Garage Door Cable Repair for Frayed, Loose and Snapped Cables

Lift cables are the steel cables that actually raise and lower the door. On a torsion system, one cable runs from each bottom corner of the door up to a drum at each end of the torsion bar. As the springs unwind, the drums turn and wind the cables, and the door rises evenly on both sides.

Older doors with extension springs use a different setup: cables run through pulleys, and a separate safety cable runs through the center of each spring so a broken spring cannot fly loose.

Either way, cables and springs work as a pair. A cable problem almost always affects the springs, and a spring problem often damages the cables, which is why we check both on every call.

Cables rarely fail on their own. In most of the jobs we see, the cable problem follows something else.

• A broken spring. When a spring snaps, the cable on that side loses tension and can unwind or jump off the drum. If you heard a bang first, see broken garage door spring repair.
• Rust and fraying. Cables fray where they bend around the drum and rust near the bottom bracket, where water and dirt collect.
• Running the door off balance. A door with tired springs or the wrong springs puts uneven load on the cables. Springs sized to the door, covered on our torsion spring repair page, protect the cables too.
• Track and roller problems. A door that binds in the track can let a cable go slack and slip off the drum. Worn rollers are a common cause; see garage door roller repair.
• Impact. Backing into the door can bend the bottom section and pull a cable loose.

Finding the cause is the difference between a repair that lasts and a cable that comes off again next month.