This is going to be really hard to approach without pictures. These things are usually built with bilateral symmetry so the spring being hooked up in in the same direction on both sides is a red flag. I can't say if turning it around will fix it because it might have been moved to counter another problem.

Just for example, maybe a brace is broken that buttressed the bent arm. The spring kept popping off as a consequence and the former owners found that the spring stayed on better if it was reversed. Now, however, the spring pops off every time.

I understand what you are saying. I will try to get photos over the weekend of springs and everything. Thanks.

I came across this thread while researching our attic pull down stair problem and wonder how this homeowner corrected their situation. Both springs flip off the brackets on our stairs making it necessary the push back the hinges in order to get the stairs to fold back into position. Not an easy job. Any experience or remedies to offer? Thanks.

Use two people and have one observe from above as it closes. The spring should bend over those brackets when open. Bend them back into position (more "vertical"/perpendicular to the door) if they are slanted. Also check that all bolts are tight.

Homebound,

Thank you so much for your reply, greatly appreciated. I'll post back with results in order to help others.

I have noticed on my pull down stair that the hinges tend to pull inward towards the stair and not stay vertical. It looks to me like the bolted connection holding the hinge to the wood has rotated some from use and is digging into the wood. Although the springs don't come off I need to pull the hinge away when I operate the unit or it will bind up.

My fix (when I get one of those "round tuits") is get some fender washers and put them on the bolts at the wood so that thee wood is not crushed locally allowing the bolt to rotate.

I hope that makes sense.

Sometimes the moving points on the mechanism are rivets that wear loose. Taking down the whole unit may be necessary to repair those. The springs are at greatest tension with the stairs pulled down-- open. They are at minimum tension with the stairs closed. So it may be necessary to have a person and the required tools in the attic while another closes the stairs. The person in the attic repairs them with the stairs closed.

"This marriage was interrupted by hunting season."

However, per my post on 11/7/12, I wanted to update on how the attic stair repair finally went for us. The day DH and I were going to attack this project, I pulled them down and one of the hinges literally bent in half backwards. Oops.

Fortunately for us the stairs we have are manufactured in the city where we live. With model numbers in hand, we drove to the worst part of town imaginable and purchased 2 hinge assemblies for $35.00 including tax.

With DH in the attic and me on the down side we replaced the hinges in just short of an hour. The stairs operate perfectly now. We lucked out for sure.

Need a little advice I have the same issue however the hinge is riveted down. How do I get the hinges bent back or replaced? So about the 3 of the same photos

the hinge looks like it failed in the last picture. If that's the case you might as well just replace the staircase. Be careful with the staircase down as those springs carry a lot of force.

Similar thing happened to me and after looking for replacement hardware I opted to replace the staircase it completely.

Are there any identifying labels on the ladder? If so, replacement parts may be available. You need to carefully examine the moving parts to see what caused the failure. If the hinge pin wore out and that is the primary cause, there ought to be a way to replace it. It might be that the others are not far behind, but I'd patch it together. If I had it I'm my hands, I'd have a more secure feel for what to do. Given my limited view. Here is how I' d plan to proceed. Make sure the ladder is secured and won't move as you go forward. Remove the failed hinge pin. It looks like a rivet. Cut any remaining support with a chisel, file it off or drill it out. If you can straighten the bent metal parts, do so. Be careful not to bend them repeatedly because that will weaken them. If you are lucky, you won't need to remove anything else. You may need to remove the plate attached to the wood that form the anchors of the hinge. Those rivets can be drilled out if need be. Remove other hinges from the wood if you need to. If you are lucky there is enough clearance to replace any rivets that you removed with bolts (carriage or hex). The best way to adjust them would be to use a second nut as a lock nut to maintain clearance for the hinge to pivot. If there is not enough clearance for two full-sized nuts, you might be able to search around a hardware store for some thinner ones or some sort. The don't need to take much force in that direction only sheer force. The sheer force is probably not even that high because of the way the ladder locks into place before you load it. If the bent metal parts are too bent to straighten, or you are worried about strength, check with a sheet metal shop and see if they will fabricate a new part for you.

I agree, not easy to find a square pivot plate. A water-jet cnc machine can make a duplicate part accept more robust steel. A cad drawing of the part can generate a replica of the centercentercentercenter pivotpivot . You may benefit from a longer rectangular plate with more fasten holestoholes