Hello, I was given the KitchenAid K5SS Heavy Duty and I wanted to grease it. Frustratingly, after repeated hammering the groove pin will not come out of the shaft of the planetary. I chipped so much paint out of both sides of the planetary and still nothing. It seems like if I cannot get the pin out, the mixer will be rendered useless, which is a shame since disassembly seems pretty straight forward. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Frustrated Cook
Get the mixer onto its side, use the correct size punch and a bigger hammer. The last thing you want to be doing is drilling the pin out. If you cannot get the pin out it will not render the machine useless, it just means that the job is beyond your capabilities and you need to get someone with experience to do it for you.
SOURCE: my kitchen aid mixer is leaking oil or grease from
Hi TIOBEAN, by the symptoms you describe it appears the Center Shaft ‘O’-ring and quite likely the Transmission Gasket need to be replaced. You don’t mention how old your Artisan mixer is, but I assume it is out of warranty.
The internal gears of your mixer are factory packed with enough grease to last a 'lifetime'—whatever that means, and depending on the age of your mixer, where it was stored, degree and intensity of usage; these factors all contribute to the breakdown of the grease into its constituent parts (oil and suspenders), which have seeped beyond the gasket and ‘O’-ring, down the planetary (agitator shaft). Gravity can be very insidious. The residue coming from the agitator shaft is the gear lubricating grease oil that has come out of suspension.
So how bad is this oil leak problem and what can you do to fix it? First, if the amount of oil found leaking was small and if your mixer otherwise works normally with the missing oil you really don’t need to take your mixer apart to ‘fix’ it. The good news, though, is that you can take the mixer apart and 'fix' it, if you feel it is necessary.
It would be helpful to have the Part List manual as a reference. If you're lacking one, you can download a PDF version from the KA website at: http://www.kitchenaid.com/flash.cmd?/#/page/home. Having the Parts List on hand will also be helpful as you will have to disassemble and reassemble your mixer to replace the ‘O’-ring and gasket.
Click on Customer Care>Locate Manuals & Guides> and enter the 6 character model number, KSM150 and select the file KSM150PSWH0.pdf (773.44 KB) listed for your model that appears under Parts List (61), and save that file to your PC.
Turn to pages 6 & 7, titled:”Case, Gearing And Planetary Unit” and locate Illus. No. 28, Center Shaft & O-Ring; particularly Illus No. 15 & 16, Transmission Gasket and ‘O’-Ring respectively. I suspect these parts have failed and will need to be replaced. Now the real fun begins!
To get to the Vertical Shaft you’ll need the following tools: a regular or Phillips screw driver, retaining clip pliers, and a small drift pin punch and a small hammer. After removing the Gearcase Motor Housing (mixer top) you will need to remove all the lubricating grease from the transmission housing and gears. This will allow you to remove Illus No. 11, 13, & 14, Bevel Pinion Center Gear, Pin (Vertical Center Shaft) and Groove Pin, respectively.
You should now be able to tap the Vertical Center Shaft (Illus. No. 12) down through the Lower Gearcase housing to access the ‘O’-ring.
Besides ordering a new ‘O’-ring (Illus. No. 16) and Transmission Gasket (Illus No. 15), you’ll also need to replace the grease you removed with new grease. Do not try to reuse any original grease as it may have ‘debris’ in it. You should use a food-grade grease that you can order online (although I’ve seen automotive bearing grease used too – your call).
With your mixer apart and the grease removed from the gears you can check them for any other unseemly wear and tear, too.
Here are five potential vendors in no particular order: RepairClinic.com; mendingshed.com; searspartsdirect.com; partstore.com; and Grainger.com (for grease). You should search for ‘food grade grease’ online (although I’ve seen automotive bearing grease used too – your call). Prices can vary widely between vendors, so do some comparison shopping.
Here are some links to several excellent websites that detail the disassembling/reassembly of a KA Mixer.
SOURCE: planetary gear housing fell off.
Hi BHENDERSON_C, sorry to hear about your mixer’s malaise. The Planetary should not fall off! Something has failed inside the transmission housing to allow the planetary to drop from the head. It may not be evident from the planetary assembly, so you need to get ‘under the hood’ to find the point of failure.
It would be helpful to have the correct Parts List manual on hand when you start to disassemble your mixer. If you're lacking one, you can download a PDF version from the KA website at: http://www.kitchenaid.com/flash.cmd?/#/page/home.
Click on Customer Care>Locate Manuals & Guides> and enter the 6 character model number, in your case, KP2671, and for starters, select the last file, KP2671XWH3.pdf (325.07 KB), of the 24 listed under Parts List (24) (NB: There are five different model versions of this manual, so check to see that it matches your mixer model. If it doesn’t try a different version).
To disassemble your mixer you will need a regular and Phillips screwdriver, snap-ring pliers, a small drift pin punch and a small hammer. By using the exploded views in the Part List manual, you should be able to disassemble, inspect, identify and replace broken/worn parts, and reassemble your mixer. The Parts list manual doesn’t provide that step by step assembly instructions that would be nice to have, but just a general idea of how all the parts fit together.
Turn to pages 4 & 5, titled: “Case Gearing And Planetary Unit” which shows you an exploded view of all the mechanical parts and assemblies for your mixer. You will need to remove the Transmission Housing and remove all the grease from around the gears to clearly see the parts. Inspect the grease for debris. I expect you’ll find pieces of the retaining clip and retain pin that hold the planetary to the mixer head somewhere in the grease.
After you’ve determined which parts failed, you will want to order replacement parts. Here are five potential online vendors in no particular order: RepairClinic.com; mendingshed.com; searspartsdirect.com; partstore.com; and Grainger.com (for grease). You should search for ‘food grade grease’ online (although I’ve seen automotive bearing grease used too – your call). Prices can vary widely between vendors, so do some comparison shopping.
Also, here are links to three excellent websites that detail the disassembling/reassembly of a KA Mixer. The mixers displayed in the links are different KA models, but the principles are the same.
Between these three websites and their excellent pictures and descriptions and your Parts List manual, you should now be able to completely disassemble, troubleshoot, determine appropriate repair parts and reassemble your mixer to get it working again. Good luck. I hope this helps. Howard, Burke, VA
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