575 watt Professional 600 Kitchen aid mixer drops metal shavings in the mixture on any speed above 1.
Hi REDLACQUER. Sorry to hear about the metal shavings. This is probably not to best way to take iron in your diet... My first thought would be to ask if your mixer is still under warranty. If you’ve had the machine less than one year, then I’d let KA replace your mixer with a new one. However, I suspect like many who seek assistance from FIXYA.com, your mixer is out of warranty, so what can you do?
Have you been able to find exactly where the metal shavings are originating? From the symptoms you describe, it appears that the planetary/agitator shaft assembly may be rubbing against its housing and generating the metal shavings at higher speeds. Have you noticed any increased noise levels/squeaking/screeching when the planetary rotates? It’s also possible that the planetary is out of alignment and not rotating true. Could the agitator shaft been jarred or hit hard during set up or moving in or out of you storage cabinet? Or the shavings could be symptomatic of other internal gear problems, but that would be the least likely scenario as the mixers internal gears are pretty much self-contained.
The good news is that this can be troubleshot and fixed quite easily (OK, maybe with a little effort) by yourself if you are a DITY type person, and feel adventurous. However, before you start to disassemble your mixer, be sure you have the Parts List manual on hand. 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> Enter the 6 character model number, in your case, KP2671, and select the last file, KP2671XWH3.pdf (325.07 KB) listed under Parts List (24) (check to verify that it matches your mixer model).
Turn to pages 4 & 5, titled “Case, Gearing and Planetary Unit”, which provides and exploded view for the disassembly and reassembly of your mixer, along with all the parts. I suspect your Planetary Assembly, Illus No. 15, is rubbing somewhere against its housing, Lower Gearcase, Illus. No. 24.
To gain access to these pieces 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. You need to remove the Transmission Housing (Illus No. 7) and remove all the lubricating grease from the transmission housing and gears (when removing the grease be on the lookout for shavings in the grease which would indicate excessive gear wear). This will allow you to remove Illus No. 25, 21, 18 & 19, Retaining Clip, Bevel Gear, Retaining Pin and Worm Gear Follower, respectively.
Once you remove the Retaining Pin (Illus. No. 18) the Planetary Assembly can be tapped down through the Lower Gearcase Assembly (Illus. No 24). With the Planetary removed, you can inspect it and the inside of the Lower Gearcase to determine where the shavings originated. Be sure to look closely at the Planetary Gear in the lower gearcase as well as the Agitator Shaft Pinion Gear (Illus. No. 12). That will also identify what parts need to be replaced, which you can order online.
You’ll need to replace the grease you removed with new grease. You should use a food-grade grease that you can order online (although I’ve seen automotive bearing grease used too – your call). Do not try to reuse any original grease as it may have ‘debris’ in it.
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’. Prices can vary widely between vendors, so do your comparison shopping.
It can be messy but quite gratifying to diagnose and repair your mixer yourself.
Finally, here are some links to several 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 and reassemble your mixer.
I hope this helps. Howard, Burke, VA
If this solution was helpful, please rate it, thanks! – hslincoln
I have the same problem with a 1 year old KA Professional HD stand mixer. After disassembling the planetary assembly, I found a mass of aluminum shavings in it. I finally figured out that the spiral dough hook pushes up on the attachment shaft so hard when kneading dough that it dislodges the bottom snap ring on the shaft and pushes the planetary spur gear up into the aluminum housing. I replaced the snap ring but it still dislodges it. The hook-shaped dough hook does not push up and dislodge the snap ring, but it is less effective at kneading. I guess that KA is not made for real bread making.
×
6,676 views
Usually answered in minutes!
Hi halincoln,
Thanks for the excellent advice, recommendations, procedures, and links. All helpful. I did successfully disassemble the gearing and planetary unit and found the problem (and a lot more metal shavings): the top of agitator shaft just above the pinion gear (32) is grinding into the aluminum housing of the lower gearcase itself. It has cut a channel about 1/16 to 1/8 inch deep already. The depth is not consistent all around the circumference of the newly cut channel. (By the way, there has always been about an 1/8th inch of vertical travel in the agitator shaft since new.)
Also, the assembly of my agitator shaft is different than shown in the parts manual. The manual shows a washer (31) between the the snap ring (30) and the pinion gear (32). Mine has none. Moreover, the parts manual does not show a washer between retaining clip (7) and the bottom of the planetary unit's connecting tube. Mine has one. Was my agitator shaft misassembled?
So here is my hypothesis and my next questions. I think that the (increasingly) heavy viscosity of making bread dough is acting to force the agitator shaft into the bottom of the lower gearcase. That created the channel and shavings. Using the machine on low viscosity fluids (like cream) but high speeds (to whip it), produced shavings in the food by centrifugal force throwing out already cut (but trapped) metal. Here are my questions. Should I
1. assemble the agitator shaft as shown in the parts manual, or
2. add another washer above the washer I already have above the retaining clip (7). My idea is to fill that space and not allow so much vertical play in the shaft but still allow shaft to turn freely.
Again, thanks for your help and let me know what you think when you can.
Redlacquer
×