Quick Guide: How to repair an unbalanced extension spring

This quick guide is brought to you by Solution Education, our free, online education series offered to all our customers. In this guide we will cover the safest way to repair an unbalanced extension spring due to a broken or unbalanced cable. We hope this guide helps you be a better installer and provides exceptional service to your customers.

COMMON CAUSES OF AN UNBALANCED DOOR

• Closing the door down on something such as a bicycle
• One or more broken cables
• Something is caught in the track

First, confirm that there is an issue. The easiest way to do this is to close the door and check if the area around the door shows any gaps. This is a sign of an unbalanced garage door.

1. In order to safely fix an extension spring door, you will want to work on the door when it’s fully open. If the door is closed upon arrival, disconnect from the opener and slowly open the door manually to reach the fully open position. When the door is fully open, the tension of the springs is at its least powerful state.
2. Next, place vise grips under the bottom roller to prevent the door from rolling down.
3. We will now need to take the tension off the springs by releasing the cables. To do this, carefully release the “S-Hooks” from the front of the track.
4. Once you have released the tension, you will now be able make any repairs to pulleys, worn or broken cables or broken extension springs.
5. With the repair complete, be sure to put the cables back in place and the tension back on the springs.
6. Now, run the door manually a few times to ensure the door is balanced, everything is working in the assembly, and nothing is caught in the tracks.
7. If everything worked smoothly, reconnect the opener and do a few test runs.

A few helpful tips to remember while working:

• Always recommend preventative maintenance to the customer at least twice a year: once before both cold and hot weather seasons. This is a great opportunity for you to offer a recurring, preventative maintenance plan.
• During your repair, it is a best practice to do a full inspection, lubricate any moving parts, and recommend or replace any worn parts.
• After you have completed repairs, be sure to talk with the customer about extra remotes or other accessories available.
• Always recommend and sell cables and springs in pairs. This will help save the customer additional charges in the future.

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