How to Troubleshoot & Replace Whirlpool AP6013684 / WP9703445 Stand Mixer Worm Gear Thrust Bearing

This time I replaced the front and rear bearings and thrust bearing and all the gears. The hardest part is thoroughly cleaning out all the old grease. After re-greasing and assembly mixer ran like new. I wish a more robust worm gear was available. A snap ring plier is a must for this job. 

I make a lot of bread doughs with my KitchenAid mixer, and it's used 2-3 times a week for large batches of dough. The gears began slipping, and I decided to take the mixer apart, and replace the worn gears. Replacing the transmission housings plastic cover, with the newer metal one will probably result in me not having to repeat this process, as the plastic one broke at the screw holes under pressure. I also replaced the worm gear, and the sleeve bearings. 

My brother saw the parts on the counter when they came for dinner. Well that was it, he loves doing that kind of stuff so I said go for it. It was a Kitchen Aid professional mixer, it took him about 30 minutes to complete Works great was a lot easier then I thought it would be. 

Watched videos available on APP's website, then ordered all necessary parts. Once parts arrived, just followed the videos again, step-by-step, to repair the mixer. I am NOT a "handyman", but with APP as my resource, I did it. Mixer running great now. 

I've had my Kitchenaid Professional 6 for some time and eventually, the planetay head detached and fell off. Along with ordering a replacement, I ordered replacement gears as well, just to make sure everything was good. Sure enough, after removing the gear cover, some of them had damage. The entire process to replace the planetary and gears was simple. The only time consuming part was cleaning out all the old grease before re-assembly and greasing all the new gears. Also grease leaked past the old gasket into the body, so I had to clean that up as well. The only tool I had to purchase was some snap ring pliers, which I found a pair for $5 at a local hardware store. So again, besides dealing with the grease, it was quick and painless. 

Tore down transmission gear case of my Kitchenaid Professional 600 stand mixer and replaced worn components to include front and rear sleeve bearing, worm gear thrust bearing, worm follower gear, drive shaft retaining clip, center shaft o-ring, and dowl pin. Additionally, replaced black plastic transmission housing with metal one and new gasket, replaced entire planetary assembly, and repacked transmission with OEM food grade grease. After tear down, but before rebuild, l cleaned all components completely of all old gear grease including leakage in stand mixer itself. Note: Kitchenaid has not made an engineering change to the driveshaft/planetary assembly. The drive shaft is tension fit to the planetary. Over time and use, this tension is lost and the planetary plate slips down and eventually off the drive shaft. So, this repair will need to be completed again sometime in the future. I would have rated this experience 5 stars had this been corrected. 

Opened the mixer and found which parts were bad and needed. Found your site via google. Found the needed parts on your site. Ordered parts and installed them. Wife happy. end of story. 

I had reassembled my 12 year old mixer after replacing the pinion gear and lower gear housing. When I tested the mixer, there was a rhythmic clicking noise. Upon closer examination, the worm gear showed wear. I ordered the thrust bearing and worm gear bearing because this assembly seemed loose in the housing when turning the motor by hand and the parts seemed worn. Once I replaced the front, rear and thrust bearing, I found that the main gear was still trying to bounce out of the housing. When turning the motor by hand, I found a spot where movement was "rough". I disassembled for the umpteenth time, and flossed between the teeth of the fine toothed gear. There was the tiniest of metal pieces stuck between two of the teeth. This was causing the bounce of the gear and a clicking noise when the mixer was running. Now the bounce is gone and the noise is gone as well. Success! 

Unplug mixer. Took off the top of the mixer (5 screws). Removed 2 screws from gear mechanism. Took off housing of gears. Removed Worm Gear and replaced. Easy job. Mixer fixed. Happy wife :) 

Replaced gears