Quick takeaways
- There is no single turnaround number that applies to every gearbox. The real answer comes from the free inspection, once we know exactly what failed.
- The two things that add the most time are gears that must be manufactured new and bearings that must be poured and machined rather than dropped in off the shelf.
- A straightforward job, cleaning, new bearings, new seals, and reassembly, moves through the shop faster than a job that also needs new gears cut in house.
- Waiting on an OEM part from an outside supplier can add real time to a repair. Manufacturing what we need in house instead of waiting on a slow OEM supply chain is often what keeps a job on schedule.
- Emergency jobs get prioritized. When a Pasadena, Texas chemical plant was completely down, we remanufactured the gears, replaced all bearings, gaskets, and seals, and had the plant back up and running in 48 hours.
- Every job includes a free inspection, free shipping both ways, free local pickup in the Houston area, and 24 hour emergency service.
What actually determines how long a repair takes?
The honest answer starts with the same process for every gearbox that comes through our door. We tear the unit down completely, clean it, and magnaflux the gears and housing to find cracks and worn surfaces that are not visible from the outside. Only after that inspection do we know what the job really requires. A unit with worn bearings and tired seals is a very different job than one with a cracked gear tooth or a scored housing bore, and the timeline reflects that difference honestly rather than guessing before we have looked inside.
Because the scope of damage drives the schedule, we do not quote a generic day range before we open the unit up. What we can tell you is which factors push a job longer and which keep it moving fast, so you understand what you are looking at once the inspection is done.
Which factors add time to a gearbox rebuild?
Three things come up again and again when a job takes longer than a straightforward one. The first is gear manufacturing. If a gear tooth is chipped, cracked, or worn past a usable profile, we cut a new gear in house rather than patch the old one. Manufacturing a gear to the correct geometry, then heat treating and finishing it, is precision work that takes real time on the machine, and it is time well spent because a patched gear does not run true.
The second is babbitt bearing work. Some large industrial gearboxes use babbitt bearings rather than off the shelf roller bearings. Pouring babbitt and machining it to the exact journal size is a specialized step that adds time compared to pressing in a standard bearing, but it is often the only correct fix for that class of equipment.
The third is waiting on outside parts. When a component has to come from an OEM supplier rather than being made or replaced in house, the job is at the mercy of that supplier's own lead time. This is one of the reasons we manufacture gears and machine bearing surfaces ourselves in Houston instead of routing that work out. Keeping the manufacturing steps in house is what lets us commit to a schedule instead of passing along someone else's delay.
How does the free inspection turn into a firm timeline?
The free inspection is not a delay before the real work starts. It is the step that makes a real timeline possible. Once we tear the unit down, clean it, and magnaflux the gears and housing, we know exactly what is worn, what is cracked, and what can be reused. That is when we give you a clear quote and a committed schedule, not a guess made from the outside of a housing that has not been opened yet.
This is also the point where you learn whether your unit needs a full industrial gearbox repair with new gears and reground journals, or a lighter refurbishment with new bearings and seals. Either path gets a real answer on timing before you commit to anything, and every inspection ships to and from our shop for free.
How fast can an emergency repair move?
When a plant is completely down, the schedule changes. Instead of moving through the shop in a normal queue, an emergency job gets prioritized so teardown, gear manufacturing, bearing and seal replacement, and reassembly happen back to back. A chemical plant in Pasadena, Texas had its whole operation down waiting on a failed gearbox. We remanufactured the gears, replaced all the bearings, gaskets, and seals, and had the plant back up and running in 48 hours. That is what our shop is capable of when every hour matters and the job is run as a true emergency from the moment the unit arrives.
Our 24 hour emergency line exists for exactly this situation. If your line is down right now, calling immediately is what starts that clock, not waiting until morning to describe the problem.
What can you do to keep your repair on schedule?
The biggest lever you control is how quickly the unit gets to us and how much information comes with it. Free shipping both ways and free local pickup in the Houston area mean transit time does not have to add days on top of the shop schedule. Telling us upfront whether the line is down, what the equipment drives, and any history on the unit also helps us plan the job correctly from the first day instead of discovering constraints partway through.
Once the inspection is complete and you have a firm quote and schedule, staying in touch with our team through the job means you always know where things stand rather than waiting for a surprise call at the end. If you are weighing whether a rebuild or a new unit makes more sense for your situation, our guide on gearbox refurbishing versus replacement cost covers how that decision affects both cost and timing.
We rebuild and remanufacture drives through gearbox repair, planetary gearbox repair, and extruder gearbox repair, all done in house in Houston. Every job includes free shipping both ways, a free inspection, and up to a 24 month workmanship warranty. For more rebuild guidance, browse our insights.