KitchenAid Classic Mixer K45SSWH Worm Gear Replacement

Written By: Chris Grant
  • Comments: 73
KitchenAid Classic Mixer K45SSWH Worm Gear Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

13

Time Required

25 - 30 minutes

Introduction

If your mixer won't spin or is noisy, follow our guide on how to replace the worm gear.

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    • Using a spudger, gently pry off the aluminum drip ring.

    Unplug the Mixer.

    Mike Reckner -

    Good call! Nobody likes digital trauma

    David Brand -

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    • Using a 4 mm pin punch and hammer, hammer the pin until it is dislodged from the planetary gear cover.

    This should be a 5/32 inch or 4mm punch.

    Patrick Hailstone -

    For mine it is so stiff and I cant put out the pin with hammer

    Omid -

    The pin is not moving: is there any other way of removing it or completing the job without removing it?

    ollver -

    My pin is stuck too, are there any other ways?

    Nabil Baker -

    Can the pin be hammered from either side. It won’t budge

    Sally Stier -

    Just keep at it, mine didn’t budge for a while

    Robert Chauharjasingh -

    No way. I ‘ve tried for an hour and it didn’t move at all. But I ‘ve found a solution. I drilled it out. First with 2mm then with a 3mm drill. Then I could easily remove it. The replace part is a 4mm x ~22.5mm grooved pin (half-length-center-grooved; ISO 8743).

    Zwiebeljack -

    Mine was also stubborn. I laid the machine on the side and sprayed WD-40 in the pin several times. Waited 30 min and then it came out easy.

    Petter Hellevik -

    If you need to buy a pin punch set, get ones with knurled handles (crosshatching of the metal) which are much easier to hold onto. I had to try one side then the other and WD-40 to get it out. Also figure out to how to position the mixer and what lean your hand agains while holding the pin to keep it steady so you can make multiple, accurate strikes.

    When re assembling, when it came to aligning everything, i found using a small pin punch to poke all the way through helped. Then i started in on hammering the pin back in.

    Linda Przybyszewski -

    Can’t get it back in when reassembling. Any ideas?

    Michael Rosman -

    Stick with it guys. You need to hit it harder than you’d think. I actually used a 1.2mm tool steel rood do more energy was transferred from hammer to the pin. Took me about 5 min of much harder hits than I thought needed but once it starts to move it comes out easy. 😄

    Cam S -

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    • Using a spudger, pry the planetary gear cover from the mixer shaft.

    My spudger must have been cheap, it bent, so i wrapped a flat sided screwdriver in a rag instead.

    when reassembling, the alignment can look and feel almost be correct but the shaft wont come out far enough to let you out the pin back in, i needed to take off twice and then it slid in perfectly and everything in the rotation moved much more easily

    Linda Przybyszewski -

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    • Using a flathead screwdriver, remove the five 28 mm front motor housing screws.

    • Using the same flathead screwdriver, remove the two 28 mm locking screws.

    • One of the locking screws contains a safety locking mechanism. Do not interchange these screws with the front motor housing screws.

    Hier Werder mittlerweile Vierkantschrauben in 3/32 Zoll verbaut. Wie bekomme ich die auf?

    Chris -

    Classic Plus uses a square-drive screw. You’ll need #1 size.

    Robert Kyle -

    How do I know which one of the locking screws contains a safety locking mechanism?

    Droopy Dog -

    i need this screws but i don't know what you call and what size?

    angel carmona fuentes -

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robertson_...
    3/32 inch is called "#1"

    I bought "Wera 05056478001"

    Bellistor -

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    • Turn your device around. Using the same flathead screwdriver, remove the two 28 mm rear locking screws.

    • One of the rear motor housing screws contains a safety locking mechanism. Do not interchange these screws with the front motor housing screws.

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    • Using a Phillips #2 screwdriver, remove the 10 mm screw from top of back cover.

    • The rear cover is now completely free from the mixer.

    When I removed this, 2 nuts were in there lose. I cannot tell where they came from.

