2026-04-03 6 min read
South Pasadena is a city of older homes. Walk almost any block near Diamond Avenue, Grand Avenue, or the historic High School neighborhood and you'll find Craftsman bungalows, Spanish Colonial Revivals, and Queen Anne cottages dating back to the early 1900s. These homes are charming, well-maintained, and full of character. but the garages attached to or built alongside them often have hardware that's decades old and quietly reaching the end of its service life.
Garage door springs are the component most likely to fail without warning. They're under enormous tension every single time your door moves, and when they go, your door either won't open at all or becomes a serious safety hazard. The good news is that springs usually give you signals before they break completely. if you know what to look for.
Your garage door weighs anywhere from 150 to 300 pounds. The springs. either a torsion spring mounted horizontally above the door, or extension springs running along the sides. counterbalance almost all of that weight, making it possible for your opener motor to do its job without burning out.
Springs are rated by cycles, not years. One cycle equals one full open and one full close. Most standard springs are rated for around 10,000 cycles. If your household uses the garage door four times a day. which is common for South Pasadena families commuting into Pasadena or Los Angeles. you'll hit 10,000 cycles in roughly seven years. Heavy-duty springs can reach 20,000 cycles or more, and if longevity is a priority, they're worth the upgrade when you replace.
Heat and regular use accelerate the wear. Moisture, even the modest winter rainfall that South Pasadena sees between December and March, can cause springs to develop surface rust over time, making the metal more brittle and prone to snapping.
If you disconnect your opener by pulling the red emergency cord and try to lift the door manually, it should stay at about waist height with minimal effort. If it drops or feels like you're lifting dead weight, the springs are no longer counterbalancing properly. This is one of the earliest and most reliable signs of a failing spring system.
Garage door openers are not designed to carry the full weight of the door. When springs weaken, the opener compensates. and you'll hear it straining, humming longer than usual, or stopping before the door is fully open. Continued use in this condition can burn out the motor or strip the drive gears, turning a spring replacement into a much more expensive double repair.
If your door rises at an angle. one side higher than the other. or shakes and jerks during operation, one spring has likely failed while the other is still partially functioning. This uneven strain also puts stress on your cables, rollers, and tracks. Don't keep operating a lopsided door. The cables can go slack and come off the drum entirely.
When a torsion spring breaks under full tension, it releases stored energy all at once. The sound is sharp and sudden. often compared to a gunshot or a car backfire. If you hear this from your garage and the door suddenly won't operate, a broken spring is almost certainly the cause. Stop using the door immediately and call for service. Do not attempt to force it open.
Take a flashlight and look at your torsion spring above the door. A gap of an inch or two in the coils means it has snapped. You may also see visible rust, discoloration, or coils that look stretched out and loose rather than tightly wound. A rusty spring is more brittle and closer to failure. that's worth a professional inspection even if the door is still working.
The most important thing to understand about garage door springs is that they are not a DIY repair. The springs store significant mechanical energy. Releasing that energy improperly. without the right winding bars and technique. can result in broken fingers, facial injuries, or worse. A 150- to 300-pound door without spring support can drop suddenly and without warning.
When you notice any of the signs above, stop using the door and contact a professional. Operating a door with a damaged or failing spring puts additional stress on every other component in the system and creates a real safety risk for anyone near the door.
If you're not sure what you're looking at, our services page breaks down what a spring inspection covers, and our FAQ answers common questions about what to expect during a repair visit.
When one spring breaks, the second is usually close behind. both were installed at the same time and have experienced the same number of cycles. Most professionals recommend replacing both springs at once. It's slightly more material cost upfront, but it avoids a second service call within months and ensures the door is balanced correctly from both sides.
For the older homes in South Pasadena. and for Alhambra homeowners just to the east dealing with similarly aged housing stock. this is especially relevant. If your home was built in the 1920s through the 1950s and the garage hardware has never been updated, you may be operating on springs that are well past their rated life.
Garage Door South Pasadena can assess your current spring system and recommend whether standard or high-cycle springs make more sense for your usage pattern. Contact us to schedule a visit. catching a worn spring before it breaks is always easier and less disruptive than dealing with a door that won't open on a Monday morning.
Q: How do I know if I have torsion springs or extension springs? A: Torsion springs are the horizontal coil mounted on a metal bar directly above your closed garage door. Extension springs run parallel to the horizontal tracks on either side of the door and stretch as the door opens. Most modern residential doors use torsion springs. Older or lighter-duty doors, including some found in South Pasadena's detached single-car garages, may use extension springs.
Q: Can I still use my garage door if one spring is broken? A: You can physically operate it with the opener in some cases, but you shouldn't. The opener is not rated to carry the door's full weight, and repeated use under these conditions can burn out the motor. More importantly, a door with a broken spring is unpredictable. it can drop suddenly. Stop using it and call for same-day service.
Q: How much does a garage door spring replacement typically cost? A: Costs vary by spring type, door weight, and whether you're replacing one or both. Extension spring replacement generally runs less than torsion spring replacement due to the complexity involved. Getting a written estimate before any work begins is standard practice. any reputable company will provide one. Our contact page makes it easy to request a same-day assessment.