Help! Mercedes trapped in garage by broken garage door cable! - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

barry12345 · #16 06-03-2018, 04:24 PM

Okay you have a two spring set up apparently. This changes things with one broken.

HuskyMan · #17 06-03-2018, 05:03 PM

Home Depot has iffy reviews for their garage door springs. Life span is rated around 2 years give or take. I checked the Grainger web site for pricing. For new pulleys, tools, cables and springs, the price estimate is $234.00 to $294.00 plus sales tax. That is with ME doing the labor plus the risk of injury or death.

Tomorrow I am going to start calling garage door repair companies to get quotes. I imagine they won't be too far off the Grainger pricing plus I get to stand clear of the danger while they sweat it out.

HuskyMan · #18 06-03-2018, 06:55 PM

notice the left is broken in half. This door is approximately twelve years old, I open it around six to eight times per day so it gets a lot of use.....

tangofox007 · #19 06-03-2018, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyMan

notice the left is broken in half. This door is approximately twelve years old, I open it around six to eight times per day so it gets a lot of use.....

There are heavy duty springs available that last way longer than the builder-grade variety. In any case, be sure that BOTH springs get replaced. Where I live, the garage door companies charge about $150 for spring replacement.

HuskyMan · #20 06-03-2018, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangofox007

There are heavy duty springs available that last way longer than the builder-grade variety. In any case, be sure that BOTH springs get replaced. Where I live, the garage door companies charge about $150 for spring replacement.

Where can I purchase the heavy duty springs?

tangofox007 · #21 06-03-2018, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyMan

Where can I purchase the heavy duty springs?

When you talk to the garage door service folks, you might ask if they offer a longer-lasting spring option. Typically, they offer an economy spring and a "high cycle" version.

HuskyMan · #22 06-03-2018, 09:57 PM

I have a digital metric gauge; can I use it to determine the wire diameter of the springs?

ROLLGUY · #23 06-03-2018, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangofox007

When you talk to the garage door service folks, you might ask if they offer a longer-lasting spring option. Typically, they offer an economy spring and a "high cycle" version.

My best MB buddy owns a garage door company, and this is correct. The high cycle spring is what you need......Rich

cmac2012 · #24 06-04-2018, 12:59 AM

Some good advice. The one thing I'm unsure of is some preset number of turns a spring will get. Some doors are way heavier than others, solid wood vs. alum and fiberglass. In one door I repaired I matched the existing spring size then began to suspect that someone had bought the closest size they could some years back. The house is 60 to 70 years old. I don't think a spring that's stronger than the door weight normally calls for is a problem. But the amount of turns of the spring should be determined by actual use, not counting turns. But you should count so as to get each side pretty close.

This is a good set of instructions:

https://www.wikihow.com/Adjust-a-Garage-Door-Spring

This vid is pretty good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E58p206j16o

I think I was off a bit before, you want the door to stay in place with the lowest panel a little over 6 feet off the floor. Any tighter and the garage door opener might have trouble closing the door. It has too push against the tension until enough of the door is hanging down vertically to assist with the push.

He uses a square socket with a short wrench, I should get one dedicated for that.

ah-kay · #25 06-04-2018, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyMan

I have a digital metric gauge; can I use it to determine the wire diameter of the springs?

Measure 10 or 20 wounds of the coil with a tape measure and divide by the number. It will give you the diameter of the spring. Get a thicker gauge spring if it is available. You have 2 springs so one is left handed wound, one is right handed wound. It is color coded, red and black. The seller normally provides you with 2 steel rods to torque the spring. Wound the spring until you can lift the door with one hand easily and it should be just right. The cable and/or pulley probably is fine and don't need to change. It is not too difficult to change the springs but one just needs to be careful. If you are not handy then best to leave it to the professional. In CA, it is around $300-$500.

tangofox007 · #26 06-04-2018, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

He uses a square socket with a short wrench, I should get one dedicated for that.

The entire reason for the square screw heads is to discourage the use of sockets and box-end wrenches. In the interest of safety, only open-end wrenches should be used.

cmac2012 · #27 06-04-2018, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangofox007

The entire reason for the square screw heads is to discourage the use of sockets and box-end wrenches. In the interest of safety, only open-end wrenches should be used.

8 point sockets for square nuts are available. I had a set once but virtually never had a need for them. I might still have them somewhere.

But open end wrenches have worked fine for me.

tangofox007 · #28 06-04-2018, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

8 point sockets for square nuts are available.

They certainly are. And there are probably a few fools that will use one on garage door fasteners. But the whole reason that garage door fasteners are square is to discourage the use of closed-end tools, which pose a much greater danger to the user than an open-ended wrench in case there is an "event" involving the torsion spring. An open end wrench is not going to remain attached to a revolving component and beat the daylights out of someone with every revolution.

ah-kay · #29 06-04-2018, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangofox007

They certainly are. And there are probably a few fools that will use one on garage door fasteners. But the whole reason that garage door fasteners are square is to discourage the use of closed-end tools, which pose a much greater danger to the user than an open-ended wrench in case there is an "event" involving the torsion spring. An open end wrench is not going to remain attached to a revolving component and beat the daylights out of someone with every revolution.

I always use an open ended spanner. I never thought of it as a safety issue. Good info.

cmac2012 · #30 06-04-2018, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangofox007

They certainly are. And there are probably a few fools that will use one on garage door fasteners. But the whole reason that garage door fasteners are square is to discourage the use of closed-end tools, which pose a much greater danger to the user than an open-ended wrench in case there is an "event" involving the torsion spring. An open end wrench is not going to remain attached to a revolving component and beat the daylights out of someone with every revolution.

That is a good point. OTOH, the guy in the vid used such a setup and it seemed he was much quicker at tightening those bolts than I am with an open end wrench. Quicker has a possible safety plus, less time for something to go wrong.