    Nila Tae -

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    • Carefully pull the power cord from the notch in back of the mixer.

    • The motor housing cover is now completely free from the base of the mixer.

    For the KSM90BU model, take a set of needlenose pliers and carefully rotate the plastic clip 90 degrees, then pull the cord out of the notch.

    Charles Lester -

    Had a switch issue where the OFF position was not working. Only required adjusting the gapping with the top, spring loaded screws inside this back. Trying to post highlighted photo.

    Roger -

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    • Lift the motor housing cover from the mixer base.

    • Be sure to place the cover upside-down to prevent grease from leaking out.

    Und wie komme ich nun an den Motor zur Reinigung des Unterbrechers?

    Arbeitsgruppe Dialog -

    ich habw eine 5KSM150, leider lässst sich die Motorabdeckung nicht entfernen, alle vorhergehenden Schritte wurden wie beschrieben erledigt

    kann hier jemand helfen?

    Marius Quaschinski -

    Hi all, for your information: I also have the model 5ksm150 and managed to remove the top of the machine with a lot of effort, wiggling back and forth until it came out. That worked after about 10-15 min :-) Now the good mixer works again!

    Francois -

    Any tips for doing this? It’s very stuck!

    Marina Juarez -

    I cannot remove the housing cover… it is stuck. Any tips?

    Marina Juarez -

    Don’t forget to clean ALL the old lubricant out. Don’t leave any as can contaminate the fresh lube. I recommend rectorseal food-grade anti-seize & lubricant. Happy mixing!

    Cam S -

    How much lubricant should be in the the motor, there is a large amt amt everywhere

    Elizabeth Willett -

    How much grease is normal, I have thick great everywhere

    Elizabeth Willett -

    See KitchenAid Classic Mixer K45SSWH Worm Gear Replacement, step 9. It's really rather thick.

    VauWeh -

    Use a wide flat head screwdriver or stronger special plastic tools (a spudger is too weak) to lift the housing cover carefully. There are several slits between base and cover e.g. the ones left and right where the speed/tilt levers are. Do not do this in the round-shaped front area since there is a (black) sealing (see pictures) you may hurt.

    Bellistor -

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    • Using a butter knife or putty knife, remove the grease from the gears.

    • Place the grease in motor housing cover.

    Gib das Fett AUF KEINEN FALL in das Motorgehäuse zurück. Die KA ist werkseitig mit mit einem Fett befüllt, welches schnell altert und sich in teilweise verflüssigt. Auch bei dieser Maschine ist zu sehen, dass es bereits an der Dichtung vorbei austritt. Wer sich schon die Mühe dieser Reparatur macht, sollte die Gelegenheit nutzen, auch das Fett zu tauschen. Es sollte ein verseiftes Fett der NLGI Klasse 2 sein. Sehr vorsichtige Menschen können ein lebensmittelechtes verwenden.

    Marc Malkwitz -

    Il ne faut pas changer la graisse aussi? Comment savoir si la graisse est correcte ou trop vieille? Disons que ça fait 15 ans que j’ai mon mélangeur..ou que je l’ouvre et il y a moins de graisse..

    Laura Dee -

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    • Using a Phillips #2 screwdriver, remove the three 20 mm screws from the worm gear tower.

    • The worm gear tower assembly is now free from the mixer base.

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    • Using a pin punch and a hammer, remove the roll pin.

    this did not work for me. I could not remove that splint, whatever I tried. In the end the splint was damaged and I could not continue. Had to bring my Kitchen Aid to a professional service. Sorry guys, the description is fine until that point, but this one step does absolutely not work.

    udoschwartz -

    I used a 1/16th inch pin punch, i think the hard thing is positioning the piece so you can strike accurately

    Linda Przybyszewski -

    1/16 is too thin. You’ll need 3/32 size. Home Depot has 3 pc. short pin punch set (1/16 3/32 1/8) Mayhew brand that works

    Marcin Grodzki -

    In my case this missing pin was the reason for the malfunction

    Christian -

    None of my pin punches did fit so I grabbed the splint with pliers (Kombizange...) - easy

    Bellistor -

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    • Slide the tower gear out to access the worm gear.

