HELP! Road Runner in prison, or any garage door repair guys out there?

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After 6 years of having to replace my large industrial spring ($240 plus labor) every 2 years :mad::realcrazy:,I got mad enough to do something about it. After many days of thinking I finally came up with an idea. I devised a series of pulleys and cables and gathered all my iron weights. I devised the new system to act as a counter balance for the heavy door (8 X 10ft). It has worked perfectly for 10 years now without one problem. The weights can never wear out like the spring, they never need replacing and they can't break. It took a few tries to get the weight combination correct but once I got it figured out has it worked really good. I haven't had to wait for the garage door guy and I haven't had to pay $375 every two years for damn spring replacement!!!!! It should last forever!!!!!!!!!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup: I can easily open the door by hand with or without power.
 
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Thanks for the replies. The service guy and I tried to open the door with his wedge tool jack. The door must be heavy because the service guy stopped and said we would buckle the door if we tried harder. I have a plain ol'liftmaster screw drive opener.
He tried to clamp the spring, but the other spring broke as he was working on it.
Pictures below before the left spring broke.

20210319_145642.jpg


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Did he pull the release cord before trying to lift the door?? Makes no sense unless the door is jammed in the track somewhere.

Take a 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 that is about a foot longer then the distance to upper panels hinge and jam it under the hinge, then give it a kick at the floor to crack the door open. If only one spring is broken you'll need to do this towards the broken spring side to keep the door from cocking..
 
For anybody that is also on Moparts....this thread reminded me of Stu, and makes me miss him. Stu Harmon was a garage door installer extraordinaire, and was like an air traffic controller for DIY garage door repair. He helped me may times when my door got out of whack. I was on the phone with him once, and he was talking me through adjusting my spring tension. He asked me what I was using to tighten the springs, and I told him 3/8 ratchet extensions. He chewed me out in a kind hearted way, and told me if I wanted my brains busted out, to keep using them! R.I.P. Stu. To the OP, sorry for the hijack, and I hope you get it repaired soon.
 
dadsbee said:
Did he pull the release cord before trying to lift the door?? Makes no sense unless the door is jammed in the track somewhere.

Take a 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 that is about a foot longer then the distance to upper panels hinge and jam it under the hinge, then give it a kick at the floor to crack the door open. If only one spring is broken you'll need to do this towards the broken spring side to keep the door from cocking..
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Not that it would matter at all but I notice your opener is not centered.

I had to get help for the top two panels of my four panel. So yeah they do get heavy. And yours has a fifth panel. Lol, make sure someone didn't turn your latch to lock if it has one.

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diymirage said:
it bypasses the tracks and the springs and everything

did you try popping that of?
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It disconnects the door from the opener drive, nothing else, but like I noted above I suspect why they couldn't open the door... they never pulled the rip cord!
 
They have easy set ones out now. You can wind the springs with a cordless drill. The house garage has extension springs which are too bad, provided the door is up. The outbuilding has the wind up torsion springs and they can be dangerous if you’re not careful
 
billccm said:
Thanks for the replies. The service guy and I tried to open the door with his wedge tool jack. The door must be heavy because the service guy stopped and said we would buckle the door if we tried harder. I have a plain ol'liftmaster screw drive opener.
He tried to clamp the spring, but the other spring broke as he was working on it.
Pictures below before the left spring broke.

View attachment 1715714440

View attachment 1715714441
Click to expand...
It really shouldn't be that hard to lift, use a ratchet strap on each side as long as the operator is disconnected it should lift.
 
Unusual to see the springs on opposite sides, almost every one I've seen has the springs bolted together. It obviously doesn't make any difference, just not what I am accustomed to.
 
Long time ago when my spring broke I put a long piece of angle iron along the bottom of the door so that you don't put too much pressure in one spot. Then I used a long crow bar to get the door off the ground. Once it's off the ground it's a little easier to get a 2 X 4 and a series of bricks or whatever under the door to get it up. But it is very, very heavy!!! A come-a-long can also lift the door from the top.
 
The Spring is what makes the door nearly neutral weight. Even after disconnecting the drive, the springs are what makes it possible to lift and open by hand. Without the springs it’s a seriously heavy deadlift. Typically 250-300 lbs for a modern 2 car wide door.
 
missing linc said:
Unusual to see the springs on opposite sides, almost every one I've seen has the springs bolted together. It obviously doesn't make any difference, just not what I am accustomed to.
Click to expand...

When you say bolted together you mean like this?

IMG_0096.JPG
 
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