DDM Garage Doors

Cable Installation

In a recent guestbook entry someone asked how to replace the cables on his garage door. He had also loosened the setscrews on both drums to level the door, and asked if the cables can be replaced and the drums secured without having to unwind the spring.

Working with spring tension is dangerous. I would first recommend that you view the dangers and warnings described in our tutorial on torsion spring replacement

The simplest solution would be to insert a winding bar in the winding cone of the spring, loosen the set screws, and let the other end of the winding bar rest against the top of the door. Do this to both springs if you have two springs. The shaft will be free to turn and you can replace the cables and reset and secure your cable drums.

To reset your spring tension vise grip the shaft as in step 64 to keep your cables on the drums when you lift up on your bar to tighten your set screws, and then follow steps 75 and following.