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Horbart Kitcheaid K5SS need to replace Worm Gear - Metal or Plastic?

hotrod123's picture
hotrod123

Horbart Kitcheaid K5SS need to replace Worm Gear - Metal or Plastic?

Hello, I recently purchased 2 Hobart era kitchenaid Mixers.  One is a K45SS and the other is a K5SS.  I wasn't sure which one I wanted so I bought them both on ebay.  I dismantled them both to clean and regrease them and noticed that the K5SS has a newer worm gear (gray plastic).  I want to keep the lift stand mixer so I'm trying to decide if I should swap out the metal gear in the K45SS and put it in the K5SS.   Would you change it to metal.  I wanted to buy a metal worm gear so that both units would have all metal gears but after searching for a while all I can find are the yellow plastic ones that KA sells now. 

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

Zoologuy's picture
Zoologuy

If it were my old KA I would leave the nylon gear in place. In fact I recently did that when replacing a broken ring gear in my Hobart-built K5-a. T. he nylon gear is meant to function like a fuse in an electrical system: an overload (super stiff dough) will chew up the relatively inexpensive nylon worm gear instead of burning up the pricier motor. If you've already thought of this and have committed to mixing only softer, well-hydrated doughs, I admire your trust that others will treat your KA with similar deference.

hotrod123's picture
hotrod123

I just don't want to have to replace the nylon gear if it gets chewed up too easy.  My units are both hobart KA's    I don't plan on making stiff dough but might occasionally and I'm afraid the nylon gear will get chewed up too easily.   I would think the old hobart units were made with higher tolerances becasue they could handle higher torq than the newer KA models (I might be wrong).  I've looked everywhere online and just can't find a used metal worm gear.  I might take out the metal gear from the K45SS since it's only 250 watts and replace it with a new nylon gear and then try using the K5SS with the nylon gear that is in it now.  If the K5SS works under a resonable amount of work load making stiff dough, great but if the gear fails too easily, I can always insert the metal gear from the K45SS.

hotrod123's picture
hotrod123

I just opened the k45ss and found it also has a plastic worm gear (I thought it was metal)  I called a few KA service centers and they all said that all the old Hobart KA mixers had this gray plastic fiber gear so it appears that was how they were made.  No wonder I couldn't find a used metal gear on the world wide internet for a 4.5 or 5 quart mixer.

Thanks