Do-It-Yourself Garage Door Tutorials & How-To Instructions
Many of our customers have found these instructions to be helpful in repairing their garage doors. DIYers, this is the page for you.
Not sure which tutorial to use? See our troubleshooting page to see possible causes and solutions your garage door problems.
Residential and Light Commercial Tutorials
Torsion Spring Replacement Tutorials
Torsion Spring Replacement
(Two Springs)
This page gives detailed instructions on how to install your own garage door springs on a door that uses two springs. Caution! This is dangerous work, so read the warnings carefully.
Torsion Spring Replacement
(One Spring)
This tutorial gives detailed instructions on how to replace your torsion spring if your garage door only uses one spring. Caution! This is dangerous work, so read the warnings carefully.
How to Install a Single Torsion Spring Assembly
The purpose of this tutorial is to show how to install a standard garage door torsion spring assembly on a new garage door, or on a door that previously used a extension springs, torquemaster springs, or EZ-Set torsion springs.
TorqueMaster Torsion Spring Replacement
Looking for help to figure out Wayne Dalton's installation instructions for your TorqueMaster springs? Look no further! Behold - Easy to follow, step-by-step instructions to help YOU replace your broken TorqueMaster torsion spring!
EZ-Set Torsion Spring Replacement
Replacing EZ-Set torsion springs is different from replacing standard torsion springs. The hardware is different. Parts are mounted differently and major problems can occur if they are not mounted properly.
Double EZ-Set Torsion Spring Conversion
Do you want to convert over to standard torsion springs from your EZ-Set springs? Use this tutorial in conjunction with our Torsion Spring Replacement (Two Springs) tutorial to swap out your two EZ-Set springs.
Crawford Torsion Spring Conversion
In the early days of the garage door industry, every manufacturer stamped, rolled, molded, cut, and fastened its own hardware. None of the torsion spring parts on Crawford garage doors are standard except for the 1" O.D. shaft. It's a little extra work to convert but the results will be worth the effort.
Torsion Spring Cone Replacement
Torsion Spring Cone Replacement
Are you mechanically challenged? Order your springs with cones. But if you enjoy the challenge and adventure of something new, you can remove the cones from your old springs and use them on your new springs. You'll discover that removing cones from garage door springs can be quite easy. You can give it a try before ordering.
Winding Springs with Less than 90 Degrees of Turning Area
Winding Springs with Less than 90 Degrees of Turning Area
What do you do when your ceiling above the garage door is too low and there's not enough room to wind the springs? Linked here is one solution for winding and unwinding the springs.
Cable Installation
Cable Installation
I remember one DIYer who removed his whole garage door trying to reinstall one of the cables. You can follow a simple procedure to avoid the DIYer's mistake. In fact, this can be one of the quickest repairs. I can usually do it while holding my breath. It irks the customer because of the service fee. Take a hint from the pros.
Video on how to replace your garage door cables for a standard torsion spring door.
Video on how to replace your garage door cables for a Wayne Dalton Torquemaster System.
End Bearing Plate Replacement
End Bearing Plate Replacement
It's late Saturday morning. Your coffee's cold. You're half way finished replacing your garage door torsion springs and you just discovered your end bearing is shot. Or, you've greased every moving part of your door and you still have this loud annoying squeak. And then you find this seized bearing. No problem! This can wait.
End Bearing Replacement
Sometimes customers prefer to keep the same end bearing plate and replace only the bearings. With just a few parts found in many garages you can keep that older, heavier end bearing plate and replace only the bearings.
Roller and Hinge Replacement
Bottom Roller Replacement
Although the roller may look pretty nasty, this is a really quick job. This can be a very dangerous job if done incorrectly, so follow the warnings!
Video on how to replace your bottom fixture garage door rollers.
Video on how to replace all of your garage door rollers quickly.
Middle Roller and Hinge Replacement
Have a cracked hinge in the middle of your garage door? Need to replace a roller that's in the middle of your door? There isn't too much to this task, but make sure you follow all of the warnings!
Video on how to replace your garage door rollers.
Video on how to replace all of your garage door rollers quickly.
Top Roller Replacement
Thanks to the top fixture, you'll have an easy job replacing the rollers at the top of your door.
Video on how to replace your top fixture garage door rollers.
Video on how to replace all of your garage door rollers quickly.
High-Lift Conversion
Garage Door High Lift Conversion
Do you want your garage door to open closer to the ceiling? Do you want to still open your garage door when your car is on a car lift? Convert your garage door to a High-Lift door.
After gathering the measurements specified in this tutorial, get a quote for a custom high-lift kit for your garage door.
