Well I was looking forward to a nice saturday of motoring about in my Mini. Then friday night my wife calls me in the living room and says something fell in the garage. Horror struck, i envisioned a bike falling on the mini, or a shelf falling over on it. . Nothing quite that bad, but the torsion spring of the garage door broke. Makes a real racket when it goes. Well disaster averted relative to something falling over, but I couldn't get the garage open until late saturday, so no saturday motoring. Finally got someone out late saturday and he set my mini free.

 

That happened to me once. I used a car jack and a bunch of 2x4s to wedge , pry, and jack up the door.

 

If the spring broke and the mini was in the way. well...I would be sad at the mini by looking at it, the spring broke on our door, I had a 2x4 in the bottom..The door well lets say (the bottom panels were dented ) with a huge upward dent) and the bottom panel was tweaked...The 2x4 wasn't too happy either.

 

Yes, if I got a similar call I'd be in total shock. Glad your worst fears weren't realized, though. A bike falling on your MINI.....*shudders*....darn creepy!!!!!!!

 

I'd rather have had the bike fall on the mini vs the mini being the door stop for the door.. at least vs the mini hood. it wouldn'tve been pretty

 

*whew*

breathe...

Ooohhhmmmmmm <reelaxxx>...

...the MINI is OK

 

Yes, the mini is just fine!! Motored on Sunday!!

 

We have had the spring break on our door twice. Both times the door was in the resting position. Cars trapped.

Last time, I had the guy replace the single large spring with two large zinc springs. I figure with half the tension on both they should be the last set I have to install.

 

The guy told me to spray the spring with wd40 every six months. Apparently the failure mode must be stress corrosion cracking leading to fatigue/failure. The failed spring had a significant amount of rust on the surface.

I think they all tend to fail closed as that is the point of maximum stress on the spring.

 

There are two types of garage door springs. The OP mentioned torsion spring, which runs parallel to the door directly above it. Typically when they break, they do not send any peices of the spring flying through the garage as they are wrapped around a bar.



Here in CT, most people still have extension springs, which run perpendicular to the door, and unless someone has the foresight to run a cable through it, will fly into the garage and hit something when it breaks. And it will break "at rest", because that's when it's extended. It might also break upon opening or closing, but it won't break when the door is up....

 

Yea, mine is the torsion, hence no problem to my mini!!

 

I had an extesion spring snap in my garage and the cable end whipped back and hot my Mini :( It left a little dent and scratch.

Now i have a new garage door and tension spring set up.

 

Mine is torsion as well. And that is why I went with the more expensive zinc springs glangford. They do not rust.

 

Skuzzy, I wish the guy had mentioned that as an option!! Oh well, that lasted 15 years, I plan to move in 7, so that should last. I may replace the garage door before then. I'd like to have an insulated one.

 

As both a homeowner and a landlord I've replaced a few of those torsion springs over the years. It's actually fairly easy if you are mechanically inclined. The instructions are readily available on the internet and at places that sell them. It’s potentially hazardous if you are careless but if you take it slow the first time there is not much to it. The springs are available at most home center stores and the entire process takes just a few hours for the novice. If you are competent to do much more than the very basic maintenance on your car you should have no problem replacing garage door springs. The last time I did one was several years ago and no problems so far.

 

Know of a neighbor who was blinded in one eye while dealing with one. They are very dangerous.

 

It took the garage door co. 30 minutes and less than 100 bucks. For that I'll let them do it. It did look potentially very hazardous.

 

Like many things, it is potentially dangerous if done carelessly. I know of people who have been killed or injured while working on their cars or homes. I still do both but I take the time to do it safely. Any task that a person does not feel safe or comfortable doing should be left to a pro, whether it is winding and securing a torsion spring or changing a flat tire.

 

I've done a few garage doors, all torsion type. If you can get them done for under $100, it's worth it to leave it to a pro. When I replaced my garage door, I got a great deal ($300 on a 20' x 8' door) and I did the work. It's nothing someone mechanically inclined can't do, but the first one is a bit of an adventure. I've done a couple since and while I won't hesitate to do another, I will say that the springs and the door, when under load and/or moving can be *very* dangerous.

-- mike