Reintjes Marine Gearbox
Spare Parts Supplier
Reverse reduction and reduction gearboxes between engine and shaft line — WAF for fixed-pitch propellers, LAF, SVAL and DLG for controllable-pitch drives
Reintjes gearbox families behind engine-room enquiries
REINTJES GmbH of Hameln builds the marine gearboxes that sit between a diesel engine or electric motor and the propeller shaft, or the dredger pump on a dredger, on tugs, fishing vessels, inland waterway vessels, ferries, cargo ships, dredgers and offshore wind service craft. The company goes back to a mechanical workshop opened by Theodor Reintjes in Emmerich on the Rhine in 1879, delivered its first gearbox in 1929 and has been owned by the Eugen Reintjes Foundation since 1962. The family letters say what a box does — reverses or only reduces, drives a fixed or a controllable-pitch propeller, carries a clutch or not — and the size number and suffix after them say which unit is on the plate.
WAF · WF
Hydraulically shifted ahead and astern gearboxes for fixed-pitch propellers on tugs, fishing vessels, inland vessels and ferries, WF being the small member of the line. Clutch disc sets, bearings, shaft seals and filter elements make up most requests.
WGF · ZWAF
WGF is a reverse reduction gearbox derived from WAF with an attached gear step in a flange-connected housing; ZWAF is the two-speed reverse reduction version. The extra step or second gear brings its own bearings and clutch items onto the list.
LAF · LF · LGF
Non-reversing gearboxes with a disc clutch for controllable-pitch propellers, where the blades reverse the thrust. Larger LAF sizes can carry a hollow output shaft with the connection for the CPP oil distribution box; clutch discs, bearings and oil-feed seals are the usual lines.
VA · SVA · SVAL · ZSVAL
Reduction gearboxes for controllable-pitch propellers on workboats and cargo tonnage. VA is the clutchless design on roller bearings, SVA keeps it clutchless on slide bearings, SVAL adds a disc clutch and ZSVAL is the two-speed version. On the slide-bearing frames, bearing shells and thrust items come up next to the clutch parts.
DLG
Twin input, single output reduction gearbox with hydraulically operated clutches, letting two engines drive one controllable-pitch propeller on workboats, ferries and naval and governmental vessels. Bearings are rolling or slide depending on size, so the plate decides which shells or races are asked for.
AF · EF · DUG
Reduction gearboxes built without a hydraulically switchable main clutch for electric-drive propulsion, DUG being the twin-input version for ferries and workboats with electric drive. Bearings, shaft seals, filter elements and cooler items take the place of clutch work.
RDG · RDGL
REINTJES Dredging Gearboxes for dredger pumps installed in ships and for underwater dredger pumps; RDGL carries a disc clutch, RDG does not. Bearings, seals and, on RDGL, the clutch pack are the recurring items.
WVS · WLS · VLJ
Weight-optimised families in aluminium-alloy housings for patrol, crew transfer and other high-speed craft, with VLJ as the reduction gearbox for waterjet propulsion. Clutch discs, bearings and housing seals are read against the exact suffix, since U-drive and offset variants differ.
Where a marine gearbox starts asking for parts
A Reintjes gearbox seldom fails as a whole. Requests lead back to the clutch packs, the oil that feeds them, the bearings that carry the propeller thrust, or the auxiliaries mounted on the housing — and the order in which those are checked decides how long the parts list grows.
Disc clutch slip and glazing
Ahead and astern are engaged by hydraulically actuated multi-disc clutches. When actuation pressure sags — a clogged filter, a worn oil pump, a sticking control valve — the friction discs slip under load, overheat and glaze, and the steel discs lose their flatness. The oil is part of the clutch: the maker's lubrication chart for gearboxes with a built-in disc clutch lists a friction value test among its oil requirements, so an oil from outside the chart matters to the request as much as the disc count.
