Garages and Carports - Wayne Dalton Torquemaster help

The winding end on my Torquemaster (original design) just "let go"....releasing all tension of the spring while the door was going up. Also destroyed the plate on the door that connects to the door opener trolley.

I took the Torquemaster apart and realized the spring is still intact, just the splines on the winding end stripped off.

Unfortunately I cant quickly get a winding end and the wife doesnt like parking outside :)

I was wondering what I would need to do (parts wise.......pretty sure I can handle the install) to convert from the torquemaster back to extension springs, as that seems to be a more future proof fix (no one around here can get torquemaster parts anymore)

Thanks in advance.

-Chris

parts available at progaragedoor.com. Do a search for Wayne-Dalton parts. I just got springs and gears for a 16' door.

I did see the part there, yes.

But, I just finished converting it to extension springs. Why?

A) the design of the original Torquemaster is bad. Plastic (bad) splines that are 17mm long and 2mm thick (bad) and the drive gear only engages 7mm of the spline (BAD BAD). I can upgrade to the new version which seems much better, but I basically need all new hardware and a couple hours of work.

B) Wayne Dalton Corporate says the old version parts are no longer being produced. So, will the current parts stock eventually run out?

C) I bought everything to convert off the shelf at Lowes. Im sure I paid more because I bought there, but the point is that I can now fix anything on the garage door with a trip to a local store. No waiting for parts, no guessing at which part I need, etc. I called the local garage door companies and they were going to do the exact same thing.....convert it to something they could service.

If the design wasnt so bad I would gladly wait for parts. But I just cant see waiting longer to replace parts on something that will most likely break again (and from what Ive heard/read its amazing mine lasted this long). I did save the parts though, and I have a call in with Wayne Dalton. If they somehow decide to give me the parts to change to the new version, I will gladly change back to the torque tube.

All the above is correct. I would not recommend extension springs, which you already did, but replace the torquemaster with standard torsion springs. They are less likely to give problems over time, and if they break, nothing gets damaged. Safety cables notwithstanding, they can break or come loose when needed.

I have a 2nd door with the Torquemaster setup. If it goes (and since its my garage bay so I dont care about being outside for a while), I will look into getting it converted to torsion instead of extension.

Is the Torquemaster Plus any better? Judging from the parts differences it *should* be better, but is it?

As JB said..I'd convert to straight torsion if required. The WD stuff is good for a DIY install, but if you can be safe and use tools, a plain torsion is much simpler and cheaper.