its breaker
- The door feels extremely heavy when operated by hand
- The door drops rapidly when released
What to Do if Your Garage Door Spring Is Broken
Do Not Operate the Opener
An opener is not designed to lift a door unassisted and will strip its drive gear or burn out its motor attempting to do so. Continuing to operate the door after a spring failure commonly turns a spring repair into a spring and opener replacement.
Torsion & Extension Springs
Torsion springs mount on a shaft above the door opening and are fitted to most doors installed since the 1980s. Extension springs run along the horizontal tracks on either side and are common on older detached garages throughout Elyria and Lorain. We stock both types in the gauges commonly required locally, so most replacements are completed on the first visit.
Replaced in Pairs
Springs are rated in cycles, one cycle being a single open and close. On a two-spring door both springs accumulate the same number of cycles, so when one fails the second is typically close behind. Fitting a single replacement leaves the door unbalanced and places the full load on the new spring. For this reason we quote both springs as standard.
