I was making pound cake batter tonight (4 batches) and all of a sudden I notice a silver pin that is horizontal on the back of the mixer stand had pulled almost all the way out of the mixer stand. I used a small hammer and gently hammered it back into place, but it keeps vibrating out. I tried to find out the name of the part and it's function, but no luck. I am attaching a photo of a similar mixer and you can see the small silver round piece on the fixed portion of the stand - just a inch or two below where the head of the mixer tilts back.

Anyone know about this part and how to fix it? My mixer is about 7 years old and way out of warranty. And to make matters worse, I was just mixing away and thinking how good this mixer has been to work with and how well it's held up and bam...look down and the piece is moving

I would go to kitchenaid's website and get a phone number and talk to someone. I've never heard of that problem before.

Good luck!

Mine is doing the SAME thing...it drives me crazy!

That seems to be the axle for the lifting head.

Mine sticks out a little on one side- don't know if it has always been like that or not. I noticed it a while back, but it seems stable, not shifting out any more.

yup, mine does it too. I first noticed it when I tipped the machine over on its side, to clean the goo, under the stand... Buttercream spilled and went under the foot of the mixer. Out popped the pin, and I had a rough time getting it back in. I am more careful about the tipping now....

It does seem to be an axle, yes to hold the tilting head in. I was wondering if it was always this loosey goosey, or if I lost something that made it slip and slide out.... Sounds like I am not the only one.

Click on the link, it has pictures of KA mixer parts. The page that comes up should have an assortment of KA's. Click on your model or style & replace part photos will come up. There two pages of parts if you don't see what you need on the first one.
If you have a handy man in the house theres also a KA repair manual you can download.

http://www.mendingshed.com/kitaidparts.html

This is the KA message board link. You might find help here also.

http://www.kitchenaidconversations.com/forums/default.asp

This page has the contacts for KA. Email phone etc. Theres a live chat you can ask your question right now from the looks of it.

http://www.kitchenaid.com/flash.cmd?/#/page/customer-service

Mine does this too. Haven't gotten around to fixing it. In the tool/mechanical world, there are pins like this that are designed to fit once and well. They get a good pounding into place and, ideally, stay there.

I think it has to be replaced to be fixed, but I will look into it. If it is what I think, it is a job that anyone could do.

Ah should have known the last link I added wouldn't work properly.Try this one, it should give you their contact options.

Good luck!

http://www.kitchenaid.com/flash.cmd?/#/page/customer-service

this is easily addressed and is mentioned in the manual.

Turn off the mixer and unplug it.

Turn it over on its side so you can see up into the base.

There is a set screw that you need to tighten that holds this swivel pin in place.

Position the pin so it is centered.

Turn the screw clockwise to tighten it.

It will loosen again over time and you will need to repeat this procedure.

It is not necessary to pound it back in, when the pressure is off this pin it is easy to re-center.

It is always a good idea to read the manual and mark issues like this with a hi-liter pen so you can find them later.

Ah, the old "read the manual" suggestion......where is the fun in that?!

I went back and looked at mine, and pushed the pin back in place. I will definitely check and tighten that screw as suggested.

Thank you to all the suggestions! I just got off work and finally a moment to read all the posts

You're right, Kayakado, I should have read my manual, except that I have been re-arranging everything and can't locate it right now

I'll give that a try

It worked So glad to have my Kitchenaid well again. Don't know what I'd do without it

Thanks again, Kayakado!

mine has been doing that for ages! Owners manual? Ha! I've had mine since I was 19... the manual is loooong gone. Thanks for keeping yours though. I'm excited to go fix my lovely KA!

Thank you! Problem solved! Lost manual long ago...

Be very careful...I did this and tightened it too tight apparently, because my pin still moved, but the head of my mixer fell and the lock wouldn't work properly...with a little "unscrewing" of the screw, I was able to fix that problem, but the pin is still loose.

Thank you for this thread! I was soooo unhappy with my Artisan that I was ready to switch to Cuisinart. This seems to have solved my problems as well. The test will be next weeks wedding cake.

thank you for posting and Kayakado for replying with an answer that works.

anyone got any idea what part I need to adjust to raise the head of the mixer up? I'm using my mom's kitchenaid and it has started to wobble and make all kinds of noise when I'm mixing anything. I have to actually pull the head up since all the noise is coming from the paddle hitting the bowl. I just don't know what part to tighten/adjust.