The third time I used my DLX, the motor started sounding much louder than normal. I could tell something had gone very wrong. I called "Mr. Roth," of Royalux (Magic Mill USA) in New Jersey--the single main importer and servicer of Magic Mill products in North America--and asked for help (see this thread for my description of the problem, and Mr. Roth's contact info):
http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,4330.0.htmlHe knew exactly what the problem was, and shipped me a replacement part--a bracket for the motor. He told me I could phone him when I received the part for instructions on how to replace the part, but I went ahead myself and did it anyway. This is what I did.
First off, I placed the mixer on its side and opened it up. As you can see from the first photo in the sequence, the bottom part has four feet (each with its own screw), and two screws at the very back by the power plug. To open the mixer, you only need to remove the screws in the front two feet, plus remove the two screws at the back by the plug. You can leave the screws that are attached to the two back feet alone; they do nothing to hold the mixer in place.
By the way--although the screws look like they need an Allen key wrench to open them, that's not what they are. They're "TORX screws" (thanks Jack for the correction, from later in this thread!) which require "TORX bits" to move them. A TORX bit looks sort of like a star when it's pointed right at your eyes. It's not a common bit--these are the first screws I've ever run across that use such a bit--but they seem to be included with most decent-sized bit sets, so you shouldn't have a problem.
When I opened the mixer, I could immediately see that Mr. Roth was correct in his guess as to the problem. The metal bracket holding the motor in place was severely bent at an extreme angle; it should be flat. To be honest, I was very surprised that Electrolux chose such a light-duty metal for what is actually a rather important piece, and a piece that must withstand some stress at that. I was not impressed--how hard would it have been for them to make the bracket out of a stronger-duty steel?
Also, Mr. Roth claimed this damage is almost always attributable to shipping. I find that VERY hard to believe. How would a screwed-in bracket suddenly bend akimbo without any damage to any other surrounding machinery? Besides, the mixer is shipped in a big box with standard styrofoam packing that immobilizes it; how would such damage occur just to the bracket? And ALWAYS just that bracket? And if the bracket is always getting damaged "due to shipping"....maybe they should consider improving the design of the bracket?
*sigh* I think it's just a bad design--the metal needs to be upgraded to something much stronger. In fact, I'm a little worried that continued usage of the mixer will eventually damage this new bracket in exactly the same way. It's easy enough to repair, but it's a pain having to cross my fingers that nothing bad befalls my mixer.
Anyway, back to the repair:
1. After the mixer is opened, unscrew the two screws on either side of the bracket that hold it in place. The motor is now loose, and the rubber belt from the belt drive should become slack. You'll need to loop the belt up and over so that the bracket can be lifted off.
2. Next, put the new bracket in place and put the rubber belt back in place. Remember that the screw holes for the bracket are ovals, not circles that fit the screws perfectly; you'll need to tighten the new screws in the proper part of the ovals so that the belt drive will be taut again. A slack rubber belt will mean that the motor won't run properly--it has to be taut.
3. Close up the mixer and you're done!
Not so hard. If you can handle a screwdriver, you can do this.
