Garage door spring replacement: torsion springs, tension springs and cables

A garage door is heavy, and its springs are wound or stretched so that they carry almost all of that weight. Digidoor's manual describes the result: when a properly balanced door is moved by hand and left at any point in its travel, it stays there, supported entirely by its springs.

That's why a door with healthy springs feels light, and why a motor isn't meant to make up for a heavy door. The same manual is plain about the order of things: most complaints about how a garage door runs can be traced to the door itself, and a motor is not meant to correct a door that's unbalanced or binding.

So a weak or broken spring shows up as a motor problem first. The door stops partway, reverses, or the motor hums and the door doesn't move, because the motor feels a door far heavier than it should be.

The kind of door decides the kind of spring:

A torsion spring stores its force by being twisted round a shaft; a tension spring by being stretched. Both are under heavy load all the time the door is closed, which is when the spring is working hardest.

Some tip-up doors are balanced with counterweights instead of springs, and that matters if you plan a motor: Gemini's garage operator, for one, isn't made for vertical tip-up doors balanced with weights. See garage door motor installation for which motor suits which door.

• The door won't stay put. A balanced door, lifted about halfway by hand and let go, stays there: Centurion allows no more than 100 mm of rise or fall. If your door drops or shoots up when you open it by hand, it's out of balance. Never pull the motor's release on an open door to find out, and if the door feels very heavy, lower it and leave it closed.
• It has become heavy. Digidoor gives 20 kg as the absolute most it should ever take to raise or lower a roll-up door; Centurion's sectional motor manual says about 10 kg.
• The motor strains, stops or reverses, especially near the bottom or top, or a newer motor warns you. Centurion's RDO Digital, for one, has a Door Service Monitor setting that flashes its light while running when the door is out of balance.
• One side lifts first, or the door runs crooked, which can point to a spring or cable on one side.
• You can see it. A torsion spring with a gap in its coils, or a tension spring that's stretched open or snapped, has failed.

A door that's getting heavier is worth a visit before it stops altogether.

The manuals agree on this. Digidoor: garage doors, door springs, cables, pulleys, brackets and hardware are under extreme force and can cause serious injury, and spring adjustment can be dangerous. ET: if the balancing springs need adjusting, only a qualified and experienced person should do it. Centurion: repairs to the garage door must be done by technically qualified people.

The danger isn't only in the spring itself. ET and Digidoor both warn that with a damaged, broken or fatigued spring, an open door can drop the moment the motor's manual release is pulled. So if a spring breaks:

1. If the door is closed, leave it closed. Don't pull the release and don't keep pressing the remote.
2. If the door is open, keep everyone and the car out from under it, and don't pull the release. Call us and say it's open.
3. Stop using the motor. Digidoor's and Gemini's manuals both say not to use the motor when the door needs repair or adjustment, because a fault in the installation or a door that's out of balance can cause injury.

A photo of the springs and the motor, sent on WhatsApp or with the job card, helps us bring the right spring.

A replacement spring has to match the door. Springs are made for a door's weight and height: shop listings for Digidoor roll-up torsion springs, for example, are sold by a weight range and a door height, such as 70 to 90 kg for a 2,135 mm door. The wrong spring leaves the door just as unbalanced as a broken one.

The job, done properly:

1. The door is secured so it can't move while the old spring's tension is released with the right tools.
2. The new spring is fitted and tensioned to the door's weight.
3. The balance is tested: lifted halfway and let go, the door stays put.
4. The cables, drums and brackets are checked, since they carry the same load.
5. The springs are greased. Centurion's manuals call for heavy bearing grease between the coils, because dry, rusty springs add friction and seasonal temperature changes alter it, both of which can make a motor malfunction.
6. The motor is reset. Centurion's RDO Digital manual says that once a door has been rebalanced, the motor's forces and limits must be learnt again.

All our spare parts are genuine, and every repair carries our six-month guarantee on our repairs.

Springs work with cables, drums, pulleys and brackets, and the manuals group them together: Digidoor's Digi 7 manual asks owners to check cables, springs and mountings often for wear, damage or imbalance, and not to use the door if repair or adjustment is needed. A frayed cable, a cable that has jumped off its drum, or a bracket pulling out of the wall is as urgent as a broken spring, and is best dealt with at the same visit.

Springs weaken with use, which is why the manuals talk about weak and fatigued springs as well as broken ones. Three habits from the manufacturers help them last:

• Keep them greased. Digidoor wants torsion springs greased; Centurion specifies heavy bearing grease between all the coils.
• Have the door serviced regularly. Digidoor's advice for a long-lived motor is a regular garage door service, with the springs checked and adjusted when needed.
• Test the safety reverse each month. Centurion asks for the motor's obstruction reversing to be checked monthly: the door should reverse when it meets something.

Typical South African prices, from installer price lists, cost guides and shop listings:

These are market prices, not ours. Prices checked October 2026. Your exact price is set in a free quote before any work starts. No call-out fee when we do the work. If no work is done, a R650 call-out fee applies.