Upon the receipt of my part it just had to be slipped into place. I had the part I needed within 3 days of ordering. My had ordered parts for various items in the past and we have always been very satisfied with the care and experteis of this company.
I flipped this unit over,removed 4 screws to the drive gear.I tore apart found a nut came off the screw rod.Which broke the drive gear.I looked on line found the parts select page.That showed the diagram i needed,to order parts, i needed.The wife and i tackled this task,of repairing this product.The repair was quick and easy.It took less than 30 minutes including cleanup.The wife happy,that all that matters. Jack
With nothing in the KitchenAid Instructions nor anything on the internet… I had to go it alone. Actually quite simple… I laid the unit over on its front and removed the 5 screws holding on the bottom plate. This exposed the motor and drive train which turns the two compacting screws on each side. The main drive gear was broken. Taking a wrench to the main drive… I was able to free up the jam… a piece of glass from a broken bottle.
I went to the internet and did a search on KitchenAid Trash Compactor Parts and discovered PartSelect.com… They had me enter the Model Number of my unit and a parts diagram and list came up… I found the gear I needed… ordered it and in two days it was here. Instructions came with the gear on replacement and in no time I was back in business.
I was impressed with the simplicity of KitchenAid’s Compactor, and the ease in which I was able to get my part from PartSelect.com!
Removed drawer Pulled out from cabinet Unplugged power cord Removed top cover Removed front panel Put front on 2x4 block Unscrewed leveling legs Used 9/16" socket to remove old rollers Installed new rollers installed front panel installed top panel Plugged in electric cord slid back into cabinet inserted drawer tested Works as good as new
My compactor is over 35 years old. Needed rebuild. Noisy. Quick cycle. Overload.
Replaced the bearing assembly at the base of both ram screws (worn out and noisy) Replaced the drawer switch in the lower back (broken) Replaced the top up/down switch (old and faulty) Replaced the nylon ram nuts. Replaced the control panel on/off/start switch. Replaced the chain, and chain gear set. Replaced the motor. Replaced both sets of drawer rollers. Final cost in parts - $450 - new compactor $1100. Works like new. Had to be creative in the 2 drawer switch as they are now longer offered for sale. Found suitable replacements.
Remove the compactor drawer. Remove the front cover from the controls. TAKE A PHOTO OF THE WIRING TO THE EXISTING SWITCH! Remove the screw from the side of the switch and pull the switch out from the machine. You have to look very carefully at the switch to see the color labels on each prong of the switch. Attach gray wire to top prong (GR), red wire to middle prong (R) and so forth. Compare your work to the photo you took. Replace the switch, front plate and drawer. IT WORKS. YAY. Warning, my husband is dyslexic and attached the wires in reverse order and the compactor did not run at all. So, be sure you match wire to label.
REMOVE COMPACTOR DRAWER REMOVE SCREWS ON FACE PLATE REMOVE SCREW NUTS ON PART (SOCKET) SAVE HOLDING PLATE WITH SCREW NUTS TAKE PICTURE OF WIRE CONECTIONS (IN CASE OF POOR RECALL USE PLYERS TO PULL CONECTOR OFF OLD SWITCH REVERS INSTALL TOTAL 25 MINUTES