Rusty and Frayed Cables - DDM Garage Doors Blog

Posted September 21st, 2018 at 5:22 pm by Dan Musick

When a cable breaks, the first symptom is usually a crooked garage door. This could happen if one of the cables came off one of the drums. However, the usual cause is a rusty or frayed cable.

A white crooked garage door with the right side of the door lifted off the ground.
The first symptom of a broken cable

Garage door cables often fray just under the cable drum because of the rough grooves in the drum.

An image of a frayed garage door cable.
A frayed cable hanging from a cable drum

Sometimes the cables fray closer to the bottom of the door. Occasionally, the cable may fray at the top, but the broken strand loosens at the other end of the cable.

A frayed garage door cable near the bottom of the door.
The cable holding up this door is frayed

Cables also fray and rust because of salt. In the image below, a screwdriver removes the bottom of this rusty cable. This is similar to what we show in our “How to Replace Your Garage Door Cables” video.

A rusted garage door cable being removed with a screwdriver.
With the door in the open position, a screwdriver removes the bottom of this rusty cable.

Sometimes what appears to be a broken cable is actually a broken bottom fixture as we see here where the attaching pin has broken off the bottom fixture.

A broken bottom fixture where the attaching pin has broken.
A bottom fixture whose attaching pin has broken

In conclusion, rusty and frayed cables can occur for many different reasons. However, it is important to try to keep them from happening in the first place by conducting regular maintenance of your door.

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