Anyone Ever Taken Apart a KitchenAid Mixer?

[Jay Francis]

Well, after many years of service, my KitchenAid stand mixer is starting to make some loud bearing noises. Houston doesn't have a repair center. I was wondering if anyone has ever taken apart a KitchenAid stand mixer, in order to get to the bearings? I want to see if I can lubricate them with a white lithium grease, to fix the problem.

Thank you

[K8memphis]

Well, after many years of service, my KitchenAid stand mixer is starting to make some loud bearing noises.  Houston doesn't have a repair center. I was wondering if anyone has ever taken apart a KitchenAid stand mixer, in order to get to the bearings?  I want to see if I can lubricate them with a white lithium grease, to fix the problem.

Thank you

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Wull, better still, Kitchen Aid is very good about replacing their stuff. My original KA is like 25 years old and they replaced a paddle for free. And I got a new KA that fizzled out & they sent a replacement first and I packed up the broken one in the packaging and fed ex picked it up - their customer service is a cut above for sure - so you might want to give them a call & see what they can do for you. Especially before you do any dissecting.

There was no hassle with producing receipts or anything, no issues etc.

Just a thought...

Edited December 11, 2004 by K8memphis (log)

[polack]

Yep, I had mine apart to replace the shaft that takes on the paddle, wisk and dough kneader. I didn't take it all the way down but you can look up sears part breakdown and it gives you a pretty good illustration of what's in the thing. If you're just a little mechanically inclined you shouldn't have too much problem

Polack

[lia]

There was no hassle with producing receipts or anything, no issues etc.

hey good to know....I'm inheriting my father's mixer, only about 5 or so years old, rarely used, and my mother can't find any instruction manuals or any other paperwork. Wonder if they'd replace that for me. I tried the website for downloads but no luck.

[Dave the Cook]

KA has a great online archive of product literature in PDF format -- I found not just the manual, but the installation instructions, for my 20-year old range in a matter of minutes.

Here's where: KA catalog search

Note the box at the right for finding older models. Also note that you do not have to join the site to get this information.

[lia]

You're a pumpkin. Thanks.

[Jay Francis]

Thanks to everyone for this valuable information.

Jay

[Berlinsbreads]

A few years back my K-5 stripped a gear after six years of almost daily bread making. My husband took it apart and we ordered a new gear mechanism and after putting it back together it worked fine---the only issue he had was getting the speeds right. He actually felt like "upgrading" it a bit because he questioned some of the design (I think it was the plastic part Kitchenaids were using at the time that one was built--I think they aren't doing that anymore). Anyway, it's doable!!

[Dave the Cook]

. . . He actually felt like "upgrading" it a bit because he questioned some of the design (I think it was the plastic part Kitchenaids were using at the time that one was built--I think they aren't doing that anymore).  Anyway, it's doable!!

I think the use of nylon vs. steel gears depends on the model. I'm not convinced that there's a longevity issue here; rather, I think it's about power transfer, noise and cost.

Nylon gears are cheaper to manufacture, and are much quieter (you can tell which models use which just by listening). But unless you're doing a lot of really heavy tasks, nylon will do just fine. The problem is that nylon flexes, so the power of the motor isn't transferred as efficiently as it would be with steel gears. Consequently, two mixers with the same wattage but different gear materials will perform with different efficiencies.

As to whether you can simply replace nylon with steel and get a better mixer, I'm not sure. I'd bet that other parts of the transmission are designed and deployed according the gear material, and you could easily end up shortening the life of your mixer in an unanticipated way. Think of it like customizing a car: you can do something to increase the horsepower of the engine, but then you'll find out that you need better tires and shocks to take advantage of it. Before too long, you realize that it would have been cheaper just to get a more powerful car to start with.

[polack]

I bought mine some 10 or more years ago and got the metal gears. Now this thing had set for some time before I got the bug to start making my own sourdough bread and wouldn't you know the paddle shaft breaks after little to no use. Matter of fact it broke right at the pin where it sits in the paddle, looked like a defect in the cast of the pin. Anyway a week later and about $30 lighter I was good to go again. Now when it comes to design I like the way the electrolux kneads dough and if KA should ever changes their design they might want to follow their example, it seems like they can use a smaller wattge motor to get an equal or better result.

Polack