Gearbox Repair and Custom Gears for Rail, Truck and Heavy-Equipment Plants
The plants that build railcars, trucks, buses and heavy equipment run long assembly lines, heavy cranes and test stands that cannot stop for a missing part. We manufacture replacement gears and shafts for that plant equipment and rebuild its gearboxes.
Plant equipment we support
Our work here is the plant, not the vehicle: the drives that move, lift and test the product as it is built.
- Main assembly-line and chassis conveyor drive reducers
- Paint-shop and e-coat conveyor drives
- Transmission, axle, engine and chassis-dynamometer test-stand gearing
- Overhead crane, gantry and hoist gearing in body and frame shops
- Transfer-car, turntable and traverser drives
- Press-line and frame-forming drive gearing
- Wheel-set, axle and frame machining-cell drives
- Shot-blast, washer and oven conveyor drives
Gearbox rebuild
Teardown, dimensional inspection against drawing or calculated geometry, replacement of out-of-tolerance gearing, and reassembly with a documented build record.
Custom gears and shafts
Spur, helical, bevel, worm and planetary gearing and complete shafts, cut to order to match the existing installation.
Test-stand gearing
Replacement gear sets for transmission, axle and engine test stands, manufactured from measured geometry when no drawing survives.
What we are typically asked for
Plant drives in vehicle manufacturing tend to fail where duty is continuous and access is hard.
| What fails | What we supply |
|---|---|
| Line conveyor reducer worn beyond limits | Rebuild with new gearing, journals restored to size |
| Paint-shop conveyor drive with no available spares | Gearing and shafts reverse engineered from the removed parts |
| Test-stand gear set damaged | Replacement set manufactured to the existing centres |
| Crane hoist gearing worn at inspection | New gear set manufactured to the existing housing |
| Transfer-car drive shaft failure | Replacement shaft machined complete to the original fits |
Working from no drawings
Most of the drive components we are asked for are no longer manufactured, and the original drawings are long gone. We reverse engineer from the worn part itself: the component is measured, the tooth geometry and fits are established, material is confirmed, and a replacement is cut to suit the existing housing, shafts and bearings so nothing else in the assembly has to change.
Where a gear has failed because of a design limitation rather than wear, we will say so and propose the change rather than reproduce the fault.
Shop capabilities
- Gear hobbing and grinding up to 3 m (118 in) diameter; components up to 6 m long
- Custom-built gearboxes up to 200 tonnes
- High-speed gearboxes up to 20,000 RPM for blowers, compressors and pumps
- Spur, helical, double helical (herringbone), bevel, worm, internal and planetary gearing
- 4-, 5- and 9-axis machining, mill-turn, wire EDM, cylindrical and centerless grinding, thread whirling
- Heat treatment: hardening, tempering and surface treatments
- Inspection: CMM, gear geometry and profile verification, surface finish, hardness (Rockwell, Brinell) and non-destructive testing
- Test bench reports on refurbished and upgraded gearboxes
- Materials: carbon and alloy steels (4140, 4340, 8620), stainless and duplex, tool steels, bronze, titanium and Inconel
We repair all major gearbox makes, including Flender/Siemens, SEW-Eurodrive, Nord, Sumitomo, Falk/Rexnord, David Brown, Hansen, Lenze, Bonfiglioli, Brevini, Renold and Philadelphia Gear.
Quality and documentation
Euro Gear holds ISO 9001:2015 certification (certificate 14144280, issued by QA Certification, valid to September 2029; verifiable at www.irqao.com), covering engineering, reverse engineering, custom design and R&D for gears, gearboxes and industrial mechanical components; custom manufacturing, precision machining and fabrication; inspection, repair, rebuilding, upgrades, anti-wear coatings and testing of industrial equipment; technical consulting, maintenance support and reliability solutions. Material certification, dimensional reports, traceability records and test bench reports are supplied as specified in the quote. Euro Gear is a member of the American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA).
Where we work
From our engineering and manufacturing facility in Saint-Hubert, just south of Montreal, and our US operation in northern New York, we serve plants across Quebec, Ontario and Atlantic Canada and the northeastern United States, and ship across North America. Service is available in English and French.
Lead times
Standard gearbox repairs typically take two to four weeks, depending on parts and the extent of the damage, and we plan around shutdown and turnaround dates. When a drive fails without warning, our 24/7 breakdown response dispatches technicians to plants across Canada and the United States, and our field team also handles on-site inspection, alignment, installation and commissioning.
Common questions
- Do you supply gears for the vehicles themselves?
- No. We do not supply running-gear or traction components for railcars or locomotives in service, or drivetrain parts for road vehicles. Our work is the equipment in the plant that builds them.
- Can you rebuild test-stand gearboxes?
- Yes. Test-stand gearing is often a one-off from a builder that no longer exists. We measure the existing parts and manufacture replacements to suit.
- Can you work to a line shutdown?
- Yes. Give us the shutdown date when you first contact us and we will tell you honestly whether we can meet it.
- Do you attend site for breakdowns?
- Yes. We provide 24/7 emergency breakdown response across Canada and the United States, with technicians dispatched to site, as well as on-site inspection, alignment, installation and commissioning. Call 1-866-702-3126.
- What do you need from us to quote?
- Photographs of the nameplate and the worn component are usually enough to start. Drawings help but are not required.
Send us the part
A photograph of the nameplate and the worn component is usually enough for us to tell you whether we can help. Drawings are welcome but not required.
Further reading
- Types of Industrial Gears: A Complete Guide: Spur, helical, bevel, worm and planetary gears: how each type works and where it is used.
- Gearbox Failure: Common Causes and Prevention: Common causes of industrial gearbox failure (inadequate lubrication, overloading, misalignment, thermal issues and contamination) and how to prevent them.
- 5 Signs Your Industrial Gearbox Needs Repair: Warning signs to catch before an unplanned shutdown: unusual noises, excessive vibration, temperature increases, oil contamination or leaks, and reduced performance.