Garage door long shot

[cyclonebri1]

Hi, as above;
I am trying to repair a garage door for an elderly relative, as in little money.
It is a garador Mk111C door but with the early none plastic covered spring box.

I have all the parts to repair, springs, pulleys and cables, but the info downloaded about this type of door states it is too dangerous to repair and should be upgraded with a later spring box.

Does anyone here have a clue what I'm talking about and can offer any help,

Cheers Guys.

 

[nickso]

er you haven't asked a question.

the springs are under heavy tension, the could seriously injure you or potentially kill you if they hit your head.

 

[Whitespirit66]

Yes, I have a clue what you're on about.

When I moved into my house, we had two of these things that needed replacing. They have a coiled spring and wires above the door. Due to space constraints, we had to tie a strong rope to the spring, stand in the next town, and give the rope a hard tug to dislodge the springs. Frighten the living $$hite out of you they do.

One roof beam has a large chunk missing where one spring hit, and a breeze block has a shrapnel mark from another spring.

Consider volunteering at your local army recruitment office to defuse IEDs in Afghanistan, rather than trying to pull one of these things apart. Its safer!

 

[Mickymoody]

Sounds like the spring assembly was upgraded as the previous poster said, so attempting to repair what you have is dangerous, and a new bit of kit is available to install that is safe. So if the door is broken now, and the spring assembly isn't under compression, replace with the new bits, but if that part of the assembly is under tension, then leave well alone.

I always carped myself when working on car suspension, with springs under tension, heard such horror stories of springs shooting through the roof of the garage.

 

[Space cat]

Just to clarify what kind of door this is --

Do you have a very long coil spring fitted between brackets just above the door? And is there a conical plastic thing with a helical groove in it at each end with a wire of some sort going down to a peg on the edge of the door?

We have one of those. When I bought it, the spring was pre-tensioned and there was something called a "crook pin" to keep it that way. The instructions said that you should fit the spring to the wall above the door, fit the door into the hole using the rest of the mechanical bits then attach the wires to the pegs. After that, I think I must have pulled the door down a little to release the pressure then removed the crook pin. It was all quite straightforward.

Then, after many years of good service, it broke. One of the wire loops snapped just below its peg. I did a quick repair with a large, plastic tie-wrap on the end of the wire and searched out the bits for a proper repair. The repair kit contains two new cones and wires and also a new crook pin, presumably for those who never kept the old one. One of these days I must find the time to fit it.

I don't have the instructions with me at the moment but I think they say something about inserting the crook pin with the door shut (spring tensioned) before removing the wires. You can then replace the cones in situ if there's room or take the entire spring assembly off the wall if there isn't.

 

[kevplumb]

spacecat hit the nail on the head (so to speak)

you jam the spindle with a nail with door closed
there is a hole above the locking bar

then sort it

the ex mother in law had the same prob

but my memory aint what it used to be

 

[phildigger]

For canopy doors (those that don`t fully retract into the garage) there are 2 main types of lifting mechanisms. The most common is as described by spacecat which is a cone and cable arrangement the other being a spring-box fitting. Done a good few cone and cable jobs in the past and are relatively easy but only ever did 1 box (bout 15yrs ago) and seem to remember was a bit awkward. Whichever it is if in any doubt get someone in as the tension in those springs is incredibly high and can cause serious harm if you make a wrong move-not worth the risk IMO

 

[Mickymoody]

For canopy doors (those that don`t fully retract into the garage) there are 2 main types of lifting mechanisms. The most common is as described by spacecat which is a cone and cable arrangement the other being a spring-box fitting. Done a good few cone and cable jobs in the past and are relatively easy but only ever did 1 box (bout 15yrs ago) and seem to remember was a bit awkward. Whichever it is if in any doubt get someone in as the tension in those springs is incredibly high and can cause serious harm if you make a wrong move-not worth the risk IMO

I agree with him...don't wanna see..my man was killed or seriously injured doing this work.

 

[cyclonebri1]

Sorry Guys I didn't get the reminders so missed these posts however to update.

We had bought the repair parts for the door, a Mk3c. However when the bits and info arrived the big read print said if your have the early version of the door, possibly 40 years old now, do not try to repair it.

But we had the bits so.....

I have to say it took several attempts but it ISpossible to repair one.

For those in the know the issue is that the heavy cover plate that hold everything rigid prevents any access to the pulleys on the end of the springs. The solution was to cut a 3" x 9" hole sawn slot through the cover. That way the cables could be alighned with the pulleys. A heavy cord with several foot loops to tension the spring was tied to the new cables and after 2 hrs thinking and 1 hrs effort it was sorted.

Not recomended but just possible. Cheers