A number of things can go wrong with a garage door, but most are easy to fix. Should your garage door cable break or become damaged, it should be fairly easy to repair the cable yourself, without having to invest in a whole new garage door.
What you will need to repair the cable
Before you start, make sure you have:
- 2 x cones
- 2 x cables
- 4mm long nosed pin punch
- Tension kit
- Hammer
- Screwdriver
Repairing the garage door cable
1. Before beginning to replace your garage door cables you must first ensure that it is safe to work on. If both of your cables have broken, there won’t be any tension in the main springs. This means your garage door is safe to work on and you can skip to step 5
2. If only one cable is broken, you must release the tension from the working cable by removing the tension from the main spring. To do this, place one of your tension bars into one of the holes in the collar of the spring. Lift the tension bar until the 4mm roll pin is horizontal to the floor
3. Once you’ve done this, take a pair of mole grips and attach them to the bar that runs through the centre of the main spring, close to where you inserted the tension bar
4. Move to the bracket on the opposite side of the door. There should be a hole in the bracket. Take the crook pin from your tension kit and, using a hammer, knock the crook pin into the hole. Two taps should do it and your garage door is now safe to work on
5. The next step is removing the cone. Take your 4mm long nosed pin punch and using a hammer, knock the roll pin into the timber and out of sight. You should now be able to remove the cone from the bar
6. Fix your new plastic cone, with the attached cable, onto the bar
7. Make sure the cable runs down the back of the plastic cone and is sat in the outermost groove
8. Attach the cable securely to the roller spindle. Make sure that the cable is completely snag free
9. Using a hammer, knock the 4mm pin into the new cone until there is 2-3mm visible
10. You now need to reintroduce the tension back into the cables. Using a screwdriver, pop the crook pin out
11. Place one of your tension bars into the hole in the collar of the spring and release the mole grips. You should now feel the tension in the tension bar
12. Place your other tension bar into the hole above the first. Remove the first and then slowly allow the tension to wind back into the cables
13. Check the cables on both sides, ensuring that the cables run down the back of the cones and are in the outermost grooves
14. Check that your garage door is working properly
Should you need any further advice as to how to repair your garage door cable, get in touch
and our team of experts will be happy to help you.