Filter elements, breather and contamination
REINTJES instructs that filter elements are replaced at every oil change, the venting filter is cleaned thoroughly and a first contamination check is made shortly after commissioning. Overdue filters are the usual road to low clutch pressure; metal in an oil sample is the usual road to a bearing and disc request at the same time.
Water in the gearbox oil
Water reaches the oil through a leaking oil cooler on the cooling-water side, or as moist air drawn in through the breather while the oil level falls — the reason the maker offers a de-humidifier for the incoming air. Ester-based biodegradable oils add a hydrolysis risk on top. Water attacks bearing races and friction linings alike, so the cooler goes on the list before the clutch pack does.
Bearing and thrust bearing wear
On WAF, LAF and AF the maker lists roller bearings with an integrated thrust bearing, so the propeller thrust is carried inside the gearbox. SVA and SVAL put the pinion and output shaft on slide bearings, DLG does so in its higher power range, and large VLJ sizes can have slide bearings on request. Rising bearing temperature, a new noise or iron in the oil analysis point here, and the bearing type changes what the request has to name.
Control valve, trolling, shaft brake and pumps
Shifting runs through the control valve and, where fitted, the trolling system (ADS), the integrated shaft brake, the trailing pump and the connection for an electric stand-by pump. Seen from the control room a fault here looks like a clutch fault, which is why control and pump items are checked before discs are ordered.
Reintjes gearbox components that reach RFQ lines
A gearbox request splits by shaft and by clutch: ahead and astern packs are separate assemblies, and the input, output and PTO shafts each carry their own bearings and seals. The items below are grouped that way so a disc set is never matched to the wrong side of the box.
- Clutch disc sets — friction and steel discs, ahead and astern
- Clutch piston seals and rotary oil-feed seal rings
- Roller bearings and the integrated thrust bearing
- Slide bearing shells on frames built with slide bearings
- Shaft seal rings for input, output and PTO shafts
- Oil filter elements and the venting filter
- Control valve and solenoid valve items
- Trolling system (ADS) valve items
- Gearbox oil pump, trailing pump and stand-by pump items
- Oil cooler tube stacks, plates and gaskets
- Flexible coupling elements between engine and gearbox
- Shaft brake, PTO and PTI clutch items, housing cover gasket sets
Reading a Reintjes type plate into a quotable line
The maker states that it keeps a file for every gearbox, with its history from delivery onwards, so the serial number is the most useful single item in the request. With the items below a gearbox request can be worked shaft by shaft and clutch by clutch; without them it stays at family level. How a plate photograph turns into a priced list is set out on the how we work page.
- Type designation exactly as on the type plate — letters, size number and suffix, for example WAF 843L or LAF 2346
- Suffix letters: L for the limited-torque version, DL, DR, HL or HR for the input-shaft offset, U for a U-drive, HS for a hybrid system
- Serial number of the gearbox
- Reduction ratio, and both ratios on a two-speed gearbox
- Operating oil volume from the type plate and the lubrication chart in use — BV1917/1 or BV1917/4
- Propeller type, fixed or controllable pitch, and whether an oil distribution box is mounted on the gearbox
- Engine make, type and direction of rotation
- Fitted options: PTO or PTI with its type code, trolling (ADS), shaft brake, trailing or stand-by pump
- Control and monitoring: GBX-A or GBX-C automation, REINTJES Control System, local operating panel
- Part number from the parts list in the gearbox manual, an earlier order line, and a photograph of the removed part next to the plate
Tools for this equipment: the lubricant code reader for the gear oil and the oil cleanliness code reader for an oil analysis report. The shaft torque calculator works out the torque and output speed through the gearbox from the power, input speed and ratio. Where the gearbox drives a fixed pitch propeller, the propeller slip calculator takes that output speed with the pitch and the ship speed and gives the apparent slip.
Supply route review for Reintjes marine gearboxes
On a single-screw ship the gearbox carries the whole propulsion load and the propeller thrust with it. Before any reference is fixed, the type plate, the serial and the side of the box are settled, because two units sharing family letters can still differ in clutch size, bearing type and shaft layout.
