A loud bang from the garage, followed by a door that won't open, usually means a broken spring. It's a common garage door problem in North Texas, and it's one of the more dangerous ones to handle on your own.
This guide covers what to look for, what to leave alone, and what to do right now so nobody gets hurt and the damage doesn't spread.
Short version: leave the door where it is, keep everyone clear of it, stop using the opener, and call us.
What garage door springs do
Your garage door is heavy. The springs do most of the lifting by storing energy as the door closes and giving it back as the door opens.
When the springs are working, a properly balanced door can be raised by hand with modest effort, and the opener only has to guide it. The opener is not built to lift the door's full weight by itself.
Torsion springs
Torsion springs sit on a metal shaft mounted on the wall just above the door opening. They twist as the door closes and unwind as it opens, turning drums at each end of the shaft that wind up the lifting cables.
Many homes around Dallas-Fort Worth have torsion springs. A lighter single-car door might have one, and a wider or heavier door usually has two.
Extension springs
Extension springs run alongside the horizontal tracks on each side of the door, up near the ceiling. They stretch as the door closes and pull back as it opens, working through cables and pulleys.
Extension springs should have a safety cable running through the center of each spring. That cable helps contain the pieces if the spring breaks. If you don't see one, mention it when you call.
Signs a spring is broken
Some breaks are obvious. Others look like an opener problem at first.
- A loud bang from the garage, like a gunshot or a heavy board falling, with nothing knocked over.
- A gap in the coils. On a torsion spring, you may see a space of a few inches where the spring split apart.
- A sagging or stretched extension spring, or one hanging loose from its bracket.
- The opener runs but the door barely moves. It may lift a few inches and stop, or reverse right away.
- The door sits crooked, or one side rises higher than the other.
- A loose or hanging cable at a bottom corner of the door.
- The door feels far heavier than normal if someone already tried to lift it.
You can check most of this from a few feet away. There's no need to climb a ladder or get close to the spring.
Why a broken spring is dangerous
Springs hold a large amount of stored energy, even after one breaks. Parts of the system can still be under tension, and a remaining spring may be carrying a load it was never meant to carry alone.
Without working springs, the full weight of the door lands on the cables, the opener and anyone who tries to lift it. A double door with wood or insulated steel sections is heavy enough to cause serious injury if it drops.
Here's what can go wrong:
- The door can fall suddenly if it is open or partly open.
- A cable can snap or jump off its drum.
- The second spring can break under the extra strain.
- The opener can pull the top section out of shape or wear out its own gears.
- Hands and fingers can get caught between sections or in the track.
Spring work takes the right tools, the right parts and training. It should be left to a trained technician, every time.
What not to do
- Don't keep pressing the opener button. Each attempt strains the motor and can bend the door or the rail.
- Don't pull the red emergency release cord while the door is open or partly open. That cord disconnects the opener, and with a broken spring, nothing may be holding the door up.
- Don't try to lift a door with a broken spring by hand. It can weigh much more than you expect, and it can drop without warning.
- Don't try to adjust, wind, unwind or replace a spring. Leave set screws, winding parts and brackets alone.
- Don't loosen or remove cables or brackets. Many of them are holding parts under tension.
- Don't stand, walk or drive under a door that is stuck open or partway open.
If a spring is broken, the safest move is to leave the door alone and call a trained technician.
What to do right now
Start by making the area safe.
- Keep people and pets away from the door. Tell everyone at home, especially kids, that the garage door is off limits.
- Stop using the opener. If the opener's plug is within easy reach without a ladder and without standing under the door, unplug it. If not, put tape over the wall button and set the remotes aside.
- Look, don't touch. Note where the door is stopped, whether a cable looks loose, and which spring looks broken.
- Take a photo from a safe distance if you can. It helps us bring the right parts.
- Call us at (903) 294-1846.
If the door is closed and your car is inside
The safest plan is to leave the car where it is for now and arrange another ride or use another vehicle.
Please don't try to lift the door by hand or prop it with lumber to squeeze a car out. Tell us the car is trapped when you call.
If the door is open and your car is outside
A door stuck open is a safety problem and a security problem. Don't try to pull it down by hand, and don't pull the emergency release.
Keep everyone clear of the opening, and lock the door that leads from the garage into the house. If you can reach bikes, tools or other valuables without walking under the door, move them somewhere secure.
If the door is stuck partway
Treat a half-open door as if it could fall at any moment. Don't duck under it, and don't try to drive through.
Keep kids and pets away from the opening and call us.
What happens on a repair visit
Here's the general picture of a spring repair visit with us.
- Safety first. The technician looks at where the door is stopped and makes the area safe before working on anything.
- Inspection. We check the springs, cables, drums, bearings, rollers, hinges, tracks and opener to see what broke and what else is worn.
- Matching springs to your door. Springs are sized to the weight and height of the door. We confirm the right size instead of guessing from the broken spring.
- Replacement and balance. The technician installs the new springs and sets the door up so it is balanced and travels evenly.
- Testing. We run the door by hand and with the opener, check the travel limits and force setting, and test the safety reverse and photo eyes.
- Walkthrough. We'll tell you what we found, what we replaced, and anything else we noticed that may need attention later.
Why both springs are usually replaced together
If your door has two springs, they have lifted the door the same number of times. When one breaks, the other has usually worn about the same amount and may not be far behind.
Replacing both at once keeps the door balanced, since a new spring and a worn spring don't pull the same way. It also saves you a second service call when the older spring gives out.
The same idea applies to extension springs. Replacing them as a pair helps both sides of the door lift evenly.
How long springs last
Spring life is measured in cycles. One cycle is one full open and one full close.
