My Kitchen Aid Mixer

I've had it for just over 2 years and kind of abused it by mixing some large batches of dryish bread dough. Finally, last week it quit. The motor was running, but nothing was turning. I found a Youtube video describing the problem - a worn out worm gear. So I took it apart in the manner shown in the video and sure enough, the worm gear was worn off on one side. I ordered a new one on EBay for $5 (free shipping ) and it arrived in yesterday's mail. It took me about a half-hour to replace it and re-assemble everything and I didn't even have any leftover parts. Working great again.

Nice!

Once you had the thing apart, what did you think of its overall construction, Howie? I've heard people say they aren't as sturdy as the used to be but I don't know if that's really true or not.

...and I didn't even have any leftover parts.

Bravo, Howie, bravo!

It seemed pretty solid to me, but this is the first one I ever owned. It had a huge amount of grease inside the housing. Mine is rated at 325 watts. I know there are models with both higher and lower power ratings. In the future, I will use wetter doughs and reasonable size batches.

Thanks for the post, Howie. It's good to know that these KAs(when they fail, which they will eventually do) can actually be repaired rather than tossed in the landfill or down the sinkhole.

The entire dis-assembly required removing 18 screws and punching out 2 shaft pins. One of my sons is a mechanic and has a set of punches for the pins, which made it easier.

I've had that same exact experience with stuck/broken fishing reels.

Look up the solution on youtube then buy parts for dirt cheap on ebay.

Excellent use of technology to fix something that might cost significantly more otherwise.

Nice work!!

[Jenise]

Just read your report to my husband, Howie, in case ours should ever need repair. Thankfully, though, I've had no issues in the 25 years I've owned mine but for problems with the meat grinder attachment which put metal shavings into the meat. I called Kitchen Aid's customer service department on that, and though they didn't seem to be familiar with the problem, they neither asked how long I'd owned it nor asked for proof of purchase, they just sent me a new one gratis. Couldn't have been more impressed.

We've had one for over 40 years and it has run without a hiccup, at least four times a week.

Mine is over 30 years old but I only use it 3-4 times per month on average.

We were trying to figure out how old the one we have is. My wife bought it sometime prior to 1990, but she wasn't sure exactly when. I was very interested in Howie's post because we've had some odd noises from it lately. These noises come and go but they sound a bit like a grinding gear, so it's possible we'll be replacing our worm gear one of these days.

I have read that those gears are purposely made from softer material and are intended to be sacrificial and give out so that more expensive bits don't wear or break instead.

The pro versions use steel gears and they will last longer - I think Jenise may have that model.

I'll be careful not to over tax mine!

I have read that those gears are purposely made from softer material and are intended to be sacrificial and give out so that more expensive bits don't wear or break instead...

Yes. I should have pointed out the worm gear is made of some sort of rigid plastic, whereas all the other gears are steel.