My mixer is leaking oil. last time we made bread dough in it it sounded kind of rough. we figured wiyh the heavy load maybe that was the rteason for the noise. when we moved the mixer to clean it, there was a little about a 2by 2 inch square of oil on the countertop. what can we do to fix this problem?

Let it completely cool and then start again. It overheated because your speed was set too low for the heaviness of the dough. I have burned up three kitchenaid stand mixers so far making bread. go up one setting at least; if it is straining, go up another.

Hello Veelec,

As the machine is mixing dough it seems that it is getting sluggish. This is caused by the machine being over loaded. Although it is a 30 qt mixer that is for liquid filled capacity. I do not know what kind of dough you are mixing so I will give you a light to medium dough and then the heavy dough capacity. Also on this machine all dough should be mixed in speed 1 or low to keep from damaging the machine.

You will need to know the Absorption Rate (AR) of you dough, to find this you take the weight of the water divide the weight of the water and multiply by 100.

AR = Water Weight / Flour Weight x 100%

The higher the percent the higher the capacity the lower the percent the lower the capacity. Also the temperature of the water will have to be considered as the colder the water the harder the dough it is to mix the dough the batch should be reduced by 15% to 20% for water temperature between 65-75 degrees.

For a Light to Medium dough with a 60% AR the unit capacity is 45 pounds in first speed.
For a Heavy dough at 55% the units capacity is 30 pounds in first speed.

The above capacities are for bread doughs, if you are doing pizza dough, dough nut dough or wheat dough please post back to this thread and I will help you to find the capacities.

I hope that I have helped you with your problem and would like to thank you for using FixYa to find a solution to your problem.

Its worth fixing but having someone who specializes in your product is the key, these machines are wonderful products and engineered great. I would say if your mechanically inclined jump on inside the machine and see whats going on, but if your NOT send unit to us USPS it's not that expensive plus you would only have to pay oneway, we will take care of the shipping from our side,,estimated cost $29.00-$49.00

This is not a solution but I think you have a serious problem you might have sheared some gear teeth whent the mixer jammed and it only manifests itself under a heavy load, I would take it to a repair guy, those mixers are expensive and it would be worth it.

I dont know much about them but If you cannot get it repaired I do have a lift bowl stand mixer that I bought without the bowl or attachments that I would sell for $80.00 Or I will buy your attachments. Thanks, Mark.

Hi. Congratulations for researching mixers. I wish I had before I bought my Kitchenaid HD Pro. All mixer manufacturers over-rate their products. Goto www.consumeraffairs.com and do a search for each mixer you are considering. Most mixer failures are caused by mixing heavy cookie or bread doughs. Although manufacturers claim that their mixers can easily handle these doughs...They cannot! My Kitchenaid self-destructed after 30 batches of bread dough. "For the way it's made"! Indeed! I solved my problem by buying a Hobart N50 mixer. It's a 5qt. and handles anything I throw into the bowl. I bought mine used, and refurbished it myself. New these units cost $2,035.00 USD.

If this solution has assisted you, please rate it. Good luck! ricardok45.

Hi Susan. There is no worse feeling than the feeling you get when you find that you've been seperated from your hard-earned money by a company that markets a product with glowing phrases of what their product can do...And then doesn't deliver on it's promises. Kitchenaid mixers can make short work of bread dough NOT! My Kitchenaid HD Pro (475 watts) self destructed after only 30 uses of making my Sourdough Bread. The problem? A cheap piece of plastic that takes the stresses of two important shafts in the mixer. Cheap, shoddy parts in a mixer you paid top dollar for. Kitchenaid shows no shame in doing so.

What is happening with your mixer as it tries to mix your dough is that the head unit is thrust back and forth and side to side (bucking). Eventually hinges become loose and sloppy. Kitchenaid's behaviour is legal and beyond reproach, so make your next mixer purchase an informed one.

Goto www.consumeraffairs.com and do a search for your Kitchenaid model. You'll notice that you're not alone in your mixer troubles.

I solved my mixer problems by buying a used Hobart 20qt. Commercial mixer (A200) and rebuilt it. When mixing heavy dough you should only use about 60% of the bowl capacity. less, if your mixer is agonizing with the amount of food in the bowl..

You will be able to replace the thumb screw. Be prepared to wait for at least a month for the part to arrive once ordered.

If this solution has assisted you, please rate it. Good luck! ricardok45

Hi. Remove the top cover and look for the plastic transmission housing, it's toward the front of the machine. Look for cracks in this housing. If the housing is cracked, remove it and look for further damage to the worm gear assembly and the bearings and bearing seats that support them. You'll have to remove some of the grease to inspect the parts. If you're lucky, only the trans. housing will need replacement. If, like me, you're not so lucky, you may have to replace the housing, wormgear assembly, bearings and re-work the bearing seats so that the new bearings fit properly. Although Kitchenaid advertises that their mixers can easily handle bread dough, the truth is...They can't. This scenario happened to me and I had to replace all of the above. Be prepared to wait a month or more before your parts arrive. Specify that you want the METAL trans. housing. I'm still waiting (6 wks.), for a single bearing. If this solution works for you, please rate my solution. Good Luck! ricardok45

Does the mixer work in any other speeds?Are you mixing pizza dough and in what speed?I service these mixers alot--i work for hobart.It sounds to me like you have a sheared key on one of the shafts.The mixer doesnt have a clutch.