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    • Remove the worm gear from the tower.

    Helpful pictures

    Dawn -

    This also works for the KSM90BU model

    Charles Lester -

    Excellent instructions!! Pictures were very helpful. A total novice and I fixed my mixer in 35 minutes. Thanks!!

    Jo Hasselman -

    There are washers either side of the worm gear. Mine were covered in grease and stuck to the old worm gear and very easy to miss, so don’t throw them out!

    drteeth -

    Too bad I read the previous comment a bit too late ;-) Did all the work twice

    Bellistor -

    Come al solito un ottimo risultato

    Emilio De Cesaris -

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Chris Grant

Member since: 07/10/14

1861 Reputation

28 comments

Some corrections:

Step 1 -- Suggest (as the Service Manual does) using a flat-blade screwdriver and tap it with a light hammer to drive the drip ring off.

Step 2 -- the correct size pin punch is 5/32"

Step 3 -- Using two flat-blade screwdrivers, one on each side, pry off the planetary.

A plastic spudger is likely to break. Two points of leverage opposits each other distributes the load and prevents to the planetary and its shaft.

Step 11 -- The proper punch size is 3/32"

Steps 12 & 13 -- There is a washer on each side of the worm gear. Retain these and place one on each side off the grar when reassembling.

A link to the Service Manual:

http://www.kitchenaidparts.eu/documents/...

Finkerbell -

Cheers Finkerbell,

Very helpful info, as was the main part of the guide.

Not sure what model number I was working on, but when I l lifted off the motor housing, there was still wires connected to the base.

Just be careful at this stage in case you have the same...

markguerin -

my model K5SS WH is the same as yours until step 5. It doesnt have the two bolts as shown in the picture for step 5 so i wasnt able to complete the repair. any suggestions.

sailsetter -

Wow! Lovely guide to easy maintenance, no plenty stories

Dennis -

This is the BEST! Thank you.

Advanamics -

is there any chance of using stronger gears as replacement parts?

rslaughter65 -

You shouldn’t want to, this plastic gear serves as a kind of mechanical fuse to protect the motor from failure. If the system is overloaded (or worse freezes to a stop) the gear will shear off protecting the motor from overload. This part was not designed as “planned obsolescence” as the rumor states but was actually a safety feature as an easily accessible and cheap plastic gear is a much better replacement than a motor.

PedroDaGr8 -

I can't punch the pin out. Any ideas?

Denise Olson -

Denise,

I had the same problem.  Knocking the pin out looks so easy in the videos, but was not so in my case.  I put the mixer on the floor and butted the side up against a wall, with a towel for padding between the mixer and the baseboard.  Another option would be to lay the mixer on its side on a board and a towel for padding.  The idea is to keep the mixer from moving when driving out the pin.  You may also try applying some WD-40 to each side of the pin.  I used a large nailset, which slipped less than the punch, and just kept tapping on the pin.   I used more force each time until the pin started to move, and then maintained that force until the pin was out.  Driving the pin back in was equally as difficult.  I added some grease to the pin when reinstalling, but I am not certain that it helped any.  Good luck!

Craig -

FYI - The motor would hum on my mixer, but the mixer would not spin. I followed this guide under the impression that the gear was trashed, but upon disassembly found that the gear was in good shape.  It turned out that gear at the front of the blender that powers attachments was stuck.  With the mixer still disassembled,  I removed the front cover (the chrome piece at the front end), and used a punch to drive the gear back into the blender so it could be removed.  Simply cleaning gunk off of the gear shaft and the bearing with steel wool, applying some light grease, and reassembling, fixed this mixer.

