Garage Door Adjustment

[Russ Filtz]

I had to release the tension on the springs to get the door back on it's track. Now it's sitting in the down position with no tension on the springs at all. These springs are the "captive" kind over top of a torsion bat on both sides. Is there a way to adjust these yourself? I know garage door springs are dangerous, but this type seems relatively safe.

Is the tension adjusted with the door down or up? Seems like up would be easier, just take all the slack out of the lift wire and tighten down, and when the door lowers the spring would torsion. Any less tension in the up position and the wire would jump its track each time. Question is, do I need EVEN MORE tension when in the up position?

[Ben Grunow]

I would not do this without the original mfgrs specs but it is easy if you have done it before. Some have a gearbox that an allen wrench fits and you use a drill to adjust in the down (initial assembly- install door and spring bar, hook up wire and tension so door is never lifted without assistance). Others have holes for metal bars that allow the spring to be undone 1/4 turn at a time.

The springs are usually painted with a line to tell you howm any rotations it has made. This is where the mfgr will tell you how many turns for what size and type of door (solid wood vs metal skin etc). I would pass on this as I have seen what happens when the spring gets loose.

Ben

[John Schreiber]

I tried this once. I counted my blessings that I did not injure myself and called the professionals.

I watched the guy do it. It's a job where you need to have a lot of strength and steadiness. The work gets harder and harder until the tension level is set. Then you need to tighten the setscrews with one hand while the other hand maintains the tension.

If you for whatever reason release tension all at once, the spring can break and send shards flying.

I don't think it's impossible to do, but I will gladly pay someone else to do that job.

[Tyler Howell]

I treated 3 "do it yourselfers" in the ambulance days.
I've also done it with the help.
Get a pro

[Russ Filtz]

Got the pro, and ended up getting new springs so as not to pay for labor. They were getting up in years and probably would have gone soon anyway. Watching him wind the springs though was insanely easy, once you know the tricks and how much to crank them up. I could probably do it myself now if I had to.