KUCS02FRPA0 KitchenAid Trash Compactor - Instructions

changed out the big gear that was broken

Compactor ram was stuck in the down position after hearing a loud bang during a compacting cycle. Removed outer compactor casing to determine cause, only to find gear housing underneath the compactor that contained drive chain and gear assembly. Primary gear had split neatly in half. Determined the appropriate part needed with partselect part finder (of course, an entire kit, and not just the gear), had part shipped and had compactor repaired in three days. The actual repair and reassembly of the compactor took less than a half-hour. Consisted of removing chain tension from gear hub by loosening four sheet metal screws holding motor assembly, removing circlip and old gear hub from chain and shaft, replacing gear hub with new part, lubricating the gear mechanism, and reinstalling in reverse order.

I had replaced the actuator lever several times before and was very happy to see that they finally fixed an obvious design flaw. The installation of the modification kit is fairly involved and does require removing the compactor and partially disassembling it. However, the instructions provided are very clear and the job was completed with no complications. The fix they have devised looks like it will permanantly fix the issue. I'm very happy not to have to deal with the broken actuator issue ever again.

Laid appliance on side - removed top sheet metal cover and bottom sheet metal cover. Broken delrin ring gear was on bottom of bottom cover (housing). Gear had broken off of its hub, which also was the sprocket chain drive for both acme screws driving the compactor platten. Motor had to be loosened so that the chain could be removed from the old sprocket hub, and the new delrin ring gear - with new sprocket hub attached - could be mounted on its fixed spindle. With new delrin gear/chain sprocket mounted, the motor had to be spaced and tightened to allow 0.010 inch lash between the gears. The only instructions included with the new gear was how to do this - by placing a piece of paper in between the pinion gear on the motor, and the new ring gear, and then tightening the motor into place. This was done, the sheet metal covers were re-installed, and the compactor works just fine. There is a design flaw in the original (KitchenAid) engineering of the gear, however, and I expect that in the next four years this will probably happen again.

First off....I was surprised at how inexpensive the drive gear kit was. As others commented, they fit perfectly and I believe will fit other manufacturer's models since there is a lot of cross branding. The Drive gear replacement itself would be easy as described by others so I won't repeat that. However replacing the plastic tubular "ram stops" on the screw drive was a challenge since there are no "helpful hints" in the blog. To do that you have to work from the top and sides. Needed to remove the two gear cams where the screw drives are seated on the bottom of the unit, then (working with the unit on it's side)you have to raise the whole (heavy) plunger that is attached to the drive screws high enough to remove the old tubular ram stops and bushing and replace. To raise the plunger assembly out from the top you have to remove the sheet metal top plate of the unit....and....importantly remove the control panel on the front where the switches are. There is a limiter switch that has a metal arm which engages a plate on the plunger to stop the unit when it reaches the top. You need to remove that switch to be able to raise the plunger assembly high enough to get the new parts on the screw drive. Put all that back together and then go on to the gear replacement as described by others which was straight forward. Very messy job with all the grease and garbage residue. I am pretty handy figuring these things out, and there may be an easier way, but next time I will call a pro or replace the whole compactor.

Replaced drive gears.They arrived in a kit from Parts Select with instructions.They fit perfectly and the compactor works like new.

Looking at the information I found online it was either one of 2 things the directional switch was bad, or the drive gear was broken. I replaced the directional switch 1st since that was the easiest and that did not solve my problem. I put it all back together and thought about it for a little while. After a couple of days. It occurred to me that I could see the ramrod's spinning as the plunger goes down, then when the plunger reached as far as it would go. The ramrod's would stop spinning. I reasoned that the problem had to be somewhere between the motor and those rods when I opened up the bottom of the trash compactor, Iran the cycle again and I could see that the drive gear was still spinning, but the chains to the ramrod's were not spinning. Once I saw that I realized that the sprocket that was attached to the drive gear had broken. The sprocket is metal and the drive gear is plastic and they fit together perfectly, but through age or stress. The plastic have become rounded and no longer fit perfect on that nut when you applied a good deal of pressure. I didn't have the tool that I needed to replace the small drive year. I think you need some kind of a punch to get that pin out. So I left that one in place loosened the nuts that hold the motor in place to create some slack in the chain chain came off the new drive gear one on. I tightened the motor back up in the correct position is reassembled everything and it's working perfect again.

Took the bent one out, put the new one in. The repair was not the story, the story was that we ordered the part on Monday afternoon and it was delivered on Tuesday! And the shipping was less than $8.00. Fresno to Elk Creek in less than 24 hours for that price was amazing!

Very simple, changed the gear, adjusted the drive and tested. Very straight forward.

The instructions that came with the swtich were very helpful. I would have had a more difficult time if I did not have the instructions.

This is the third time that I have had to repair the actuator on this unit. The first two times I did it, it was a really simple fix-two screws and done. And it was inexpensive. However, obviously this fix didn't last because the piece of spring metal kept breaking. Fortunately, Kitchen Aid redesigned the actuator to use a new pedal mechanism and a different type of switch. This new actuator seems much beefier and I expect it will last for the life of the unit. The bad news is it is a pretty complex fix. Disconnect power, slide unit out, remove the top, remove the front panel, remove the switch and the old actuator, drill two new holes in the front panel and install the actuator, reinstall the panels and the new kick plate, slide the unit back in, level the unit and attach it to other cabinets, reconnect power. It was about as hard to do this part install as it is to install a new compactor. If you can install a compactor, you can install this part.

At best it is advisable to load just one at a time and covered with newspaper etc., In this case someone put in three bottles with out covering with heavy newspaper etc.and for some reason one rode out and to the side. Crushing the side of the metal trash container. This pinned the container against the side of the compactor body and behind the front rails. Using a lot of pulling and some nifty pry bars and two hours of prying and squeezing we got the container out( see attached photo )The replacement container was ordered on a Sunday night and arrived Tuesday morning. Removal of the existing front panel ,foot pedal and door switch was easy and installation on to the replacement container was a breeze with a little orientation required to line up the switch and pedal in the right configuration. 20 min tops and that was with five kids helping ;)

provide or encourage a 1/4" box wrench and a Phillips screw driver along with drill and appropriate drill bit. Tape to hold in place template before drilling...critically helpfull

We only had part of the model number and I was able to narrow it down to less than ten by using an SS as two of the last letters. I looked at the handles and counted the squares from one hole to the other for the size. It was perfect and installed in less than 5 minutes.

take 2 screws out on top cover with key switch. remove two screw holding directional switch. remove wires, one at a time, and place on the new switch. put new switch in place with two screws. put front cover on with two screws and test. works like a charm.