There are a few different types of springs you can find on garage doors, but in this article and video, you can learn all about torsion springs and what to expect from them on your door. Most garage doors have 1-2 torsion springs, depending on the weight. However, if it’s a really heavy garage door, you can have up to 4. In the video, you’ll see an example of a door that has 1 torsion spring. Most springs look very similar, with a long coil that stretches out, as seen in the video below.
Torsion Springs Life Expectancy
Standard torsion springs last about 10,000 cycles, meaning you can open and close your door about 10,000 times before they need to be replaced. At Garage Door Guy, we do custom long-life springs, which go up to about 20,000 cycles.
Signs That Your Torsion Springs Are Bad
Garage torsion springs are designed to work hard, often. They’re under constant pressure when opening and closing the door, so their life span is shorter than the rest of your garage door parts. There are a few signs that your torsion springs are bad.
- Door won’t open fully – When your torsion spring breaks, you’ll notice that your door will only open about 1-2 inches. This is because your spring is designed to counter-balance the weight of the door so your motor can continue lifting it. When your spring breaks, your door goes from weighing about 4 pounds to weighing 50-100 pounds.
- Separation in the spring – Another way to know your spring is bad is to take a look at it and see a separation of about 2 inches. If you can see through your spring, it’s time to give your Garage Door Guy a call.
Schedule a Torsion Spring Replacement with Garage Door Guy
If you do have a bad spring, or if you’re not sure, you can give us a call at 417-413-3813 or you can schedule a service visit online. If you are trying to replace your torsion springs yourself, please practice garage door safety. Replacing a torsion spring yourself can pose serious hazards, including flying metal if the spring breaks, severe cuts on jagged edges, falling garage doors, and activated openers during replacement.
