Everyday shortening for any enclosed gear drive: an industrial reducer, a wind turbine gearbox, a truck transmission or a lathe headstock. Crews talk about the box running hot, pulling the box, tearing down the box and sending the box out for rebuild. It treats the gears, bearings, shafts, seals and oil as one unit.
Box is running twenty degrees hotter than last month, pull an oil sample and check the vibration before it grenades.
Also heard as
- gearbox
- reducer
Related terms
Grenade
Shop slang for a gearbox or axle destroying itself all at once, scattering broken teeth and bearing parts.
Whine
A steady, pitch-changing tonal noise from gears, rising with speed and caused by tooth meshing errors.
Fuzz
Shop word for the fine metallic paste that collects on a magnetic drain plug from normal gear wear.
Gearhead
A compact gear reducer that bolts to a motor face, and also a person who lives for machinery.