Grease in the Kitchen: The KitchenAid Rebuild

"benjrblant" (benjblant) 01/03/2018 at 17:51 • Filed to: None

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Rebuild might be a bit of a stretch. Maybe gearbox refresh?

KitchenAid makes a mean mixer. It’s been a staple in American homes for decades and it’s easy to understand why. They’re incredibly useful, versatile, and generally well built. However, they really skimped on the grease. It seems that KA uses just about whatever cheap axle grease they can find and it inevitably separates over time, weeping oil (not the edible kind) all over the machine. I set out to pull ours apart and remedy the situation exemplified by our 4 year old machine.

This is how it appeared after pulling the “head” or the top part containing the motor and switch. The grease was getting quite firm and honestly, 80% of it wasn’t doing anything. It had clumped together out of the way of moving parts, not lubricating anything. It wasn’t all that greasy and slick anymore.

Inside the “head.” The worm gear motor output and the pinion gear that drives the square accessory output shaft.

All in all, not too many parts. The job required a #1 square drive bit, a #2 Philips driver, a flatheat for prying, a 1/8" pin punch, and a small hammer.

Lots and lots of sintered bushings could be found. Just fine for a grease bath application, if the grease is doing its job. The die cast aluminum housings were very tidy and looked great.

Fresh grease applied. Nice and goopy. I realized halfway into the job that the only lubricant on hand was Valvoline Paladium 2% Moly. Super goopy, super slippery, and that molybdenum does wonders for moving parts. Overkill, but hey!

Looks kinda nekked without the trim.

And we’re back! Good to go. The whole job took about an hour. I really enjoy this kind of work- rebuild/reconditioning and refurbishment type stuff so time wasn’t really a concern. Plus, I’m off this week.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > benjrblant 01/03/2018 at 18:11

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This is so Oppo

Brickman > benjrblant 01/03/2018 at 18:19

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Love rebuilds of anything! Keep it up :D

Love that color. Reminds me of a 50's chevy.

xyzabc > benjrblant 01/03/2018 at 18:20

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James May would be very proud...proud indeed.

AkursedX > benjrblant 01/03/2018 at 18:28

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Looks easy enough. I’m gonna give this a go on my wife’s mixer. She loves to bake so it get heavy use. Im sure it’ll appreciate some new grease.

HammerheadFistpunch > benjrblant 01/03/2018 at 18:31

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putting that moly to good use.

vicali > benjrblant 01/03/2018 at 18:32

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Should’ve put a locking diff in while you had it open..

benjrblant > vicali 01/03/2018 at 18:34

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Hmm... not too late.

benjrblant > HammerheadFistpunch 01/03/2018 at 18:35

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Birfield tested, kitchen approved.

TheRevanchist > benjrblant 01/03/2018 at 18:48

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The grease they use in those mixers are food grade. I’m not sure it will make a difference, except when the grease starts to separate over many years and drips down into the food bowl.

cmill189 - sans Volvo > benjrblant 01/03/2018 at 18:49

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Now I’m very curious about the state of things inside the Kitchen Aid mixer belonging to my partner. She received it from her grandmother years ago and it’s been in regular use since the 70's.

benjrblant > TheRevanchist 01/03/2018 at 18:50

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The thought to use food grade grease had crossed my mind but as you said, probably not a big deal unless its dripping into the bowl.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > TheRevanchist 01/03/2018 at 18:59

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In a similar but unrelated vein, we used to repair and rebuild hydraulic components from a tortilla factory back when I was a hydraulic mechanic. They ran their hydraulic systems on vegetable oil. It was not a great lubricant for pumps and motors, but it didn’t pose a contamination risk when a tortilla press started leaking.

Steve in Manhattan > benjrblant 01/03/2018 at 19:16

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My KItchenAid food processor is bulletproof - the one I had before that still does duty in a friend’s apartment. But I am on appliance probation - it’s a small apartment so I am not allowed a stand mixer.

Dammit.

jimz > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 01/03/2018 at 19:17

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did the oil need regular changing to keep from going rancid?

jimz > cmill189 - sans Volvo 01/03/2018 at 19:19

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older ones will last forever with basic care and maintenance. these use a series-wound universal motor, so the commutator brushes are probably the most rapidly wearing item.

benjrblant > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 01/03/2018 at 19:23

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That’s kinda cool. I know that Husqvarna’s chainsaw bar oil is vegetable based to have less environmental impact. But then it’s on a two-stroke engine, so eh.

benjrblant > cmill189 - sans Volvo 01/03/2018 at 19:25

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I’d imagine the brushes could be inspected or replaced. I did notice that the drive gear that meshes with the motor’s worm gear on this model is plastic- possibly delrin. Wondering if your partner’s is old enough to have a more robust all-metal gearbox.

benjrblant > AkursedX 01/03/2018 at 19:26

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There’s some discussion of using foodsafe grease. Might consider it or be extra careful about gearbox oils if it leaks again.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > jimz 01/03/2018 at 19:54

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That’s a good question. I have no idea how often they changed it.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > benjrblant 01/03/2018 at 21:18

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I managed to strip a gear in ours. Too much use with the dough hook, I guess. It was a similar teardown/repair/rebuild.

MINIGTI > benjrblant 01/03/2018 at 22:55

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I took one of those apart once that was quite noisy. I think I just stirred up the grease a bit and reapplied it to the gears. It seemed like there was grease everywhere except the moving parts. Been fine ever since.