How To Adjust Garage Door Side Springs And Cables

What a garage door cable does.

How to adjust garage door side springs and cables.

Adjust the springs on both sides of the door the same way. If it was opening too quickly move it to the next lower hole. A loose garage door cable is not difficult to deal with but you will need a few key tools to tighten it properly. You might be wondering what purpose does a garage door cable serve.

Automatic garage door openers make getting in and out of your garage easy although the machinery does require periodic maintenance to ensure proper operation. Adjusting the garage door cables and the springs is a typical do it yourselfer s kind of a job. The garage door tension springs provide lifting force for the heavy door and are under tremendous tension get careless and they can hurt you. 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.

Learn how to repair overhead garage door springs and cables without winding up in the emergency room. Here s a breakdown of how to adjust garage door cables. 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. Retest the door balance as you did in step 1.

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. 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.

Once the spring is free of tension remove from its track hanger. Use steel rods at least 18 inches 46 cm long. It s actually one of the most important safety mechanisms of your garage door. Side mounted springs are long heavy springs mounted on each side of the upper garage door track.

The cable runs through the torsion springs literally doing the heavy lifting each time the door is raised.