Many standard springs are rated for roughly 10,000 cycles. How long that lasts depends on how often your door moves.
For example, a door that opens and closes four times a day runs about 1,460 cycles a year. At that pace, a 10,000-cycle spring would reach its rating in under seven years. A household that uses the garage more often will get there sooner.
Higher-cycle springs for busy households
In a lot of North Texas homes, the garage is the main way in and out. Two or three drivers, school drop-offs, errands and a teenager with a car can add cycles fast.
Higher-cycle springs are built to handle more cycles than standard springs. They can be a good fit for a door that gets heavy daily use. Ask us about them during your repair visit.
Related parts that often need attention
When a spring breaks, the sudden shock and the extra load can affect other parts. These are worth a look at the same visit.
- Cables. Lift cables can fray, kink or come off the drums when a spring breaks. A frayed cable is a common reason a door falls.
- Drums. The drums at each end of the torsion shaft wind the cables. They can crack or wear, especially if a cable slipped.
- Bearings. The bearings that support the shaft wear over time. Worn bearings can cause grinding noise and a wobbly shaft.
- Rollers. Rollers guide the door through the tracks. Cracked or worn rollers make the door noisy and add drag on the springs and opener.
- Hinges and tracks. Loose hinges or bent tracks can make the door bind, which adds strain to everything else.
We'll show you what we find so you can decide what to replace.
What about the opener?
Repeated attempts to lift a door with a broken spring can wear the gears, bend the rail or strain the motor.
During the repair visit, we check the opener's travel limits, force setting and safety features once the door is balanced again.
Automatic residential garage door openers sold in the U.S. since 1993 must have entrapment protection, meaning photo eyes and an auto-reverse feature, under the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission rule 16 CFR Part 1211. UL 325 is the safety standard for door and gate operators.
If your opener is older, has no photo eyes, or no longer reverses properly, it may be time to replace it.
Safe monthly checks you can do
You don't need tools for these checks, and none of them involve touching the springs. Your opener manual is the final word on testing your specific unit.
Visual check
Stand inside the garage with the door closed and look at the springs, cables, rollers and brackets from a few feet away.
- Look for gaps in the spring coils, or a spring that looks stretched or uneven.
- Look for frayed or loose cables.
- Look for cracked rollers or loose hinges.
If something looks wrong, don't touch it. Make a note or take a photo and call us.
Listen for new noises
You know how your door usually sounds. New grinding, scraping, popping or squealing can point to worn rollers, worn bearings or a spring under strain.
Opener reverse test
Your opener should reverse when it meets something in the door's path. Follow the steps in your opener manual for this test.
The usual method is to place a 1.5-inch object, such as a 2x4 laid flat, on the floor in the center of the door's path. Close the door with the opener. When the door touches the board, it should stop and reverse.
If it doesn't reverse, stop using the opener to close the door and call us. Your manual will also explain how to check that the photo eyes reverse the door when something passes between them.
Balance test, door closed and springs intact only
Only do this test if the door is fully closed and the springs look intact. If you see any sign of a broken spring or a loose cable, skip it and call us.
- With the door fully closed, disconnect the opener the way your opener manual describes.
- Using the lift handle or the bottom section, raise the door by hand to about waist height. Keep your fingers away from the joints between sections.
- Let go carefully. A balanced door should stay in place or move only a little.
If the door moves on its own, up or down, stop the test. Step back, don't try to catch it, and call us. Once the door is fully closed, reconnect the opener as your manual describes.
A door that drifts or feels heavy usually means the springs are wearing or out of balance. That's a job for a technician.
How North Texas weather and daily use add wear
North Texas is hard on garage doors. Summer heat can turn a closed garage into an oven, and that heat dries out the lubricant on rollers, hinges and bearings.
Then a cold front can drop the temperature fast. Metal expands and contracts with those swings, and a spring that is already worn may finally give out on a cold morning.
Daily use adds up just as much. Every trip in and out is a cycle, and a door that is noisy, dry or slightly out of balance makes the springs work harder each time.
What to tell us when you call
A few details help us plan the visit and bring the right parts.
- Your address or city. We serve Dallas-Fort Worth and North Texas, including Bells, Sherman, Denison, Anna, McKinney, Allen, Princeton, Farmersville, Frisco, Forney and Dallas.
- Where the door is stopped: closed, open or partway.
- Whether a car is trapped inside and needs to get out.
- The spring type, if you can tell: springs on a shaft above the door (torsion) or springs along each side track (extension).
- The door size, single or double, plus the width and height if you know them.
- Anything else you noticed, like a loose cable, a crooked door or new noises before the break.
- A photo of the spring area, taken from a safe distance and emailed to prodoorsandgates@gmail.com.
If you have a barndominium or shop with a larger door, let us know that too. Our page on barndominium garage doors covers those setups.
When to call us
Call us right away if a spring is broken, a cable is loose or hanging, the door sits crooked, or the door is stuck open or partway. Call soon if the door fails the reverse test or the balance test, or starts making new noises.
Pro Doors and Gates is family owned and based at 1940 Everheart Rd in Bells. We repair and replace residential garage doors, springs, cables, rollers, openers and panels, and we build and repair wood and metal gates.
Call (903) 294-1846, Monday through Saturday from 7 AM to 5 PM, or send a request. Emergency service is available by appointment after 5 PM Monday through Saturday and on Sundays. You can also read more about our garage door and gate work.
Please note: This article is general information for homeowners and business owners. It is not professional, legal or building code advice. Codes, permit rules and HOA requirements vary by city and county, so check with your local building department or HOA before you start work, and have a trained technician look at your specific door or gate. Never try to adjust or replace garage door springs or cables yourself.
