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How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

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Re: How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

#41

Post by jtriangle »

rpmisms wrote: post #28
cityofdelusion wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is pretty much zero risk if the car is either jacked correctly or put on ramps correctly. Dummies that rely on a single 1.5mm o-ring not blowing out on their hydraulic floor jacks are gambling with their life. Always operate on flat terrain, always chock the wheels, always use the parking brake, always use jack stands, always verify no movement in the vehicle by rocking it, never rely on the floor jack.

Ramps are very good. I don't know why anyone would use a jack for an oil change...

A jack is basically suicide tbh. Jackstands are fine, provided they're used correctly.

Ramps are nice, provided you don't need to take a wheel off, then you're using jackstands anyway, so, if you're buying one or the other, jackstands are a good option.

Personally, if you have the space for it, a trench is the best option, I had one previously and I miss it alot. Nothing leaves the ground, car just pulls in and is ready to go. Mine was like 2ft deep, so, maybe a little cramped, but very comfortable once you're in there working. You couldn't make a standable trench at home without engineering it anyway, so, a crawlable trench is really the way to go.

Re: How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

#42

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

levocardia wrote: post #5

I had a teacher in high school who was blinded (I think only in one eye) trying to do this repair. You could not pay me enough money to do this repair. >This work is risky, but the risk is comparable to doing your own car repairs, or climbing on the roof of your house to clean your gutters. Notably, "unintentional fall" is the #1 cause of emergency department visits for adults [1], which is why I'd hire a professiona…

Right? One of my garage door lifting cables broke, and although I knew how to replace it, the $150 or so that it cost to have an actual professional fix it was money well spent.

I've done car repairs for decades, and climbed up on roofs when I had to, but I'm not dicking around with garage door springs.

Re: How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

#43

Post by WesleyJohnson »

MarkusWandel wrote: post #12

I did one on the "do it with the spring relaxed and the door up" plan. The door isn't that heavy, you can just lift it with your hand to help the opener lift it up, and done. But cramped!! Getting the lift cable nicely wound on the lift pulley, giving it a bit of preload (pull) and getting it attached to the bottom of the door, all with the raised door in the way, and doing both sides, let's just say my supply of swe…

16' x 7' metal garage doors are like 150lbs or more. Maybe I'm a weak old man, but I wouldn't say that "isn't that heavy".

Re: How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

#44

Post by jtriangle »

shiftpgdn wrote: post #32
MiguelHudnandez wrote: post #23

I was hoping this was going to be a new technology making these springs obsolete.

I don't entirely understand why you can't just have a motor move the door for newer aluminum doors. They aren't that heavy.

Because if someone needs to open the door and the power's out, or the motor has failed, many people won't be able to do it.

That might be acceptable day-to-day, but, if opening the door is what's required to escape, say, a house fire, it's very much not acceptable.

Re: How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

#45

Post by [deleted] »

sbelskie wrote: post #33
giantg2 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Notably, "unintentional fall" is the #1 cause of emergency department visits for adults" Most of these are not from DIY, but age realted

How is it age related if it is the number one cause for all ages? Am I misreading the chart?

[deleted]

Re: How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

#46

Post by mhuffman »

wackget wrote: post #4

Is there something I'm missing? A quick search of YouTube reveals tons of garage door spring replacement videos. It doesn't seem like the knowledge or parts are difficult to obtain.

I suspect that a lot or all of those videos are about "extension spring" replacements and not "torsion spring" replacements. Probably shouldn't do either, but the torsion ones can have instant and catastrophic failure modes during installation or removal.

Re: How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

#47

Post by mbreese »

sbelskie wrote: post #33
giantg2 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Notably, "unintentional fall" is the #1 cause of emergency department visits for adults" Most of these are not from DIY, but age realted

How is it age related if it is the number one cause for all ages? Am I misreading the chart?

Look at the spread from #1 to #2. At young ages, the difference is pretty high, suggesting that young kids falling from things is common. In the middle age ranges, #1 and #2 are pretty close, suggesting that falling isn’t that different (from a statistical frequency POV) from the #2 option.

But then look at the split at the older age groups. Falling is by and far the biggest cause. By a ton. Starting at 45, the split just keeps growing. And these numbers are higher in general than any other age group, so they skew the “all ages” numbers by a lot.

So, while it is a major cause for all age groups, the effect size is very age related.

Re: How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

#49

Post by Knufferlbert »

tmaly wrote: post #7

I have had to replace mine before. I was sitting in the family room. Big slam sound. I go out and check the garage and one of the springs had broke. It is really not a big deal to switch them out.

That is a very weird take to me. That big slam presumably is the spring breaking, a lot of energy released at once in a rather uncontrolled fashion. The same energy will be released if you make a mistake installing it or the spring is faulty for whatever reason while you are standing right next to it.

My take away is that it's to dangerous to do.

Re: How I replaced deadly garage door torsion springs (2002)

#50

Post by csande17 »

mbreese wrote: post #47
sbelskie wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it age related if it is the number one cause for all ages? Am I misreading the chart?

Look at the spread from #1 to #2. At young ages, the difference is pretty high, suggesting that young kids falling from things is common. In the middle age ranges, #1 and #2 are pretty close, suggesting that falling isn’t that different (from a statistical frequency POV) from the #2 option. But then look at the split at the older age groups. Falling is by and far the biggest cause. By a ton. Starting at 45, the split…

I would suspect that "unintentional fall" also covers falling over (like, the kind of fall that would happen if you tripped over a garden hose), not just falling off something. The former is the most common cause of emergency visits among the older people I know.
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