Low-Headroom Installation
Modification for Low-Headroom Installations with Steel Doors
Do you have a very small amount of space to work with above the top of your garage door? Is your garage ceiling too short to fit your steel garage door normally? This tutorial will explain how to make a low-headroom modification to the brackets for steel garage doors. This will allow a door to operate with a headroom clearance between 9 and 12 inches.
Extension Spring Tutorials
Extension Spring Replacement
Do you have a sectional overhead garage door that uses extension springs? Did one of your springs break? Follow the steps in our easy tutorial to replace your extension springs to get your door running again.
Pulley Replacement
Does your garage door close part way then reopen? Does the door bind and stick? Are there scraping sounds as your door opens and closes? In my 30 years servicing garage doors I have found these symptoms to be some of the more challenging for do-it-yourselfers to diagnose. One major cause of failure for garage doors using extension springs is that the pulleys wear out.
Commercial and Industrial Tutorials
The following links will take you to procedures for torsion spring replacement, section replacement, and to instructions for re-installing cables. These drawings were made in the early '80's to help our commercial and industrial customers replace their own torsion springs. These are the same pages that comprise our training manual listed in the catalog. Each set of directions is between 84 and 217 kb and is in PDF format.
Get Adobe Reader if you cannot view the files.
IMPORTANT! In the descriptions below is the designation of the type of lift. Inside lift door springs usually wind up, outside lift door springs normally wind down, but not always. Instructions regarding the direction to turn the spring plugs to manipulate the cables may not be accurate. Winding them the wrong way could be dangerous because the springs are under extreme tension. These instructions are provided for general information only. We cannot promise that they will work for your doors.
Commercial Torsion Spring Replacement
Self-Storage Door Torsion Spring Replacement
The following instructions can be followed by most do-it-yourselfers. You will need a second person to help you at the beginning of this tutorial to raise the door so that you can replace your torsion springs. These instructions are for replacing two springs on a self-storage rollup door, also known as a mini-warehouse curtain door, that have the typical self-storage style loops on each end of the springs.
Commercial Overhead Door Duplex Torsion Spring Replacement
The following tutorial is for experienced maintenance personnel only. These instructions walk you through replacing both the inside and outside springs of a duplex assembly system on commercial and industrial overhead doors. This tutorial involves a pair of duplex assemblies on a high-lift system.
Commercial Torsion Spring Replacement 1
I began learning the garage door trade in the Chicago blizzard of 1979. One of the more challenging jobs was replacing four huge 6" I.D. torsion springs on large 22X14 sectional overhead garage doors. Click for instructions for 4 - 6" torsion springs with center-mount operator, inside lift
Commercial Torsion Spring Replacement 2
Instructions for 2 - 6" torsion springs, with coupler in middle, outside lift
Commercial Torsion Spring Replacement 3
Instructions for 2 - 6" torsion springs, with coupler and operator drive sprocket, inside lift
Bottom Section Replacement
Commercial Bottom Section Replacement 1
Instructions for wood flush door bottom section app. 12' wide with center-mount jackshaft operator - includes scribing, inside lift
Commercial Bottom Section Replacement 2
Instructions for wood flush door bottom section app. 12' wide, with center-mount jackshaft operator, outside lift
Cable Replacement
Commercial Cable Replacement 1
Instructions for a 22 X 14 door stuck open with cables off and center-mount jackshaft operator, inside lift
Other How-To Instructions
Measuring Garage Door Springs
How To Measure Torsion Springs
Measuring garage door torsion springs is precise, technical work. It often stumps experienced machinists, engineers, and garage door service technicians. In the door business, we often make mistakes ordering springs. The standard joke is that we'll use them as boat anchors, but you may not have a boat! Click to learn how to avoid ordering a boat anchor.
Weighing Garage Doors
How to Weigh a Garage Door
Often we have to start from scratch and re-engineer the torsion springs for an existing garage door. We do this by weighing the door and providing the drum information, door height, and track radius.
Leveling Garage Doors
How to Level a Garage Door
So you've been noticing that there has been a large gap under the bottom of your door. How do you get your door level and keep out the cold and the mice?
How to Upgrade Torsion Springs
How to Convert from One Garage Door Spring to Two
Discover the risks of using only one torsion spring on your garage door, and see the benefits of using two springs. Included are instructions to help guide you through our torsion spring replacement tutorials. We also provide you with the necessary tools to help you decide what parts you need and which springs to purchase.
Using Torsion Springs with Different Lifts
Can you use a pair of torsion springs with different lifts? Is it better to use a pair of identical springs with the same lift and the same cycle life? Find the answers to these questions and find a pair of matched springs to replace your old unmatched springs.
