A broken or slipped garage door cable can leave the door crooked, hanging, or unsafe to move. Stop using the opener when one side drops or a cable hangs loose. An unbalanced door can bind in its tracks or fall farther.
Torsion-system cables run from lower brackets to drums on the shaft. Extension-spring systems use pulleys instead. The cables work with the springs to raise the door, and fraying, rust, or a cable jumping off its drum can throw the door out of balance. Cables and bottom brackets remain under spring tension, so loosening them without unloading the spring can cause serious injury.
We inspect both sides, the drums or pulleys, the spring balance, and the tracks to find the cause. Before work starts, we explain the repair and give you an exact quote. We unload the spring, replace the cables as a matched pair with the correct length and diameter, seat them properly, and balance the door. Our truck carries cable pairs and the tools needed for spring service.
Signs You Need Garage Door Cable Repair
- One side of the door hangs lower.
- The door looks crooked as it closes.
- A cable is loose or dangling.
- I heard a snap near the garage door.
- The door jerks or binds as it moves.
- The opener runs, but the door barely lifts.
🌧️ The Emerald Coast Humidity Factor
Lift cables sit in damp air for much of the year; NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for our nearest station show about 73 inches of rain on roughly 119 days. Rust or fraying near the drum, the bottom bracket or the cable end is what we look at first, before we cut a cable to length.
If a cable has slipped off its drum or hangs loose, stop using the opener. We replace both cables and check the drums, the bottom brackets and the spring balance before the door goes back into service.
How We Handle It
Talk through the problem
A member of our crew takes your call and asks how the door is behaving. We explain how to keep clear of a crooked or hanging door.
Inspect and quote
We check the cables, drums or pulleys, brackets, springs, and tracks. Before work starts, we explain the repair and give you an exact quote.
Replace and reset
We unload the spring tension, replace the cables as a matched pair, and seat them on the drums or pulleys. Then we rebalance the door.
Test the door
We check that the door moves evenly and stays balanced. Before we leave, we test the reversing mechanism.
Starting Prices — Garage Door Cable Repair
- Garage Door Cable Replacement per cable
- From $150
- Diagnostic Service Call $0 with a completed repair
- $0
Starting prices. A door has two lift cables and one or two springs; the exact price depends on the door, the hardware grade and how many parts are replaced, and is confirmed on site before any work starts.