Call now (714) 880-7574
Anaheim · Serving Southern California

Garage Door Cable Repair & Replacement

Door hanging crooked, or stuck with one side higher than the other? A lift cable has likely snapped or slipped off its drum. Stop using the door and call us. We'll replace the cables, set them to even tension, and get the door lifting straight again.

Call (714) 880-7574

Family-owned · Licensed & insured · Free estimates · 24/7 emergency service · Office Mon-Fri 7am-7pm · Sat 7am-4pm

Signs of a Broken Garage Door Cable

Lift cables are thin, but they carry the full weight of the door. They're made of twisted steel strands that break a few at a time, which shows up as fuzzing or a burr along the cable. As more strands go, the rest wear faster, and the final break is sudden.

Cables can also jump off the drum without breaking, usually when the door closes on something or was never set to equal tension on both sides. With one cable slack, the other side carries everything and the door twists in the tracks.

What to look for:

  • The door sits visibly crooked, higher on one side.
  • Fraying, kinks, or a rusty burr along the cable near the bottom bracket.
  • A cable hanging slack while the door is closed.
  • The door binding or scraping badly on one side of the opening.
  • Loud popping as the door moves, as the cable jumps on the drum.
Frayed garage door lift cable with broken, splayed strands beside the vertical track
Frayed strands are the first warning sign of a failing lift cable. Call before it snaps.

Why We Check Cables and Springs Together

Cable and spring failures often happen together. A broken spring can drop the door fast enough to throw a cable off its drum, and a snapped cable can let the door slam, damaging a section or bending a track.

Rust is the other common link, especially near the coast. Salt air reaches the hardware inside an attached garage more than most people expect, particularly on doors left open for long stretches. When we're there for one, we check the other.

How We Repair Garage Door Cables

We replace both cables as a pair, because they're the same age and have carried the same load. First we secure the door and take the tension off the springs. The bottom brackets are under heavy load, which is why they're often painted red and labeled with a warning.

Then we seat the new cables on the drums, set them to equal tension so the door lifts evenly, and cycle and rebalance the door. We also check the bottom brackets and the drum set screws, because a slipping drum would undo the repair.

Call us and tell us what the door is doing. Cable repairs can often be priced over the phone, and we'll get your door lifting straight again.

Garage door cable drum on the torsion shaft, lift cable wound into its grooves, spring alongside
Cable drums wind the lift cables. Both sides need equal tension or the door lifts crooked.
Our work

Recent Garage Door Projects

A look at recent garage door installations and repairs for homeowners across Southern California.

Major internal garage door repair in Anaheim.

See more projects

Reviews

Rated 4.9 Stars on Google

4.9 out of 5 from 19 Google reviews

Homeowners across Southern California keep mentioning the same things: we show up when we say we will, the work is clean and careful, and the price is fair.

Five-star Google review of Mighty Garage Doors from Adriana Virgen, with the new white garage door pictured
Adriana Virgen · Google · 2 years ago Tap to enlarge
Five-star Google review of Mighty Garage Doors from Cathy Zavala
Cathy Zavala · Google · 2 years ago Tap to enlarge
Five-star Google review of Mighty Garage Doors from saul V about a same-day garage door spring repair
saul V · Google · 2 years ago Tap to enlarge

Read all 19 reviews

FAQ

Garage Door Cable Repair & Replacement FAQs

Can I use my garage door with a broken cable?

No. With one cable gone, the door is being lifted from one corner, which twists it in the tracks and can pull it off entirely. It also puts the whole load on the remaining cable. Leave the door where it is and call us.

Why replace both garage door cables if only one broke?

They're the same age, have done the same number of cycles and have had the same exposure to rust, so the intact one isn't far behind. Most of the work is safely taking the tension off, so doing both at once saves you a second visit.

How long do garage door cables last?

Usually a long time, often as long as the springs or longer. Rust, the door closing on something, or drums that were never tensioned evenly are what wear them out early.

How much does garage door cable repair cost?

The estimate is free, and cable repairs can often be priced over the phone once you describe what the door is doing. You get a firm price before any work starts.

Service areas

Garage Door Cable Repair & Replacement Across Southern California

From our shop in Anaheim, we serve homeowners across Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Same-day repair is available in most of the cities we cover, and everywhere else we'll book a time that works for you. Find your city below.

Garage Door Cable Repair & Replacement in Orange County

Orange County is home. Our shop is in Anaheim, so all 34 cities here are on our regular routes, and same-day repair is available in every one of them.

Central Orange County 2 cities

Coastal Orange County 2 cities

North Orange County 6 cities

South Orange County 9 cities

All Orange County cities we serve →

Garage Door Cable Repair & Replacement in Los Angeles County

We serve all 87 cities in Los Angeles County. Same-day repair is available in 62 of them, and we'll book a convenient time for the rest.

Antelope Valley 2 cities

Coastal Los Angeles 1 city

Conejo Valley 3 cities

Gateway Cities 20 cities

San Fernando Valley 3 cities

San Gabriel Valley 29 cities

Santa Clarita Valley 1 city

South Bay 14 cities

Westside 4 cities

All Los Angeles County cities we serve →

Garage Door Cable Repair & Replacement in Riverside County

We serve all 27 cities in Riverside County. Same-day repair is available in 13 of them, and we'll book a convenient time for the rest.

Coachella Valley 9 cities

Pass Area 3 cities

San Jacinto Valley 2 cities

Southwest Riverside 3 cities

Western Riverside 2 cities

All Riverside County cities we serve →

Garage Door Cable Repair & Replacement in San Bernardino County

We serve all 23 cities in San Bernardino County. Same-day repair is available in 14 of them, and we'll book a convenient time for the rest.

High Desert 1 city

Inland Empire East 6 cities

Inland Empire West 1 city

Morongo Basin 2 cities

San Bernardino Mountains 1 city

Victor Valley 4 cities

All San Bernardino County cities we serve →

Call Now