Garage Door Cable Repair: Frayed, Slack or Snapped Lift Cables

Cable replacement from $150 per cable. Our phone line is open 24/7.

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Lift cables run from the bottom corners of a garage door up to drums or pulleys, and they pass the spring’s force into the door. Sweetbay of Wolf Trap replaces frayed, slack and snapped cables from $150 per cable. A technician also looks at the drum, the bracket and the spring that loaded the cable. Our phone line is open 24/7.

Close-up of a garage door cable drum on a torsion shaft, with loose wire loops hanging beside it

Technician on a stepladder at a wide white sectional garage door, with a long torsion tube above the door and cut lengths of tube on the floor

Two technicians on separate ladders at a garage door, one reaching up to the top bracket while the other looks on

What a Lift Cable Does

Clopay says the cables attach to the bottom corners of the door and run up to drums or pulleys near the top. On a torsion door they wrap around drums as the spring turns and keep the door moving evenly on both sides. On an extension door they run through pulleys attached to the springs.

	Torsion-spring door	Extension-spring door
Where the cable runs	From the bottom corner up to a drum on the shaft above the door	From the bottom bracket up through a pulley to the extension spring
What it does while the door moves	Winds onto the drum as the spring turns	Runs through the pulley while the spring stretches and contracts
Extra part to look at	The drum	The pulley and the safety cable inside the spring

Amarr describes the extension-spring cable the same way: from a bottom fixture, up through a pulley, to the spring, and back to the track.

Six Signs a Cable Is Going

Fine wires standing out along the cable, so it looks shaggy.
A cable starting to split into separate strands.
A cable that sags where it should be tight.
A cable that has slipped off its drum or out of its pulley.
Rust or dark stains along the cable.
A door that wobbles, lags on one side or looks crooked when closed.

Clopay says fraying and splitting both mean the cable is weaker than it was, and that it is only a matter of time before it snaps if left alone.

If a Cable Has Already Let Go

Stop the door. Amarr says not to operate a door whose cable has jumped off the drum (support FAQ).
Do not touch the cable. Clopay says remaining tension can still make a broken cable snap (cable guide).
Do not lift the door by hand. Chamberlain says not to move a door manually when a spring, cable or roller looks damaged.
Keep people and cars clear of the door’s path.
Phone us and say which corner hangs low.

Cable Prices

Cable replacement per cable: From $150
Diagnostic visit when the repair goes ahead: $0

The figure is per cable, and every door has two. Any other worn part, such as a drum, pulley or bracket, is priced after the technician has seen it.

Get My Exact Quote All prices →

Wide Doors, Wide Gaps Between Cables

Clopay lists a double garage door as typically 16 feet wide by 7 feet high, and says double doors run from 12 to 18 feet wide (Clopay size guide). The two lift cables sit near the bottom corners, so on a 16-foot door they are about 16 feet apart.

That distance matters when one cable fails. Clopay says that if one cable goes, the whole door can become unbalanced, and a wide door can show it plainly, with one corner lagging while the other keeps rising. From inside the garage, stand back and watch both bottom corners as the door moves. They should rise and fall together. If you live in Wolf Trap and have a double-wide door, that is a quick look worth making.

A Cable Often Points at Something Else

Clopay says a professional can spot what caused the cable to fail, such as worn pulleys, misaligned tracks or spring problems. If your cable shredded where it meets the bracket, read about track repair. If the door is also hard to lift, spring repair is the next page to read. If a cable lets go at night, emergency repair explains what to do before you call.

Cable Questions, Answered

Can I run the door while one cable hangs loose?

No. Amarr says not to operate a door whose cable has jumped off the drum, and to call a qualified technician (Amarr support FAQ). Leave the door where it is and tell us which side looks low.

Which cable is the lift cable on an extension-spring door?

For its extension-spring doors, Clopay’s installation manual says the lift cables are the longer and smaller-diameter of the two sets, and it warns against using the shorter safety containment cables as lift cables. Clopay says that can cause improper door function, so we identify each cable before touching it.

Why does a slack cable matter if the door still moves?

Clopay says slack cables can slip off the drum, tangle or let the door leave its tracks (Clopay cable guide). It adds that a tangled cable can make the door lurch, tilt or jam, which strains the rest of the hardware.

Could a handy neighbor swap a cable with basic tools?

DASMA says the cables that attach the spring system to the bottom brackets should be replaced only by a trained technician, because of the dangers of high spring tension (DASMA safety tips). Clopay warns that a snapping cable can lash out with enough force to embed itself in wood or shatter glass.

What does a cable replacement cost?

Cable work starts at $150 per cable, and a door has two. After checking the second cable, the technician tells you whether it needs replacing too. The exact price is confirmed at your garage before work begins.

The full price list is on the pricing page. To send a photo of the drum or the bracket, use the form on the contact page. Also nearby: Merrifield and Idylwood.

Route 7 Service Area

Cable Work Along Route 7