How to Replace Garage Door Cables

Let's start with a reminder. Garage door repairs are not easy. They often involve a risk of injuries which is higher when parts are installed in a more complicated way. Parts installed under tension can suddenly snap. What this basically means is that they can snap against your face at any moment if they are not handled right. This is the reason why Garage Door Repair Robbinsdale advises people to refrain from such tasks. At the same time, we can give you an idea of how some things are done when there is something wrong with one of the parts under tension. Let's focus on garage door cables and get a quick glimpse of how they are replaced and why this can be a high risk project for you.

Let us all understand first what cables do and why they're there in the first place. There are two cables – one in each side of the door. They're actually considered parts of the garage door spring system since they work together in order to move the door. Let's say you have a torsion spring installed. When you press the clicker to open the overhead door, the spring starts spinning on the winding cone side and transfers its movement to the shaft (which goes through it) which in turn transfers the movement to the cable drums with which the shaft is connected. The drum will pull the cables, which are connected to the bottom garage door brackets, and the door will move.

You can imagine the tremendous dynamics of these combined efforts. This is the tension required for the movement of the door but this is also the tension that can really hurt you. You can also understand that broken or loose cables won't serve a thing. If they're not able to wrap around the drum and pull the door along the overhead door springs, the door won't open. In most cases, only one cable is damaged at a time. So, the door will simply sag on one side. If the cable is not just off the drum but it's seriously damaged, it should be replaced.

Cable replacement needs caution

Since safety matters, precautions must be taken. In order to replace a garage door cable, one must first disconnect and unplug the opener. This is the first step for safe repairs. The door must also be open. Don't forget that the tension of springs is minimized when the door is open since their coils are contracted. Still, one must be extra careful because the wrong movements would release spring tension or cause them to snap and that's not a good thing.

With the door open and secured with c-clamps or vise grips right under the last rollers, you can use a ladder to stand right under the horizontal garage door tracks. The first thing to do is to loosen up the cable so that it can be removed. In order to do that, you must use a vise grip in order to grab the shaft at its edge part and slightly turn it. It must be turned just enough to loosen up the cable. If you turn it too much the other cable would come off. So, it needs great attention.

Then you can use a screwdriver to remove the bottom end of the cable from the bottom bracket so that you can slowly and carefully un-wrap it from around the cable. Don't forget that the other end is fastened at a slot on the drum and must be removed. Cables might be frayed and so you must watch your hands for injuries. In order to install the new cable, you just have to reverse the steps and start by bending a bit the end part which goes on the drum slot and once the cable is wrapped around, its loop end must be connected with the bottom bracket.