Craig -

RE: Introduction : This may be terribly obvious/nit picky, but you might need the replacement part before doing this. Saying you need no parts seems pretty silly. Other than that these directions are very useful/good.

maineuropa -

I had expected to see a toothless plastic gear in the grease, but alas, what I did find was the small metal tower gear was missing more than half of its teeth! The plastic gear appears intact. I was able to find 3 of the teeth in the housing, but I fear the other 3 or 4 are lost in the grease blob, so I will have to purge the whole mess and start over. The larger main gear might also be damaged; I haven’t gotten that cleaned up yet, but all its teeth are present. Beware old crystalized brown sugar lumps!

Tim Fowlks -

The disassembly instructions are quite good, by the way. Thanks a bunch!

Tim Fowlks -

Buy a better mixer next time that doesn’t use a cheap gear, don’t catch KitchenAid’s

Terry Vanderpuke -

Any recommendations for the type of gear lube?

nshourds -

Just found it: KitchenAid recommends using any food grade lubricant to grease the gearing. Such as this one: https://www.amazon.com/Grade-Grease-Kitc...

nshourds -

Works for 5KPM5EWH too! Thanks!

Felix Büchler -

For those having trouble with the pin here’s a workaround:

Skip steps 2 & 3. In step 4 you should be able to loosen the screws quite a bit before they hit the top of the planetary gear cover. Proceed through step 7 and now you should be able to wiggle/pry the top up until the front screws reach their limit, at which point you can continue to remove them completely.

Dan Jabbour -

hello I got to the point of removing the roll pin in the worm gear and can not get the roll pin to punch out any suggestions…on specific tool I can use my punch did not work and seems to be flattening the rol pin

Lisa A Hypnar -

To remove pin on the worm gear, start with a tapered punch. Brace the tower on a firm board. I clamped the gear very very lightly with vice grips to maintain a vertical alignment. It was not easy. Once the pin moves 1/8”, switch to a regular punch. Before the pin is fully extracted. Rotate 90 deg and finish punching it out. To reuse the pin, I filed the pin deformities carefully, lubed and pressed in with channel locks.

But…save time, buy the whole tower.

C Bosworth -

Bitte nicht das alte Fett wieder verwenden! Die Kitchen Aid ist werkseitig mit mit einem Fett befüllt, welches schnell altert und sich teilweise verflüssigt. Auch bei dieser Maschine ist zu sehen, dass es bereits an der Dichtung vorbei austritt. Wer sich die Mühe dieser Reparatur macht, sollte die Gelegenheit nutzen, auch das Fett zu tauschen! Es kann jedes verseifte Schmierfett der NLGI Klasse 2 verwendet werden. Sehr vorsichtige Menschen können lebensmittelechtes Schmierfett verwenden.

Please do not reuse the old grease! The KitchenAir is factory-filled with a grease that ages quickly and tends to liquefy. The photos here show, how grease leaks past the seal. Once you do the effort of this repair, take the opportunity to change the grease! Any NLGI class 2 saponified grease will do. Very careful people can use food grade grease.

Marc Malkwitz -

I have the KSM150 model and I have different screws to remove. They are square, do you know which tool I need to use?

Thank you!

Pietro Zappia -

I am having difficulty reinstalling the motor head. I have the motor and worm gear meshed but not the accessory option gear.

C Bosworth -

Das ist eine super Anleitung, hab meine geliebte Kitchenaid damit in kurzer Zeit wieder gesund gemacht :-) Vielen herzlichen Dank!

Marie -

Excellent tutorial! Thank you very much.

Léo Hauser -

Sooo much grease!

nshourds -

Pour moi une vidéo serait plus pratique. Des fois c’est nécessaire savoir combien de force il faut mettre pour taper, forcer un item du reste pour le faire sortir sans rien endommager. J’ai besoin de voir l’action. Il y a pleins de vidéo sur YouTube. Ça serait une idée de les lier?

Laura Dee -

I replaced the worm gear after cleaning out all the old grease . Then I re-greased all the gears and shafts . When I put it all back together and turned it on it still makes the same hideous grinding noise as before . None of the gears looked bad or were missing teeth including the original worm gear . It seems to run okay but the noise is really BAD ! What the heck am I missing here ?

Kenneth C. Adams -