Garage Door Torsion Spring Repair and Replacement

A torsion spring only works well if it is the right spring for your door. GT Garage Door Repair sizes each replacement to the door's weight and height, winds it to the correct number of turns, and balances the door before the opener goes back on. That is what decides how long the new spring lasts. If your spring has already snapped, go to broken spring repair for what to do right now. This page covers how torsion springs are chosen and when to replace them.

Last updated October 2026.

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Garage door torsion spring mounted on the bar above the door opening

Torsion Springs vs Extension Springs

Most East Valley homes built in the last few decades have torsion springs. These are the tightly wound coils on a steel bar directly above the door. When the door closes, the springs twist and store energy; when it opens, they unwind and turn the drums at each end of the bar, which wind up the lift cables and raise the door.

Extension springs work differently. They run along the horizontal tracks on each side of the ceiling and stretch as the door closes. You still see them on older and single-car doors.

	Torsion springs	Extension springs
Where they mount	On a bar above the door opening	Along both horizontal tracks overhead
How they store energy	Twisting	Stretching
How they lift the door	Turn drums that wind the lift cables	Pull cables through pulleys
Balance and control	Even lift from a single bar	Each side works on its own, so wear can be uneven
Where we see them	Most newer and two-car doors	Older homes, some single-car doors

Both types carry the door's weight and both are under high tension. Neither should be adjusted or removed by a homeowner.

Diagram of a torsion spring on the bar above a garage door

How We Size a Torsion Spring to Your Door

Torsion springs are not one-size-fits-all. A spring is defined by its wire size, inside diameter and length, and the right combination depends on how much your door weighs, how tall it is, and the drums and track it runs on. A wood carriage door and a thin uninsulated steel door of the same width need very different springs.

The industry uses color codes to help identify spring wire sizes. The DASMA official color code chart (TDS-171) (opens in a new tab) assigns colors to torsion and extension spring wire sizes, which is one of the ways our technicians confirm what is on your door. We still measure, because paint fades, springs get swapped over the years, and the spring on the bar is sometimes not the one the door needs.

Once the right spring is on the bar, it is wound to a set number of turns. Too few turns and the door feels heavy and the opener strains. Too many and the door drifts up on its own and wears the spring faster. We check the result by hand: a balanced door stays put when lifted halfway and released.

Veteran-Owned, Family-Run, and Based in Chandler

GT Garage Door Repair is a veteran-owned, family-operated garage door company based in Chandler.

Veteran-owned and family-operated in Chandler, AZ
Licensed, bonded and insured: Arizona ROC 358301 (verify our license (opens in a new tab))
Free, upfront estimate before any work begins
Same-day service is our standard, not an upcharge

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Cycle Ratings: How Long a Torsion Spring Lasts

Springs wear out by cycles, not by years. One cycle is the door opening once and closing once. Standard builder-grade torsion springs are commonly rated around 10,000 cycles.

How long that takes depends on your household:

Cycles per day	About how long 10,000 cycles lasts
2	About 14 years
4	About 7 years
6	About 4 to 5 years
8	About 3 to 4 years

These are planning numbers, not guarantees. The DASMA spring cycle life data sheet (TDS-190) (opens in a new tab) lists what moves the real number up or down: correct sizing to the door's weight, the right number of turns, careful handling during installation, how often the door runs, and rust, which reduces the effective wire area. A spring that is wrong for the door wears out sooner and can make the door unsafe to operate by hand. Our article on how long torsion springs last goes deeper.

Torsion spring showing wear after years of daily garage door use

When to Replace a Torsion Spring Before It Breaks

You do not have to wait for the bang. Replacing a tired spring on your schedule is easier than replacing a broken one on its schedule, especially if the car is inside when it goes.

Signs a torsion spring is near the end: - The door feels heavier than it used to when you lift it by hand with the opener disconnected. - The door will not stay put halfway; it drifts down. - The opener sounds like it is working harder, or the door slows near the top. - Rust on the coils, or a spring that looks stretched with gaps between coils. - The springs are original to a home built 7 or more years ago and the door runs several times a day.

A balance check is part of every garage door maintenance visit, so a tune-up is a simple way to find out where your springs stand. When we replace springs, we also look at the lift cables and drums, since frayed cable often shows up alongside worn springs; see garage door cable repair. For more on what wears springs out, read causes of torsion spring failure.

Technician reaching up to inspect a garage door spring and opener

Standard or High-Cycle: Choosing Your Replacement

When we replace torsion springs, you choose between standard-cycle springs and high-cycle springs. High-cycle springs are built for more open-and-close cycles than standard springs, commonly 25,000 or more depending on the spring. They cost more up front and usually last much longer, which matters most if the garage is your main entry.

GT is a veteran-owned, family-operated company, and we would rather tell you plainly when an upgrade is not worth it. If your door runs a couple of times a day, a correctly sized standard spring may serve you well for many years. If it runs eight or ten times a day, high-cycle springs usually make more sense. Our DuraMaster high-cycle springs page explains who benefits and what changes.

Garage door inspection with the spring and opener in view

Questions

Torsion Spring Questions

Is a torsion spring better than an extension spring?

For most residential doors, torsion springs give a smoother, more even lift because one bar turns both cables together. Extension springs still work when they are sized and maintained correctly, and many older doors use them. The right answer depends on your door, its headroom and its track. We look at your setup and explain your options during the free estimate.

Why did my replacement spring wear out so quickly?

The most common reasons are a spring that was the wrong size for the door, the wrong number of turns when it was wound, heavy daily use, or rust. DASMA lists all of these as factors in spring life. If you had a spring replaced recently and it is already tired or broken, we will check whether the size and winding match your door.

How do I know what size torsion spring my door needs?

You do not need to know. Spring size depends on the door's weight, height and hardware, and the safe way to measure is with the door secured by a trained technician. Industry color codes help identify wire size, but we confirm by measurement because springs on older doors are not always the right ones.

Should I replace my torsion springs before they break?

If your springs are original to a home that is 7 or more years old and the door runs several times a day, it is worth having them checked. A spring replaced on your schedule avoids a stuck car and a rushed decision. We can check balance and spring condition during a maintenance visit and tell you honestly whether replacement can wait.

Does rust really shorten spring life?

Yes. Rust eats into the spring wire, which reduces its effective strength, and it adds friction between the coils as the spring winds and unwinds. Springs in humid or wet locations rust faster. Lubricating the springs is part of our tune-up, so leave it to the technician rather than touching the springs yourself.

Garage Door Torsion Spring Repair Across the East Valley

We size and install torsion springs on everything from 1980s Tempe doors to newer San Tan Valley builds still running their original springs.

Not on the list? Call (602) 680-9700 and we will tell you right away whether we can get to you today.

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Get the Right Torsion Spring the First Time

We will measure your door, explain standard and high-cycle options with prices, and balance the door before we leave.