How To Adjust Garage Door Side Springs And Cables

Side mounted springs are long heavy springs mounted on each side of the upper garage door track.

How to adjust garage door side springs and cables.

You might be wondering what purpose does a garage door cable serve. Here s a breakdown of how to adjust garage door cables. The cable runs through the torsion springs literally doing the heavy lifting each time the door is raised. Retest the door balance as you did in step 1.

Learn how to repair overhead garage door springs and cables without winding up in the emergency room. Follow along as a pro explains how it s done. To adjust your garage door s side mounted springs first open your door fully and secure it in place with a c clamp below the bottom roller. Garage door cables can be adjusted by the home handyman with a little bit of patience and a few simple hand tools.

Adjusting the garage door cables and the springs is a typical do it yourselfer s kind of a job. If your cables are tightly wound on the pulley but 1 side of the door is uneven then you need to adjust the tension on the torsion spring mounted above the center of the garage door frame. The garage door tension springs provide lifting force for the heavy door and are under tremendous tension get careless and they can hurt you. Once your garage door is secured remove the spring hook from the track hanger which will allow you to move the hook and adjust the spring s tension.

Once the spring is free of tension remove from its track hanger. If it was opening too quickly move it to the next lower hole. Because the garage door springs can be somewhat tricky to manage and are very dangerous things to adjust incorrectly you will need to ask a friend to help you. A loose garage door cable is not difficult to deal with but you will need a few key tools to tighten it properly.

This tension makes it easier to lift the garage door from its closed position. If the door was closing too quickly move the spring to the next higher hole on the bracket. The springs extend along the shaft and work by twisting as the garage door closes by means of cables attached to each side of the lowest garage door panel. It s actually one of the most important safety mechanisms of your garage door.

Adjust the springs on both sides of the door the same way.