The springs lift your garage door, not the opener. The opener guides the door up and down; the springs carry its weight. A sectional door uses one of two systems: torsion springs on a shaft above the door, or extension springs along the tracks on each side. Which one you have changes what breaks, how dangerous it is when it does, what a repair costs, and whether you can put in a wall-mount opener.
If a spring has just broken, start with how to tell if your garage door spring is broken. This page is the comparison.
Which springs does your door have?
Stand in the garage with the door closed and look up. Do not touch the springs, cables or brackets.
- Torsion: a steel shaft runs across the width of the door, just above the opening, with one or two tightly wound springs on it. There is a cable drum at each end of the shaft, and a lift cable runs from each drum down to a bottom corner of the door.
- Extension: there is no shaft over the door. A long spring runs above each horizontal track, toward the ceiling. One end is fixed near the back of the track, and the other pulls on a pulley that the lift cable runs over. The springs stretch as the door closes. A thin safety cable should run through the middle of each one.
- A shaft with no visible coil: some torsion systems keep the springs inside the tube. Wayne Dalton's TorqueMaster is one. It is still torsion, with its own hardware.
How they compare
| Torsion | Extension | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Shaft above the door | Along each track |
| How it lifts | Twists; one shaft lifts both sides | Stretches; each spring lifts its side |
| If it breaks | Stays on the shaft | Can fly loose without a safety cable |
| Wall-mount opener | Works | Only after a conversion |
| Replacement price | Higher range | Lower range |
Safety when a spring breaks
An extension spring stores its energy by stretching. If one snaps and nothing runs through it, the broken pieces can fly across the garage. That is what the safety cable (also called a containment cable) is for: it runs through the middle of the spring and is anchored at both ends, so a broken spring stays on it. If your extension springs have no safety cables, keep people away from that side of the garage until they are fixed. When extension springs are replaced, make sure the written quote includes safety cables.
A broken torsion spring stays on its shaft. Amarr's spring guide makes the same point. The danger with torsion is in the winding: the spring is wound by hand with winding bars, under enough tension to cause serious injury. Neither kind is a DIY job. Here is why.
Balance and wear on the rest of the door
On a torsion door, one shaft turns both drums, so both sides of the door lift together. On an extension door, each side lifts on its own spring and cable. When one spring weakens or one cable stretches, that side lags. The door racks in the opening, binds in the tracks, and can throw a cable off a pulley or a roller out of its track. If that has already happened, see garage door off track.
How long they last
Both kinds are rated in cycles, one open and one close. How long garage door springs last turns a rating into years for your household. Amarr's guide puts a typical extension spring at around 10,000 cycles and says a torsion spring typically lasts about twice as long.
The rating on your actual spring matters more than the type. Higher-cycle springs exist for both. On a pair of new doors in Berlin in June 2026 we put in extension springs rated for 25,000 cycles. Two doors we converted in Stow in July 2026 got torsion springs rated for 30,000. Ask for the cycle rating on the written quote, whichever kind you have.
Price
Torsion spring replacement is priced in a higher range than extension spring replacement. Both ranges, and recent spring jobs on each kind, are on the spring replacement page. Every repair is on the full price list, and you get the exact price in writing before any work starts.
Space and openers
Extension springs need clear room above each horizontal track. Torsion needs room above the opening for the shaft. A low ceiling does not rule torsion out: Amarr's installation instructions include a rear-mount torsion layout as well as extension-spring layouts. The low headroom guide covers what to measure.
A wall-mount (jackshaft) opener mounts on the end of the torsion shaft beside the door, so it only works with torsion springs. If you want the ceiling clear, check the springs first. The wall-mount opener guide has the rest of the fit checks.
Which is better?
For most sectional doors, torsion. It lifts both sides evenly, a broken spring stays on the shaft, and it is the only kind that works with a wall-mount opener. Amarr notes that most metal sectional doors use torsion springs.
That does not make a working extension system a problem to fix. On a door that lifts evenly, with a safety cable through each spring, replacing the pair like for like when they wear out costs less than a conversion. New doors still go in with extension springs when that suits the garage, as the Berlin pair did.
Converting extension to torsion
A conversion takes out the extension springs, pulleys and cables. In their place go a shaft with its center bracket and end bearing plates, a pair of cable drums, torsion springs sized to the weight of the door, and new lift cables. Then the door is balanced and safety-tested.
In Stow in July 2026 we converted two single-car doors this way: a two-spring torsion system on each, with oil-tempered springs rated for 30,000 cycles, a torsion tube and bearing plates. In Carlisle in September 2026, two doors got new torsion spring systems, each with a shaft, a 25,000-cycle spring and a pair of drums, along with wall-mount openers.
It is worth considering when:
- you want a wall-mount opener;
- the door lifts unevenly or keeps going out of balance, even after new extension springs;
- the extension springs are due for replacement anyway, and you would rather change systems once than replace them again later.
It is not worth it just because torsion is newer. A conversion is not on the price list, because it depends on the door. It is quoted in writing after we see the door, before any work starts.
When a spring breaks
- Torsion: a bang from the garage, then a gap in the coil on the shaft. The door will not lift, or the opener raises it a few inches and stops. See garage door spring snapped in the cold for the cold-morning version.
- Extension: one spring hangs slack, or a piece dangles. The door sits crooked or lifts unevenly.
- Either kind: leave the door closed and stop pressing the button. Do not pull the red release if the door is open or partway open. If the door has two springs, replace both: they have the same age and the same number of cycles.
If a car is trapped or the door is stuck open, that is an emergency garage door repair call. The page lists the hours and what an emergency visit costs.
Not sure which springs your door has, or ready to replace them? Call Murray's Garage Door Services at (978) 758-0690 or book online. See garage door spring replacement for both price ranges and recent jobs.