Leaking oil into mixing bowl - KitchenAid KSM150PS Artisan Series Stand Mixer

There is a leaking gasket. The OIL is from the Grease applied to the gears. It may have somewhat turned a portion of lube to a liquid state due to heat within the motor housing during use. The OIL as you put it, could also leak out from the port where you insert the beaters. If so there is also a set of seals to prevent that from happening, and if they are worn or damaged, leaking can occur. This unit needs a professional serviceman to fix the problem.

Answer was issued already!

Kitchenaid says to run the machine on 'high' long enough to heat the gearbox well and then turn the machine upside down and let it cool.

What happens is when you don't use your mixer a lot the grease in the gearbox will separate into oil and thicker grease. Warming it and turning it upside down is supposed to mix all the grease together again and allow it to flow to the top of the gearbox.

Give it a try, check back if you get no satisfaction and we'll get you started on changing your grease.

lp

It can be that the lubrication oil that was meant for the gear drives loosened off and flowed out. You can use a good wipe of the excess that have flown out, wash off with light oil and clean dry on the drive.
Occasionally you can check this to repeat the oiling and dry wiping so as to keep the top mechanism lubricated without total drying.

Hi,

It sounds like the Planetary Gear assy. has gear lubricant leaking into it from the gear case above it. This may not be that unusual so there may be 2 possibilities or a combination of both. The Gear Case is directly above the Planetary Gear assy. It is filled (sort of) with a food grade (assuming...I hope) grease that is necessary to keep things lubed. There are fiber washers and possibly an o-ring in the shaft assembly which should keep the grease from migrating toward your food. The Planetary Gear assy. is the part that rotates around on the business end of the mixer. It has a bronze bearing that is intended to run without lubrication. However it is a wear point and if worn sufficiently, could allow escape lubricant from the gear case above to drip into your mix. The Kitchen Aid Service Manual is a good source of info. You can get it as well as complete diagrams of the internal parts at:
http://www.goodmans.net/get_item_ka-4162075_kitchenaid-mixer-4162075-planetary.htm

You can also get parts and the KitchenAid Service Manual.pdf at:
http://www.mendingshed.com/kitaidparts.html

I know if it was my mixer, I'd give it a look. They're good tools and worth the effort!

Good luck.

DZII

Sounds like a combination of two issues.

1. In all likelyhood, the viscosity of the lubricant in the main transmission of your mixer has broken down and is now oil rather than the grease it once was.

2. The seal on the main transmission shaft is worn and the "oil" is leaking past it, resulting in drops of oil forming on the bolt head at the bottom of your planetary and dripping into your bowl.

Draining and replacing the lube and seal is a rather involved repair. To do it properly, complete transmission disassembly is required.

If it was my pizza business and there's just a drop of oil here and there ( 1-3 drops in the bottom of bowl in the morning ) I'd let it ride, keep wiping the oil away prior to mixing a batch and budget (apprx $500-$600 ) for a proper repair as it becomes worse over time. Unfortunately, it won't get better.

I'll add.

It's been my experience that D300's and pizza dough don't play well together. Be certain to calculate the weight of all your ingredients and then consult the capacity chart found here. http://www.kroslakbakeryequipment.com/pdfz/HOBD300.pdf

Stay within the guidelines and you should be fine...however your batches will be rather small.

Hope this is of some use.

it is hard to tell you exactly what it could be, but a common problem is after a while the transmission gasket does deteriorate and will begin to leak oil.the gasket is part number4162324. the rattling noise inside your unit is most likely cause by a chipped gear inside, this can happen when the unit is put under heavy loads, such as dough. this problem could get worse as there may be fragments inside that will damage it more.hope this helps

Thanks

Yes this is probably a oil leak. it can come from two possible location one of which can come from the transmission gasket that goes around the mixers center seem, if this is broken, worn or improperly seated it will need replacement. part number for the transmission gasket is 4162324. another possible location is around the cirrcular mixing gear at the front of the machine. if the seal inside the unit are damaged or worn this can cause oil to leak striaght down into the very food you are preparing. part number for the seals are 3180163. there are 4 of them, and they would require taking apart the whole unit. hope this helps.

Thanks

The "wobbling" sounds like an issue of beater to bowl adjustment, which can come out of alignment naturally over time and with use of the machine.

If the flat beater is striking the bottom of your bowl, this may cause the locking mechanism to loosen and may cause the mixing head to "bounce" during use.

Your Use and Care Guide will cover the "beater to bowl adjustment," which you can do at home in a few minutes with a flathead screwdriver.

Also, leaking of oil in a stand mixer is not necessarily indicative of a large problem.

Kitchenaid stand mixers are overpacked with oil to last the lifetime of the motor. If the motor sits idle for some time (is not used), the oil may begin to drip from the gears and settle. Oil leakage may primarily be seen from around the beater shaft or planetary action.

A stand mixer can lose up to a 1/4 cup of oil before it needs to be serviced.

It is recommended to run the mixer on speed 10 for 2 minutes in order to redistribute oil back into the motor. In order to prevent future occurences, this is recommended to be done every 3 weeks if mixer is not being used.

I found a solution at kitchenaid.com. It says the bowl locks in the same direction as the rotating mixer moves, so slap the bowl with your hand a few times in the opposite direction, and then take vegetable oil and using a cotton swab line the groove of the bowl. Let it soak a bit, and then slap the bowl again and push it hard counterclockwise.