Garage Door Spring Repair in El Paso

A broken spring is the most common reason a garage door in El Paso suddenly will not open. The spring is what makes a heavy door feel light. The opener only guides it. When the spring fails, the full weight of the door is left for the opener, or for you, to lift.

Signs your spring is broken

• A loud bang from the garage, often when nobody is using the door.
• A visible gap in the coil of the spring on the bar above the door.
• The opener runs, the door rises a few inches and stops, or the opener strains and quits.
• The door feels extremely heavy if you try it by hand with the opener released.
• Cables hanging loose beside the door.

If you see any of these, stop using the door. Running the opener against a broken spring can burn out the motor or strip the gear, which turns a spring job into a spring and opener job.

Torsion springs and extension springs

Most newer El Paso garages have torsion springs: one or two large springs mounted on a steel bar just above the door. They twist to store energy as the door closes and unwind to help lift it.

Some older homes, and many from the 1970s and 1980s, still have extension springs. These are long springs that run along each upper track and stretch as the door closes. When an extension spring breaks without a safety cable running through its center, the pieces can whip across the garage. If you have extension springs and no safety cables, ask the technician to add them.

Census data shows 44.1% of El Paso homes were built before 1980, so both kinds are common here.

Why you should not repair a spring yourself

Garage door springs are under very high tension. Winding or unwinding a torsion spring needs proper winding bars, the correct spring size for the door's weight, and training. People get hurt every year trying it with screwdrivers or the wrong tools. Do not loosen the set screws on the spring, the cables, or the bottom brackets where the cables attach. Those all hold stored force.

What you can safely do: leave the door closed, unplug the opener, and keep the car parked outside if it is not already trapped.

What a spring repair involves

A technician will:

1. 1
   Check the door's weight, height and current spring size.
2. 2
   Release the remaining tension safely.
3. 3
   Fit the new spring or springs, set the correct number of turns, and check the cables and drums.
4. 4
   Test the balance: a well-balanced door stays put when lifted halfway by hand.
5. 5
   Lubricate the springs, hinges and rollers, and test the opener's safety reverse.

Most technicians recommend replacing both springs on a two-spring door, even if only one has broken. They were installed together and have done the same number of cycles, so the second one is usually close behind.

Heat, dust and spring life

Springs are rated by cycles, where one cycle is the door opening and closing once. A household that uses the garage as its main entry may cycle the door several times a day. In El Paso, dust and grit on a dry spring add friction. A light coat of garage door lubricant on the coils a couple of times a year, and wiping off old gritty grease, helps. Ask about higher cycle springs if the door gets heavy daily use.

What spring repair costs

National figures from Housecall Pro put torsion spring replacement at $200 to $600. That range is national, not an El Paso quote. Price depends on whether one or two springs are replaced, the size of the door, and whether cables or drums also need work. See our El Paso garage door cost guide for more.

Common questions

Other services