Garage door torsion spring questions

[goof1427]

New to the forums and fixing garage doors. thanks for the time. I just got a couple of questions. My 1-car garage door cables became a mess and came off the pully on the torsion rod...so the door wouldnt close and when I pulled the emergency release to close it the opener came off the wall because of the weight of the door. nonetheless the door closed.
I thought I would be able to put it back on myself since it looked like all I needed to was recoil the cable and reattach the door opener rod to the wall again.
So I did get the door opener reattached to the wall...that was easy part. and I can open and close the door...however the cable will not sit on the pulley...I am guessing the torsion tension might have gotten screwed up. i dont know.
Can I use the garage door as it is now? without it being connected to the torsion spring? it does open and close. I am guessin it might just weight a bit more when its open but its only open for a few seconds...enough to get the car out.
Should I try to rotate the tension rod and fix it myself or get a contractor?

attached are pics to clear up anything i couldnt explain. Again thank you for your time and expertise.

[jeffkellen]

cable mess

Hello! I have seen this happen from time to time, usually caused by a spring that isnt tensioned correctly so the cables lose tension at the top of the door's travel (when it's opened)

I am surprised that the door still goes up and down in its current condition. You will want to get that fixed soon. You are correct that the door probably "weighs a lot more" without the help of properly functioning cables which means your opener is going to be working pretty hard. This isnt good, garage door openers are not designed to pull/push very much weight at all, and will fail quickly if they are forced to. The spring should be doing all the heavy lifting, so to speak. the opener is just a guide (like a man walking a horse by the reigns)

IN any case, you will want to re-set the cables and get your door working properly. For someone who knows what to do- its about a 15 minute fix. If your not familiar with torsion springs- DO NOT MESS WITH THEM. They are dangerous. Shouldnt be a costly repair- dont let them sell you anything- it should be all labor, and like I said- 15-20 minutes.

What essentially needs to be done it to release all tension on the springs (with the door in the down position of course) once this is done, the cables will go slack on both sides- remove them from the cable drums. Now level the door (may need to shim one side or the other) release the set screw on the cable drum on the left side so you can rotate the drum. attach the cable (insuring it routes up from behind the drum and sits in the grooves of the drum) rotate the drum until the cable is relatively tight and then tighten the set screw on the drum. now grab a pair of vice grips- rotate the drum ( the torsion bar will move too since they are attached now) so the cable becomes tight and hold the torsion rod/bar in that position by clamping it off with the vice grips. make sure the cable hasnt gotten caught on the panel somewhere and is tight. now move to the right side cable drum and do the same thing. release the set screw, attach the cable, then rotate the drum by hand until the right side cable it tight and straight. now tighten that set screw on the drum. That is it- your cables are re-set and the door is level. all that is left to do now is wind the springs back up with the proper tension. (usually 7 1/2 turns per spring for a 7' high door- but you can adjust 1/4 turn at a time to get it set exactly right after you test the door by hand)

hope this helps!

[jeffkellen]

One more thing;

make sure you firmly attach that 2x4 (that is attached to your opener bracket) to the wall. I usually use lag bolts or long wood screws, and make sure you hit studs or the header. many people simply nail that wood piece to the header- or worse, the drywall, and it pops off- just like yours did. The bracket can actually be put under quite a lot of force depending on how far the "down travel limit" is set on the opener. when the door closes, all the force is transferred upward to that bracket as the opener pushes the door firmly to the ground.

[stampdoorparts]

You can use the door but it will be VERY heavy. Whoever installed that door did a poor job. Make sure to create a secure spring pad for the springs to anchor into safely. Also make sure your opener is anchored securely. Use a stud finder to do so installing a 2x6x8 or better.

Since your cables are off the drums the springs are NOT helping you lift the door (the door will be heavy)

Mike
Stamps Garage Doors
Garage Door Parts