Worked clutch by clutch
Ahead and astern disc sets, clutch piston seals and oil-feed rings are matched per clutch against type, serial and side. A family name alone does not fix the disc count or the friction lining.
Maker reference or equivalent source
Where a class surveyor is involved or the gearbox carries a class approval, the maker's own part number is the one to ask for; REINTJES states that it manufactures spare parts in its Hameln works. Rolling bearings read from their own marking, filter elements, seal rings and cooler gaskets can be looked at on an equivalent-source route within the buyer's approval list.
Oil read before discs
The lubrication chart the ship follows, the last oil analysis and the state of the cooler are read together with any clutch request. A new disc set run in the oil that glazed the old one tends to end the same way.
Opened once, closed once
Discs, bearings, seals, filter elements and cover gaskets are reviewed as one job. A missing cover gasket is pointed out in the reply instead of turning up as a separate request once the box is open.
Long-serving gearboxes
Details on a gearbox that has run for decades may have been revised since it left Hameln. Where the designation is not enough the serial settles it, and where the plate cannot be read, the removed part and its markings are the next evidence.
Boundaries of the gearbox
The flexible coupling on the engine side, pumps on the PTO and the CPP oil distribution box sit at the edges of the gearbox. Saying which side of each edge a leak or worn part is on keeps the request with the right equipment.
Reintjes gearbox enquiries — what buyers ask
Which Reintjes gearbox families come up in enquiries?
Mostly the reverse reduction families for fixed-pitch propellers — WAF, WF, WGF and ZWAF — and the reduction families for controllable-pitch propellers — LAF, LF, LGF, VA, SVA, SVAL and ZSVAL. Twin-input DLG and DUG, clutchless AF and EF for electric drive, and the RDG and RDGL dredging gearboxes appear as well. Send the designation as it reads on the type plate, suffix included, with the serial number and the reduction ratio.
What do the letters in a Reintjes type designation mean?
They are German abbreviations, decoded by the maker in its own product guide. In WAF, W stands for Wendeuntersetzungsgetriebe — reverse reduction gearbox — A for achsversetzt, offset shafts, and F for the flanged version. LAF is a reduction gearbox with a disc clutch, DLG a twin-input reduction gearbox, and a leading Z marks a two-speed design. Letters after the size number add detail: L for a limited-torque version, DL, DR, HL or HR for the offset direction of the input shaft, U for a U-drive.
Can a Reintjes part be matched without its part number?
Usually it can. The designation with its suffix, the serial number, the position in the box — ahead or astern clutch, input, output or PTO shaft — and a photograph of the removed part next to the type plate tend to be enough to start. A page from the parts list in the gearbox manual or an earlier order for the same serial does the same job.
Why does the gearbox oil matter for a clutch disc order?
REINTJES publishes separate lubrication charts for gearboxes with and without a built-in disc clutch — BV1917/1 and BV1917/4 — and only the disc-clutch chart lists a friction value test among its oil requirements. Oil from outside the chart, water in the sump or overdue filter elements can glaze a new disc set as readily as the old one, so name the oil in use and attach the last analysis.
Can clutch discs and bearings come from an alternative source?
Rolling bearings carry their own maker's marking, and seal rings, filter elements and cooler gaskets can often be matched on an equivalent-source route within the buyer's approval list. Clutch disc sets, slide bearing shells and anything the class surveyor will look at are normally asked for against the maker's reference, checked against the stated type, serial and clutch side.
Is Vessel Core connected to Reintjes?
No, and there is no agreement of any kind. Vessel Core holds no distribution, representation or partnership agreement with Reintjes, and quoting a component against one of its designations implies no approval by the maker and no claim of interchangeability.
Send the type plate and the serial first.
Send the designation as it reads on the plate, for example WAF 843L, the serial number, which clutch or shaft the parts came from, the lubrication chart in use and the port or ETA. Each line is read back against its side of the gearbox before a disc, bearing or seal reference is fixed.
